In 2024, the outcome of the Division I men’s lacrosse tournament was easy to predict because Notre Dame was so dominant in going for its second straight national title.

This season will be different.

Last year, the Fighting Irish were strong in the middle of the field with Chris and Pat Kavanagh on offense as well as Will Lynch as the faceoff specialist and goalie Liam Entenmann, the best in the college game.

That scenario has changed, and the Fighting Irish are now 8-4. The 18-team field includes four teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and three each from the Big Ten and Ivy League.

There are at least seven or eight teams that can win the championship, including top-seeded Cornell, which has the game’s best player, but No. 2 Maryland might have the most overall balance.

In addition, traditional powers Johns Hopkins and Virginia failed to make the tournament for the first time since 2013. This race is wide open.

“This year is wide open for many reasons,” said Mark Dixon, lacrosse analyst for the The Big Ten Network and ESPN. “The Ivies can score but can they stop teams enough to win? The Big Ten has the best goalies and defensive units but will they be able to generate enough offense? And the ACC teams haven’t been consistent all season.”

“Cornell has the best player in CJ Kirst,” Dixon added, “but will that be enough to get the Big Red to the finish line?”

Today, we look at the first-round games and offer predictions.

Saturday’s games

No. 8 seed North Carolina vs. Richmond: Richmond has become a favorite in the tournament because the Spiders have registered several upsets this season, beating Virginia, 13-10, and Georgetown, 13-12. The Spiders only lost to top-seeded Cornell and Duke, each by a goal earlier this season.

The Spiders have won eight straight games, but they will have a tough time matching up against the Tar Heels. Simply put, North Carolina has too much depth and that pays off late in the season. Regardless, Richmond has had a great year with attackman Aiden O’Neil (28 goals, 22 assists) being named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year and Zach Vigue selected as the conference’s top goalie.

The Spiders play strong defense and Richmond has four wins against ranked opponents, but the Tar Heels will be angry after being embarrassed by Duke, 14-7, in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Owen Duffy (31 G, 25 A) leads the Tar Heels while fellow attackman Dominic Pietramala, son of former Johns Hopkins coach and current UNC defensive coordinator Dave Pietramala, has 45 goals and three assists.

The Tar Heels have been to 14 Final Fours and have won five national championships. That might be the biggest difference in this game.

Prediction: North Carolina 13, Richmond 10

No. 7 Duke vs. Georgetown: This could become a defensive game as the Hoyas are allowing only 8.93 goals per game compared with 7.83 for Duke during their past six games. Georgetown, though, has some firepower in attackman Carroll Aidan (42 G, 24 A), Fulton Bayman (26 G, 31 A) and Jack Ransom (29 G, 4 A).

Duke will counter with short-stick defenseman Aidan Maguire and long sticks Charlie Johnson and Henry Bard. The Blue Devils, though, have their own scoring duo in attackman Eric Malever (32 G, 32 A) and midfielder Andrew McAdorey (21 G, 21 A). It’s hard to bet against Duke coach John Danowski this time of year, so stick with the Blue Devils.

Prediction: Duke 9, Georgetown 8

No. 5 Penn State vs. Colgate: Colgate might be playing its best lacrosse of the season, having upset Army in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals and then beating Boston University, 17-10, for the title. The Raiders have a good scoring punch with the combination of brothers Liam Connor (38 G, 47 A), a midfielder, and attackman Rory Connor (47 G, 32 A).

The Nittany Lions aren’t going to dazzle any team with star power, but they are solid on both ends with midfielder Matt Traynor (33 G, 16 A) and goalie Jack Fracyon. An Annapolis native, Fracyon has a goals against average of 8.90 and a save percentage of .506. Titles can be decided by a hot goalie, and Fracyon could be that player. Penn State has another weapon in midfielder Hunter Aquino (15 G, 18 A).

Prediction: Penn State 12, Colgate 7

No. 3 Princeton vs. Towson: Towson started the season slow, albeit against tough competition. The Tigers have now won 10 games in a row, and it’s easy to tell which players run this team, with midfielders/attackmen Mikey Weisshaar (46 G, 22 A), Chop Gallagher (19 G, 20 A) and Ronan Fitzpatrick (39 G, 11 A) putting up big numbers. Meanwhile, Cornell had to outscore Princeton, 7-1, in the final quarter to win the Ivy League championship.

A telling sign in this game will be how Towson holds up against Princeton’s attack trio of Coulter Mackesy (10 G, 15 A), Nate Kabiri (26 G, 25 A) and Colin Burns (24 G, 16 A). Towson goalie Luke Downs and the Tigers’ defense have struggled at times this season. Downs has a goals against average of 10.75 and a save percentage of .465. Most goalies want to stay above .500.

Prediction: Princeton 13, Towson 8

Sunday’s games

No. 4 Ohio State vs. Notre Dame: This should be the best first-round game. The Buckeyes beat Notre Dame, 10-9, on March 8 and looked almost unbeatable until losing to Maryland, 13-8, about a month later.

Since then, Ohio State has won three straight, but let’s not get too excited. The Buckeyes beat Michigan and Rutgers. The only quality team they faced was Maryland, which they beat, 14-10, in the Big Ten championship game. Ohio State is paced by attackmen Alex Marinier (46 G, 2 A) and Garrett Haas (27 G, 16 A). The Buckeyes have a huge goalie in 6-foot-2, 297-pound Caleb Fyock, who not only fills the cage, but is athletic. He has a goals against average of 7.71 and a .620 save percentage.

Regardless, it’s hard to go against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are the two-time defending national champions and they still have attackmen Chris Kavanagh and Jake Taylor and midfielder Jordan Faison, who also plays football. Until proven otherwise, take the Fighting Irish. They are tough to beat this time of year and Ohio State still has a lot to prove.

Prediction: Notre Dame 11, Ohio State 9

No. 6 Syracuse vs. Harvard: Harvard will be making its first appearance in the tournament since 2022, and this will be a rematch of an earlier game, a 15-14 Crimson win. In that game, Harvard attackman Teddy Malone had five points, and he’ll get plenty of help from attackman Sam King this time around.

But the Crimson are no match for Syracuse, which has won two straight. Earlier in the season, the Orange had a strong transition game but now are playing well in six-on-six situations. When on its game, Syracuse is fun to watch, especially attackmen Jake Spallina (30 G, 48 A), Owen Hiltz (41 G, 23 A), Finn Tomson (19 G, 4 A) and midfielder Michael Leo (26 G, 11 A).

Against Duke in the ACC championship game, the Orange played strong defense. They also have one of the best faceoff guys in the country in John Mullen, and he could make this game a nightmare for the Crimson, having won 234 of 368 this season.

Prediction: Syracuse 15, Harvard 7

No. 2 Maryland vs. Air Force: These play-in games are good for teams on the bubble, but are relatively meaningless. They basically serve as tune-ups for the top seeds. Air Force beat Robert Morris, 14-9, on Wednesday to get into the first round. Maryland is loaded, not with superstars but talented players. The Terps are interchangeable at attack with Branden Erksa (26 G, 12 A) and Eric Spanos (23 G, 15 A), and they also have Daniel Kelly (28 G, 9 A).

A key for Maryland will be how well goalie Logan McNaney responds after playing poorly in the Terps’ loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. McNaney, who became the Terps’ all-time saves leader this season, has a save percentage of .583 with a goals against average of 8.05. If he gets hot, he could carry Maryland in the tournament as well.

Prediction: Maryland 15, Air Force 5

No. 1 Cornell vs. UAlbany: Cornell has the nation’s best player in attackman CJ Kirst (68 G, 30 A), who has been amazing at times this season. Ryan Goldstein (34 G, 15 A) and Michael Long (27 G, 30 A) have also done well on attack for the Big Red, who have averaged 16.46 goals per game and 43.9 shots per game.

Cornell has wins against two top-five teams and four against teams ranked in the top 10. UAlbany, which beat Siena, 11-9, will not be able to slow down the Big Red’s offense. Few teams have, which is why their only loss this season was 13-12 to Penn State on March 8. Cornell has won 10 straight, and it will be 11 on Sunday.

Prediction: Cornell 12, UAlbany 6

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston @baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun.