Central Islip, N.Y. - With the conclusion of regular season play, the brackets have been finalized for the East Coast Conference Men's and Women's Lacrosse Championships.
Semifinals for the men will take place on Wednesday, May 3, followed by the women's semifinals on Thursday, May 4. All semifinals contests will be held on the campus sites of the higher seeds. The championship games of both tournaments will hosted by LIU Post on Saturday, May 6.
Men's Lacrosse
NYIT (12-3 overall, 8-0 ECC) won the battle of unbeatens against Mercy on the season's final weekend to clinch the ECC Regular Season Championship and the top seed in the ECC Championship. This is the third time in four seasons the Bears have earned at least a share of the regular season title and the first time outright since 2008.
NYIT's semifinal opponent will be the Bears' Northern Boulevard rival and four-time defending ECC Champion, LIU Post (8-7 overall, 5-3 ECC). The Pioneers, who have won all three ECC Championship tournaments since its inception in 2014, fell in overtime by a final score of 9-8 in their regular season matchup with NYIT.
Despite falling to NYIT in their regular season finale, Mercy (11-4 overall, 7-1 ECC) earns their third straight trip to the ECC Championship and will play a home game for the first time in the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
Mercy's opponent will be No. 3 seed, Chestnut Hill (8-4, 6-2 ECC). The Griffins secured their second-ever tournament appearance, and first since 2014, with a win over Molloy on Saturday. Similar to the other semifinal matchup, the regular season meeting between Mercy and Chestnut Hill was an overtime affair with the Mavericks coming way victorious by a score of 8-7.
Women's Lacrosse
Like the men's side, the ECC Regular Season Championship was decided in a battle of unbeatens on the final weekend of the season, with LIU Post topping NYIT, 12-11, in overtime to clinch the title. This is the fourth regular season championship in the past five seasons for the Pioneers (13-2 overall, 8-0 ECC).
LIU Post, who is also looking for their third straight ECC Championship, will take on Roberts Wesleyan (7-10 overall, 4-4 ECC) in the semifinals. The Redhawks will be making the first-ever ECC Championship appearance in program history after earning a win or go home overtime victory over Bridgeport in their conference finale.
The Pioneers were victorious over Roberts Wesleyan by a final margin of 17-3 in the two school's regular season matchup.
NYIT (15-2 overall, 7-1 ECC) had an 11 game win streak snapped by LIU Post but still earn the tournament's No. 2 seed and the semifinal home game that comes with it. This is the Bears' first-ever trip to the conference tournament in the program's inaugural season. A large portion of NYIT's squad has ECC Championship experience however. Fourteen student-athletes on the roster played at former ECC school, Dowling, who had advanced to the final of the tournament in all three years of its existence.
The Bears' opponent will be No. 3 seed, Mercy (15-2 overall, 6-2 ECC). The Mavericks are back in the championship field for the second straight year. In the regular season meeting between the two schools, NYIT topped Mercy by a final of 13-11.
All games during the championship will be broadcast live. The semifinal match-ups will be broadcasted by the host institutions. The final broadcasts will be streamed live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app as part of the NCAA Division II Showcase. To read Twitter updates throughout the tournament, follow us @ECCsports. Tournament recaps, highlights, interviews, box scores, and links to live stats and video will also be available on www.eccsports.org at the tournament specific web pages early next week.
2017 East Coast Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship
Semifinals - Wednesday, May 3
3:00 p.m. - No. 3 Chestnut Hill at No. 2 Mercy
3:30 p.m. - No. 4 LIU Post at No. 1 NYIT
Final - Saturday, May 6 at LIU Post
3:00 p.m. - No. 3/No. 2 vs. No. 4/No.1
2017 East Coast Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship
Semifinals - Thursday, May 4
3:00 p.m. - No. 4 Roberts Wesleyan at No. 1 LIU Post
3:30 p.m. - No. 3 Mercy at No. 2 NYIT
Final - Saturday, May 6 at LIU Post
12:00 p.m. - No. 3/No. 2 vs. No. 4/No. 1
