Official Men's Lacrosse Championship Page
2018 Men's Lacrosse Championship Bracket
INDIANAPOLIS – Four teams are playoff bound for the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Lacrosse Championship bracket that starts this week in Greensburg, Pa., on the campus of Seton Hill University.
The Griffins of Seton Hill earned the conference regular-season title, top overall seed and hosting responsibilities by virtue of a 14-1 overall record and an unblemished 7-0 run through the league schedule.
SHU was the choice preseason coaches poll favorite and the program has lived up to the lofty billing associated after winning the inaugural conference tournament title at Mercyhurst last spring.
Seton Hill has been ranked fourth nationally in the USILA National Poll for the majority of the season and is closing in on a bid to the NCAA Championship as one of four allocated seeds from the North Region.
The Griffins, winners in 13 straight, have been ranked third in the North Region rankings for back-to-back weeks. Head coach Brian Novotny has Seton Hill on a mission and the Griffins were just seconds away from an undefeated year had it not been for a slight overtime setback at No. 3-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne.
Seton Hill’s opening-round draw in the semifinals is against No. 4 Wheeling Jesuit (6-8, 4-3 G-MAC) on Thursday, May 3, at noon ET. The other semifinal features No. 2 Lake Erie (11-2, 6-1 G-MAC) vs. No. 3 Mercyhurst (10-4, 5-2 G-MAC) at 3 p.m. ET.
All three Great Midwest Men’s Lacrosse Championship contests will be streamed as a production by the Westmoreland Sports Network. Live stats will also be included and the second annual all-conference team with individual award winners will also be published this week.
Wheeling Jesuit made the postseason in its first year as an associate member of the Great Midwest. Two-time conference offensive player of the week Dereck Downs leads the offensive charge while senior long stick mid Scotty Gwyn capitalized on defensive honors for the final week of the regular season.
There’s no doubt the Cardinals will have their hands full, but Landon DelPrince’s group played the Griffins arguably as tough as anyone has this season in a 10-6 final back on March 14.
Lake Erie and Mercyhurst are nationally ranked and both programs are a reason why the men’s lacrosse four-team bracket is that much more intriguing. The Storm are led by the high-scoring offensive tandem of Lucas Shafer (47 G, 20 A) and Edmond Renaud (40 G, 19 A). The Lakers will go into the playoffs as winners of four straight and lost in a narrow 7-6 final against Lake Erie back on March 24.
Expect another defensive struggle/chess match between two successful coaches, Chris Ryan and Steve Gartelman, to ensue with advancing into the championship game the ultimate goal.