Metro Conference

HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's lacrosse team will play its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament game on its home field when it hosts Hartford on Wednesday afternoon in a preliminary round contest at the QU Lacrosse Turf Complex. Opening faceoff will be at 4 p.m.

The Quinnipiac-Hartford winner will move on to face Maryland, the top seed in the field, in a Round of 16 game. That contest will take place on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and will air live on ESPNU. 

Quinnipiac earned its way into the NCAA Tournament by capturing a MAAC title with a 13-9 win over Marist on Saturday at QU Lacrosse Turf Complex. The Bobcats advanced to the finals with a 13-7 win over Cansius after going a perfect 6-0 in the MAAC during the regular season to win the top seed and the right to host, its first outright regular season league title since the 2001 team was 9-0 in the MAAC.

It won't be the first meeting between Hartford and Quinnipiac this season, as the Bobcats edged the Hawks 11-10 in overtime at Hartford back on March 10. Quinnipiac trailed 7-3 at the half, but as it has so often done this season, it controlled the second half and came back to win the game in overtime. Senior midfielder Connor Meth (Basking Ridge, N.J.) had the game-winner in overtime when he circled around from behind the net for an unassisted goal, completing a hat trick for the game. The win snapped a six-game winning streak in the series for the Hawks, which won 10-9 in overtime at Quinnipiac a year ago. 

The Bobcats will enter the NCAA Tournament with an eight-game winning streak, as it has not lost since falling at Fairfield on March 22. The eight-game win streak is the second-longest in school history, behind only the 12-game streak that the 2001 team had to open the season. The 11 wins for the Bobcats this season are also the second-most in school history, behind the 14-2 mark of the 2001 squad.