Quint Kessenich: Previewing the NCAA tournament quarterfinals

The payoff of the playoffs is here.

A record-setting crowd is expected Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, where Johns Hopkins and Maryland will meet to begin the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament quarterfinals. The largest-ever attendance in this round (17,017) also came at Annapolis, in 2008.

The next day, PPL Park in Chester, Pa. — two hours up Interstate 95 — will host NCAA tournament games for the first time.

For the winners, a berth in the semifinals along with validation of all the work that went into getting this far.

For the losers, well ... nobody remembers a quarterfinal loser.

Here are the keys for each team to move on to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., for championship weekend:

— By Quint Kessenich, Special to The Baltimore Sun

May 17, 2012