Find MASN on your cable or satellite provider.

Already dancing
The Loyola Greyhounds were the first to punch their ticket to the tourney when they beat Fairfield on April 19, clinching the ECAC title and its automatic berth. Loyola has now made the field of 16 in back-to-back seasons, having earning an at-large bid in 2007. The Greyhounds are led by their stifling defense and freshman goalie Jake Hagelin, who is allowing fewer than five goals per league game this season. Loyola closes out its regular season with a big matchup against defending national champion Johns Hopkins on Saturday, May 3rd.

Joining the Greyhounds in the tourney are the Colgate Raiders, fresh off their Patriot League Championship Game win over Bucknell on Sunday. The Raiders, the third seed in the Patriot League, toppled second seeded Navy on Friday before winning their fifth straight over Bucknell in the title game.

Should be packing their bags
The ACC Tournament is much maligned among lacrosse experts because it does not have an automatic qualifier attached to it, but while no team guaranteed themselves a birth in Charlottesville last weekend, a strong performance could obviously sway the NCAA tournament committee. This year, all four ACC teams entered last weekend ranked in the top 12 in the polls and it looks like they have all guaranteed themselves NCAA spots. Let's take a look at these four teams, as well as the other local teams who will likely hear their names called on Selection Sunday.

Duke Blue Devils (15-1, 5-0 ACC)
Duke came into the ACC Tournament as the conference's and the nation's top seed, and many people believe the Blue Devils have what it takes to make it to their third NCAA Championship game in four years. Both of their previous title appearances resulted in one goal losses to Johns Hopkins, but this year the Blue Devils come into postseason play with the all-important mix of explosiveness, physicality and experience that they feel will leave them as the last team standing. They post the top scoring offense in the nation and the No. 6 scoring defense, and they have used that balanced attack to post wins over eight top-20 teams. The Dukies have two of the top three goal scorers in the nation in Max Quinzani and Zach Greer, not to mention reigning Tawaaraton Trophy winner Matt Danowski, who leads D-I lacrosse in points and was recently named ACC Player of the Year. Duke beat Virginia for the second time this season in the ACC finals on Sunday. If they can beat St. John's on Sunday, they will secure themselves the top seed in the NCAA's.

Maryland Terrapins (8-5. 2-2 ACC)
Maryland has had an up and down season under head coach Dave Cottle, starting 7-2 only to end the regular season losing two of their last three. They also fell to UVA in the ACC semifinals, 11-8. Overall, however, this season has to be considered a success thus far. Not much was expected out of Maryland this year, but Cottle has done a great job getting his squad, which has become known as the "Baby Terps," into the second seed in the conference. The Terrapins start freshmen at all three attack positions and do not have a 20 goal scorer, but have posted wins over Georgetown, Virginia and North Carolina. Their loss to host Virginia on Friday certainly didn't help, but with a win over Yale on Saturday, they should still earn somewhere from a 5-8 seed in the NCAA's.

Virginia Cavaliers (12-3, 2-3)
Virginia has a bit of a chip on its shoulder entering the postseason. The Cavs were national champions in 2006, but were bounced in the first round of the big dance last year by Delaware. Then this year they started 9-0 and had worked their way to No. 1 in the nation only to have Maryland put an end to their perfect season with a 13-7 Terps win on March 29th. Senior Ben Rubeor (10th nationally in goals) and Junior Danny Glading (10th in points) have both been named Tawaaraton Trophy nominees and lead the UVA attack. Since their regular season loss to the Terps, head coach Dom Starsia made some key changes, replacing freshman goalie Adam Ghitelman with fifth-year senior Bud Petit and moving freshman Garett Ince to the faceoff circle. Virginia, who was hosting the ACC tournament this year, brought its third-ranked scoring offense to friendly Klockner Stadium, and the Cavaliers came out playing inspired lacrosse in the semis. They never trailed in their 11-8 revenge win over the Terps but fell to Duke 11-9 in the ACC title game. They have pretty much locked up a top-4 seed come NCAA tournament time.

North Carolina Tar Heels (8-5, 0-4)
The North Carolina seniors have accomplished some impressive feats in their college careers, most notably a quarterfinal appearance in last year's NCAA tournament. However, they have yet to complete what is seemingly a much simpler goal: winning an ACC game. That's right, including their loss to Duke in the previously mentioned NCAA quarters last year, and their 17-6 loss to the Dukies in this year's ACC semifinals, the Tar Heels are now 0-17 against conference opponents since 2005. UNC should still be safely in the tournament, as they have posted four wins over top-20 teams this season, but this loss probably means that their first round game will be on the road.

Georgetown Hoyas (9-3, 5-1)
The Hoyas are the only team this season to best the top-seeded Dukies, but the lack of other big wins will keep the Hoyas out of a top seed. They did also beat Navy in Annapolis and topped Delaware at home, but a weak ECAC did not allow them to improve their resume within the conference. Georgetown is led by senior Brendan Cannon, the 2007 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year, who is leading the team in goals (23) and points (44). They conclude their regular season at Penn State on Saturday, and should make the tourney, but their chances of hosting a first-round game aren't looking too good.

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (6-5)
The defending champions have had a rocky 2008, winning their first three, then losing five in a row, and now winning their last three. Three of those five losses were in overtime, and none of them are considered "bad losses", but this Hopkins team has not had the dominant streak that last year's champs did. Despite their shaky record, they do have quality wins over UMBC, Princeton, Maryland and Navy, and if they win their last two over Mount Mt. Mary's and Loyola, they should have done enough to put themselves in the middle of the tournament field.

Sitting on the bubble
UMBC Retrievers (10-3, 5-0)
UMBC also had a rough start, going 1-3 to begin the season, but have been on fire since then, winning nine in a row. They were perfect in the America East Conference, giving them the top seed and a matchup with Binghamton in the America East Tournament, which starts this Thursday. Leading the UMBC offense are Terry Kimener and Ryan Smith, two 40-point guys, and Jeremy Blevins has been solid in goal, allowing under nine goals per game. The Retrievers would have a good chance at an at-large bid if they fail to take the conference title, but they need to take care of business this week to earn that automatic qualifier and leave no doubt. Other teams on the bubble will be pulling for UMBC to take the America East and not let Albany, Stony Brook or Binghamton grab that AQ.

Navy Midshipmen (9-5, 5-1)
The Midshipmen suffered a big loss to Colgate in the Patriot League Semifinals last weekend, and they now sit in a pretty precarious position, having lost four of their last five. They do have wins over Ohio State, Colgate and Maryland on their resume, but they will have to sweat out the next week and hope that teams like UMBC and Ohio State, who might be in line for at-large births regardless of whether they win their conferences, take the AQ's. Navy could be a dangerous team if they make the NCAA's because of their stifling defense. The Midshipmen have the top defensive unit in the nation, allowing under six goals per game, which could carry them come tourney time.

Drexel Dragons (12-3, 5-1), Delaware Blue Hens (9-6, 3-3)
Both Drexel and Delaware have made the CAA Tournament, which starts this Wednesday, and if they want to continue playing past this week, they will likely need to win the CAA's automatic qualifier. Drexel has an impressive record, but it's an empty 12 wins, as their only somewhat impressive win is at home (in 2OT's) over Hofstra. They will have the benefit of home field through the conference tournament, and they went 6-1 at Vidas Field this season. The Dragons face Villanova in the semis on Wednesday.

The Blue Hens had their best season in school history last year, winning the CAA tourney and then making a run to the NCAA Final Four. They lost a lot of key contributors from that squad, including Alex Smith, arguably the best face-off specialist in the history of NCAA lacrosse. They have the eighth best scoring offense in D-I, led by sophomore Curtis Dickson, who averages over three goals per game. Delaware has wins over UMBC and Drexel, but a loss at Sacred Heart on Saturday killed any shot of an at-large bid. The Blue Hens have the third seed in the CAA Tournament and will face Hofstra in the semifinals on Wednesday.