SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Air Force (10-5, 6-1 SoCon) will enter as the top seed for the second consecutive year in the 2017 Southern Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship, which will be held this Thursday and Saturday at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Virginia. The four-team tournament will also feature Richmond (11-3, 6-1 SoCon), Furman (7-7, 6-1 SoCon) and Jacksonville (3-10, 3-4 SoCon).
The Falcons, Spiders and Paladins all claimed a share of the 2017 SoCon regular season title after all three teams went 6-1 in SoCon play. Per the league's tiebreaking procedure, Air Force claimed the top seed, while Richmond and Furman garnered seeds two and three, respectively. With its win over Bellarmine and a High Point loss to Air Force on Saturday, the Dolphins claimed the fourth seed in the SoCon Championship bracket over the Knights as both Jacksonville and Bellarmine went 3-4 in SoCon play this season.
Top-seeded Air Force will take on Jacksonville, which is making it's first-ever appearance in the SoCon tournament, in game one of the SoCon postseason action – slated for Thursday at 5 p.m. The Falcons won the regular season matchup over the Dolphins in an overtime thriller, 10-9, in USAFA, Colorado, on March 25.
No. 2 Richmond, which was ranked 17th in the nation heading into Saturday's contest against third-seeded Furman, will once again play host to the Paladins in a rematch of Saturday's game in which the Spiders won, 13-4, at Robins Stadium. Richmond and Furman will clash in game two of the SoCon tournament on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Both semifinal winners will enjoy a day off before battling for the SoCon crown on Saturday at noon. The championship game broadcast on ESPN3, while the two semifinal contests on Thursday will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network. For more information, visit the 2017 SoCon men's lacrosse championship web page on soconsports.com.
2017 SoCon Men's Lacrosse Championship
Robins Stadium – Richmond, Virginia
Thursday, May 4
Semifinals
Game 1: No. 1 Air Force vs. No. 4 Jacksonville, 5 p.m., SoCon Digital Network
Game 2: No. 2 Richmond vs. No. 3 Furman, 7:30 p.m., SoCon Digital Network
Saturday, May 6
Championship
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, Noon, ESPN3
Note: All times are Eastern.
-www.SoConSports.com-