ESPN’s Coverage of 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Championships Begins This Weekend

- Anish Shroff Makes Championship Debut As Lead Play-by-Play Commentator
- Maryland Earns Top Seed in Both Men’s and Women’s Championships; Men’s Team Makes its 15th Consecutive Appearance, Women Earn Top Seed for Fifth Straight Year
- Former Syracuse standout Ric Beardsley Joins Chris Cotter and Former Teammate Paul Carcaterra in Syracuse for First Round
- Women’s Championship Coverage Begins With First and Second Round Coverage on ESPN3 from Three Campus Sites
ESPN will provide exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual, beginning with the first round on Saturday, May 13, and Sunday May 14, at noon ET from the top eight campus host sites. Championship play continues with the quarterfinals on Saturday, May 20, from Hempstead, N.Y., and Sunday, May 21, from Newark, Del. Winners will advance to faceoff in the semifinals on Saturday, May 27, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., with the national championship game slated for Monday, May 29. All first-round games will air on ESPNU, with the quarterfinals on ESPN2 and ESPNU. Championship weekend, which includes the semifinals and national championship game during Memorial Day weekend, will air on ESPN2.
ESPN has covered the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship since 2007, and the 2017 season marks the 23nd consecutive year that the network has provided complete coverage of championship weekend.
Coverage Highlights
The top eight seeds will serve as host sites on Saturday, May 13, and Sunday, May 14, for all first round games, airing on ESPNU. Saturday’s matchups include Towson facing No. 7-seed Penn State (noon), Duke facing No. 6 John Hopkins (2:30 p.m.), Air Force versus No. 5 Denver (5 p.m.), and reigning champion North Carolina against No. 8 Albany (7:30 p.m.). Sunday’s games feature BIG EAST Champion Marquette facing No. 4 Notre Dame (noon), winner of Bryant/Monmouth playing top-seeded Maryland (2:30 p.m.), Loyola (Md.) taking on No. 3 Ohio State (5 p.m.), and Yale taking on No. 2 Syracuse (7:30 p.m.).
The 17-team field includes eight conference champions, eight teams who earned an at-large bid, and the winner of a preliminary round game.
Championship weekend coverage will also provide fans with an alternative viewing experience for both the men’s and women’s championship with the use of the SkyCam, available on ESPN3 for the semifinals and championship title games.
Commentators
ESPN’s lead commentators for the Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be play-by-play commentator Anish Shroff and former college lacrosse standouts Quint Kessenich (Johns Hopkins) and Paul Carcaterra (Syracuse). Kessenich and Carcaterra both won national titles with their respective schools. Shroff and Kessenich will be in-studio for Saturday’s matchups, then head to College Park for top-seeded Maryland’s matchup against the winner of Bryant and Monmouth. The trio will call the quarterfinals in Newark, Del., before heading to Foxborough for championship weekend. This will be Shroff’s first championship as the lead play-by-play commentator.
This year’s coverage also includes play-by-play commentators Mike Corey, Jay Alter, Kevin Brown, Chris Cotter, John Brickley and Joe Beninati, and analysts Ryan Boyle, Ryan Flanagan, Sheehan Stanwick-Burch, Matt Ward and former UMBC head coach Don Zimmerman. Former Syracuse standout and four-time All-American Ric Beardsley will also serve as analyst for the Yale-Syracuse matchup, joining Cotter and former teammate Carcaterra in the booth. Beardsley and Carcaterra helped lead the Orange to a national title in 1995.
Cotter and Boyle will provide studio coverage during the quarterfinals, with Ward joining them during championship weekend.
NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship
ESPN will also provide exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship Presented by Northwestern Mutual, with the semifinals (5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) on Friday, May 26, on ESPN3, followed by the title game on Sunday, May 28, at 11 a.m. on ESPNU. John Brickley, Sheehan Stanwick-Burch, a four-time All-American at Georgetown, and Halley Quillinan, a former Syracuse lacrosse standout, will be on site for all the action at Gillette Stadium.
Coverage of the first and second rounds will also be available on ESPN3. A complete bracket can be found here.
espnW will provide coverage through each round of the championship with features and recaps leading up to the title game.
Fans can also follow all the action on Twitter at @ESPNU and @NCAA_LAX
2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship Schedule (Subject to change)
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup/Commentators | Network |
| Sat, May 13 | Noon | First Round (State College, Pa.) Towson vs. No. 7 Penn State Mike Corey, Don Zimmerman |
ESPNU |
| 2:30 p.m. | First Round (Baltimore, Md.) Duke vs. No. 6 Johns Hopkins Jay Alter, Ryan Boyle |
ESPNU | |
| 5 p.m. | First Round (Denver, Colo.) Air Force vs. No. 5 Denver Kevin Brown, Sheehan Stanwick-Burch |
ESPNU | |
| 7:30 p.m. | First Round (Albany, N.Y.) North Carolina vs. No. 8 Albany Chris Cotter, Paul Carcaterra |
ESPNU | |
| Sun, May 14 | Noon | First Round (South Bend, Ind.) Marquette vs. No. 4 Notre Dame John Brickley, Matt Ward |
ESPNU |
| 2:30 p.m. | First Round (College Park, Md.) Bryant/Monmouth vs. No. 1 Maryland Anish Shroff, Quint Kessenich |
ESPNU | |
| 5 p.m. | First Round (Columbus, Ohio) Loyola (Md.) vs. No. 3 Ohio State Joe Beninati, Ryan Flanagan |
ESPNU | |
| 7:30 p.m. | First Round (Syracuse, N.Y.) Yale vs. No. 2 Syracuse Chris Cotter, Paul Carcaterra/Ric Beardsley |
ESPNU | |
| Sat, May 20 | Noon | Quarterfinal #1 (Hempstead, N.Y.) Mike Corey, Matt Ward |
ESPNU |
| 2:30 p.m. | Quarterfinal #2 (Hempstead, N.Y.) Mike Corey, Matt Ward |
ESPNU | |
| Sun, May 21 | Noon | Quarterfinal #3 (Newark, Del.) Anish Shroff, Quint Kessenich, Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN2 |
| 2:30 pm. | Quarterfinal #4 (Newark, Del.) Anish Shroff, Quint Kessenich, Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN2 | |
| Sat, May 27 | Noon | Semifinal #1 (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Anish Shroff, Quint Kessenich, Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN2 |
| 2:30 p.m. | Semifinal #2 (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Anish Shroff, Quint Kessenich, Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN2 | |
| Mon, May 29 | 1 p.m. | National Championship (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) Anish Shroff, Quint Kessenich, Paul Carcaterra |
ESPN2 |
2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship (subject to change)
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup/Commentators | Network |
| Fri, May 12 | 4 p.m. | First Round (Syracuse, N.Y.) Boston College vs. Canisius |
ESPN3 |
| First Round (Philadelphia) Navy vs. No. 7 Penn |
ESPN3 | ||
| 5 p.m. | First Round (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Elon vs. Virginia |
ESPN3 | |
| 7 p.m. | First Round (Philadelphia) UMass vs. Colorado |
ESPN3 | |
| Sun, May 14 | 1 p.m. | Second Round (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Elon/Virginia vs. No. 2 North Carolina |
ESPN3 |
| Second Round (Philadelphia) Penn/Navy vs. Colorado/UMass |
ESPN3 | ||
| 3 p.m. | Second Round (Syracuse, N.Y.) Boston College/Canisius vs. No. 6 Syracuse |
ESPN3 | |
| Fri, May 26 | 5 p.m. | Semifinal #1 (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) John Brickley, Sheehan Stanwick-Burch, Halley Quillinan |
ESPN3 |
| 7:30 p.m. | Semifinal #2 (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) John Brickley, Sheehan Stanwick-Burch, Halley Quillinan |
ESPN3 | |
| Sun, May 28 | 11 a.m. | National Championship (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.) John Brickley, Sheehan Stanwick-Burch, Halley Quillinan |
ESPNU |
-30-
