Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/6/24 – From Press Releases
The University of Pennsylvania women’s lacrosse team was awarded for its strong season with an 8 seed in the 2024 NCAA Championship. The announcement was made on the NCAA’s Selection Show Sunday night on ESPN2.
The Quakers will host Richmond, Loyola (Md.) and Duke in a four-team regional next weekend at Franklin Field, with Penn meeting the Spiders in a first-round game Friday at 7 p.m. after the Greyhounds and Blue Devils get things started at 4 p.m. The winners will meet in a second-round game on Sunday at a time to be determined, with the regional winner advancing to the quarterfinal round to play the winner of the regional being hosted by top-seeded Northwestern.
See the full NCAA Bracket here – https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/lacrosse-women/d1/2024
Penn is 13-4 and lost in the Ivy League Tournament final on Sunday afternoon to Yale, 10-9 in double overtime. Of the three teams coming to Philly, the Quakers have already faced Loyola, defeating the Greyhounds 13-6 on April 17. Penn has never faced Richmond, its first-round opponent.
Drexel to face Princeton
The Drexel women’s lacrosse team will face Princeton (10-6) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 10 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The Dragons gained one of 14 at-large bids based on its play during the season, becoming the first team in program history to punch their ticket into the NCAA Tournament four consecutive times.
Drexel has put together an impressive resume, with wins over ranked opponents. Drexel defeated No. 15 Penn State in Philadelphia, 10-8 and sank No. 20 Navy on the road in Annapolis, 13-12. DU will head up north with a 13-5 record.
Jenika Cuocco has been a standout in front of the cage. The CAA Goalie of the Year has 215 saves on the year, with a .580 save percentage. In the CAA Championship against No. 14 Stony Brook, Cuocco recorded 17 saves and reached 400 in her career as a Dragon.
Corinne Bednarik (Downingtown West) has been on a historic run, breaking multiple school records this season. The CAA Attacker of the Year became the all-time single-season points leader with 98, after tying her own single-game record of 11 in the CAA Semifinal game against Hofstra on Thursday. The captain is two points shy of breaking the all-time career record of 292 points, currently held by Colleen Grady.
Penn State meets JMU
No. 15 Penn State women’s lacrosse will face James Madison in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 10 in College Park, Md. at 3 p.m., announced by the NCAA Sunday evening. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
This is the second consecutive season the Nittany Lions were selected to the tournament and the 27th time in program history. Their first appearance was in 1983. Last season, Penn State fell to Stony Brook in the first round of the tournament, 12-8.
Penn State has won five National titles in the program’s history (1978, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1989). The last time the Nittany Lions advanced to the second round was in 2017 when they earned a first-round bye to move on to the final four.
Penn State is 11-7 (4-2 Big Ten), while James Madison is 13-5 (5-1 AAC). The Dukes fell to Florida in the AAC Championship, 21-11. This will be 37th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Nittany Lions are 22-14-0 all-time against the Dukes with their last meeting being in 2022.
