NCAA lacrosse tournament winners and losers from first round

NCAA lacrosse tournament winners and losers from first round

For the most part, the first round of the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament went according to script. There were, however, a few significant surprises, as the round of 16 was not a clean sweep for the seeded teams playing at home.

One of the host squads sent packing early was defending champion Cornell. The Big Red had lost quite a bit of star power from the 2025 title team and managed only a No. 7 seed in this year’s field, meaning a tough draw in the round of 16 with long-time power of the sport Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays prevailed 9-8 in overtime in Ithaca, New York, in the tournament’s most dramatic finish thus far. But there were other unseeded teams that took down favorites in the eight games played across Saturday and Sunday.

Here’s a look at some of the other winners and losers from the weekend.

NCAA men's lacrosse tournament winners

Johns Hopkins

Trailing 6-3 at the break, the unseeded Blue Jays rallied behind a monumental effort by the defensive unit that held Cornell to just two goals after halftime. The dramatic game couldn't be decided in regulation. A goal by Jimmy Ayers off a feed from Matt Collison in overtime completed the comeback, giving Hopkins the 9-8 victory.

Duke

After barely squeaking into the field as the last at-large selection, the Blue Devils scored the last five goals of the games to rally for a 14-12 win at fourth-seeded Richmond. Duke’s Cal Gerard dominated at the X winning 21 of 27 faceoffs, but the Blue Devils still found themselves trailing the hot-shooting Spiders 12-9 in the fourth quarter before finishing strong against the worn-down Richmond defense. Liam Kershis notched a career-best five points on three goals and two assists for the Blue Devils.

Syracuse

A pair of Jimmy McCool saves in the final minute of regulation helped the Orange escape with a wild 16-15 win against Yale. In a game that went back and forth for most of Sunday evening, the Orange finally managed to build a four-goal cushion in the fourth quarter only to see the Bulldogs mount one last rally. Finn Thomson led a balanced Syracuse attack with three goals and two assists, and McCool finished with 16 saves.

High seeds