This weekend, the attention of the lacrosse world will be focused on Philadelphia as the collegiate season comes to its climax in the City of Brotherly Love. The 2005 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships are coming to town, and the University of Pennsylvania is hosting them.
The action will kick off on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. when second-seed Duke (16-2) and third-seed Maryland (11-5) go head to head in the first Division-I semifinal. The ACC rivals met twice this year with Duke winning 10-8 in the regular season and Maryland coming out on top 9-5 in the ACC Tournament title game. This will be Maryland's 18th trip to the Final Four, and Duke's second. Despite the Blue Devils relative lack of Final Four experience, they tout the NCAA Division-I record for most wins in a single season at 16, and they are lead by sophomore attackman Matt Danowski (Farmingdale, N.Y.) who has a nation leading 84 points ? nine points shy of the all-time record.
The second semifinal, at 2 p.m., will showcase top-ranked Johns Hopkins (14-0) against fourth-seeded Virginia (11-3). This will be the Blue Jays' fourth consecutive trip to the Final Four and their 26th overall. While the Blue Jays were the preseason favorite, Virginia's success has come as a surprise to some after missing the tournament last year. The Cavaliers will be making their 24th Final Four appearance, and look to avenge their mid-season loss to the Blue Jays.
At noon on Sunday, Division III titan Salisbury University (19-0) will face Middlebury College (17-1) In doing so the Seagulls look to win their third consecutive title and an unprecedented 48th consecutive victory. In the Division II final, at 3 p.m., Limestone College (15-1) will play New York Institute of Technology (9-2).
On Monday, the winners of the Division-I semifinals will face-off in lacrosse's equivalent of the Superbowl. The game is set to be a high-noon showdown, with the victor being crowned the top team in the land.
The matchups, however, are only half the story. In addition to the hard work on the field, there is a great deal of effort being put in behind the scenes.
In 2004, the University of Pennsylvania's bid to host the 2005 and 2006 championships, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Sports Congress and the Philadelphia Eagles, was approved by the NCAA. Since being selected as the host for the tournaments, the Local Organizing Committee known as "Face-Off Philadelphia" has been working around the clock in order to prepare for this weekend.
"Preparations began a year ago when we sent a team down to the 2004 Championships in Baltimore to get a feel for what the event should be like," said Director of Athletic Communications, Carla Zighelboim, "It heated up in January, and the last six weeks have been pretty hot and heavy."
As the host school, Penn is
responsible for organizing, promoting, and managing the event from start to finish.
"We're used to this kind of event because we host the Penn Relays," said Zighelboim "We've got a lot of good and capable people running things from our end."
Unlike the Penn Relays, the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships will be played at Lincoln Financial Field, only the third time the event has been hosted in a professional stadium. Yet after the success of the 2003 and 2004 tournaments at the Baltimore Ravens' M&T; Bank Stadium, the Linc seems like the perfect choice.
The 2003 Division-I championship game drew a crowd of 37,994 ? the largest to ever witness a non-basketball NCAA Championship. As of this week over 36,000 tickets have been pre-ordered for this weekend's games.
"We're very pleased with where we are with ticket sales." said Zighelboim.
Hosting the championships holds a few important benefits for both the city and the University. The Philadelphia Sports Congress has predicted that the event could bring in an estimated $25 million to the local economy.
"I think it helps make Philadelphia more visible," said Zighelboim. "Anytime you host something on the national level it gets you noticed. Hopefully it'll help with recruiting here at Penn."
With only the finishing touches remaining, the Face-Off Philadelphia crew's efforts are about to pay off. When asked whether or not Penn would be putting in a bid for the 2007 and 2008 championships Zighelboim smiled and said, "I think we have to get through these ones first".
