Does College Soccer Deserve This Final?

The Maryland men’s lacrosse team defeated Ohio State 9-6 to capture the 2017 Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship at Gilette Stadium this past Monday. Over 28,000 fans were in attendance for the final showdown on Monday. The massive stadium was far from full but fans created a great atmosphere.

Unlike the college soccer finals which took place at different venues and on different weekends, Gillette Stadium hosted the Men’s and Women’s finals from all 3 divisions. Maryland’s Women’s team also won the title on Sunday in front of a record crowd of over 12,000.

@CFJastrzembski reminded College Sports fans that Lacrosse has been enjoying healthy attendance numbers in its final weekend leaving soccer fans wondering why the NCAA isn’t doing more to promote the most important games in College Soccer. The 2016 Men’s Final had an official attendance of just 6,315!

For a sport that has repeatedly proven it can attract spectators in the USA, 6,000 fans at a final is depressingly low. Is the NCAA at fault? Some coaches seem to think so: the above tweet was re-tweeted by Maryland’s Men’s Soccer coach Sasho Cirovski. While the debate about a year round season will continue it’s clear that College Soccer has a lot to learn from College Lacrosse about how to host a final.