Loyola Draws Cornell In NCAA First Round

Courtesy of Loyola Athletics

BALTIMORE - Loyola University Maryland will make its 17th appearance in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championships on Saturday, May 15, when it travels to Ithaca, N.Y., for a game against No. 7 seed Cornell University.

The Greyhounds (9-4 overall) and Big Red (10-5) both received at-large bids to the field. Faceoff on Saturday will be at 2:30 p.m.

Loyola, which will play in the postseason for the third time in four years, gathered as a team to watch the selection show on ESPNU at the Ridley Athletic Complex.

"We are excited to be back in the tournament for the third time in four years," Head Coach Charley Toomey said. "We felt that our body of work over the course of the season was worthy of at-large consideration. Cornell is an excellent team, and it should be a terrific first-round game."

Cornell advanced to last year's NCAA Championship Game before losing on a last-minute goal to Syracuse.

Loyola and the Big Red have not played in a regular-season or postseason game since 1962, but prior to 2010, the teams squared off several times in exhibition games.

Cornell has won three of the five games it has played Loyola with the other two ending in ties. The last meeting was a 13-8 Big Red victory in 1962.

The winner of the game will face the winner of Syracuse-Army.

Loyola's last bid to the NCAA Championships game in 2008 when the Greyhounds lost 12-7 at Duke.