Most Painful Loss You Have Witnessed Involving Your Favorite Program?

[Ezra White]

NoLeft
You reference the 1976 final between Cornell and Maryland. For many many years, the game was referred to "as the greatest lacrosse game ever played." Before an SRO crowd in Brown's football stadium, Cornell won 16-13 in OT.
You are correct, Cornell did take the lead late in the 4th quarter, with Maryland tying the score in the final second. It, however, was not the great Frank Urso who scored the tying goal. He initiated play at mid-field after a prolonged dispute between the two head coaches and the refs. I believe Richie filed a protest before play resumed. Urso didn't score; rather he dished off to ?
Cornell won going away in OT.
IMO, this game was not the most painful ending. Rather, I had a birds eye seat and it remains the greatest game I've ever seen. Especially given the "lacrosse establishment/Baltimore" - "anti-everyone else" animus at the time. Additionally, it was played in a small stadium - that was absolutely packed, nothing like today's mega-NFL venues.
For the most painful loss...again, '09 - Cornell vs. Syracuse.

Under Modern rules UMD won that game with the first “sudden death” goal.

Not to rain on the MD parade, but this seems to make a good case against sudden-death OT. IMHO, OT should be representative of the 4-qtr game itself, taking into account endurance, depth, momentum, and similar things that come into play towards the end of a game.

[OCanada]

Used to be 2 five minute periods

[molo]

I couldn’t eat after the UNC-JHU NC game at Princeton in 81. I don’t think I’d ever seen an attackman have a game like Cook up until then.

[PulpExposure]

I wish I could forget it. Sitting there watching it in the stands burned it into my memory.

Connor Kelly on EMO with an open look shooting stick side....gah.

In the nightmare, Kelly hit the goalie in the nuts. Strangely, it didn't seem to hurt the goalie, but it did feel like I got kicked in the nuts...in the nightmare.

Good news is it ate him up as much as it did us...helped the 2017 campaign for sure.

[MoralTerpitude]

Oh this one is so easy for me.

2015, watch the Terps live in Philly make the Championship game, which was unexpected. They lose pretty convincingly to Denver, but that wasn't a surprise.

Next year, the final round is back in Philly again. Terps have a loaded squad, and look really poised to win the NCAA tournament for the first time in 40 years or so. It's been so close, so many times, and this team looks good. Maryland faces Brown in the semis...who gave them a really tough go of it, but Maryland pulls through. It's UNC in the Championship game.

Terps lose in overtime. Was there live to watch it. Really stung because this was a great team. Terps end up winning and throwing that monkey off their back the next year, but I honestly think that 2016 team was more talented than the 2017 team. Just ran into the UNC and Cloutier buzz saw.

Yeah, this would be mine too. I was sure that was the team to break the drought - everything seemed to point to it. They were playing against a team with no real expectations entering the tournament. They had just won the game they had to win against Tiffany and the Tewy winner. They were totally stacked on both ends of the field, at goalie, and a hot FOGO.

The way they lost it too... in OT, after seeming to take control of the game in the fourth quarter. Really rough.

[NoLeft]

NoLeft
You reference the 1976 final between Cornell and Maryland. For many many years, the game was referred to "as the greatest lacrosse game ever played." Before an SRO crowd in Brown's football stadium, Cornell won 16-13 in OT.
You are correct, Cornell did take the lead late in the 4th quarter, with Maryland tying the score in the final second. It, however, was not the great Frank Urso who scored the tying goal. He initiated play at mid-field after a prolonged dispute between the two head coaches and the refs. I believe Richie filed a protest before play resumed. Urso didn't score; rather he dished off to ?
Cornell won going away in OT.
IMO, this game was not the most painful ending. Rather, I had a birds eye seat and it remains the greatest game I've ever seen. Especially given the "lacrosse establishment/Baltimore" - "anti-everyone else" animus at the time. Additionally, it was played in a small stadium - that was absolutely packed, nothing like today's mega-NFL venues.
For the most painful loss...again, '09 - Cornell vs. Syracuse.

Under Modern rules UMD won that game with the first “sudden death” goal.

Not to rain on the MD parade, but this seems to make a good case against sudden-death OT. IMHO, OT should be representative of the 4-qtr game itself, taking into account endurance, depth, momentum, and similar things that come into play towards the end of a game.

VeryRusty, thanks for the correction....the old memory ain't what it used to be....
it was a great stadium. We brought in a cooler and someone bought a case of Narraganset and we were able to enjoy that along with the game...

[OCanada]

Hopkins losing the 1989 title game to Cuse. A classic. The laspaa aa few minutes were wrenching

No pressure. But what does "laspaa aa" stand for?

My stuff usually contains at least one typo. Lax Fi made a career out of editing my posts early in the AM or correcting me in another post. In this case should read “the last few”

My brother!

I was going to go with Lhasa Apso, on the brain as I’ve got a 17tr old one who’s still holding up strong.

My canine is homding uo very well for a 10 yo considering he is large. He still runs up and down stairs

[steel_hop]

Two most painful losses both happened in College Park

The first was the 1995 FF game between Hopkins and Maryland when the goalie Daughtery stood on his head to stop an undefeated Hopkins team from fulfilling its destiny. That 95 Hopkins team was loaded. Players on that team would end up as the all time point and goal scorer in Hopkins history - Terry Riordan, the number 2 point scorer of all time in Brian Piccola. Both of these guys are still 1 and 2 in the Hopkins record books for all time point scorers in Hopkins history. But, that 95 team also had what would the number 9 all time points scorer and still all time assist leader in Dave Marr (he's fallen to number 13 all time point scorer currently). The fact the MD goalie held them to 8 goals in that game was unbelievable. He crushed them in the 1st quarter and mentally stomped on them.

The other time was in 1997 when Hopkins was playing Duke. Hopkins was up by 2 with about 2 minutes to go. Hopkins was trying to run out the clock, out the clock and was inside the box when a Hopkins middie (I always think it was AJ Haugen but was told it was Andrew Godfrey) took a 7-8 yard shot with an open net because the Duke goalie was chasing the double team and missed. Duke got the back-up scored two quick goals and won it in OT. That was basically the nail in Tony Seaman's coffin. He was fired after the 98 season.

I won't get into the number of times Hopkins (especially in the early 2000s) came in with the number 1 seed (the 2003 team comes to mind) and lost heartbreakers.

[molo]

I believe that Duke game was the last time laxfi saw a game in CP.

[gymman1031]

Two most painful losses both happened in College Park

The first was the 1995 FF game between Hopkins and Maryland when the goalie Daughtery stood on his head to stop an undefeated Hopkins team from fulfilling its destiny. That 95 Hopkins team was loaded. Players on that team would end up as the all time point and goal scorer in Hopkins history - Terry Riordan, the number 2 point scorer of all time in Brian Piccola. Both of these guys are still 1 and 2 in the Hopkins record books for all time point scorers in Hopkins history. But, that 95 team also had what would the number 9 all time points scorer and still all time assist leader in Dave Marr (he's fallen to number 13 all time point scorer currently). The fact the MD goalie held them to 8 goals in that game was unbelievable. He crushed them in the 1st quarter and mentally stomped on them.

The other time was in 1997 when Hopkins was playing Duke. Hopkins was up by 2 with about 2 minutes to go. Hopkins was trying to run out the clock, out the clock and was inside the box when a Hopkins middie (I always think it was AJ Haugen but was told it was Andrew Godfrey) took a 7-8 yard shot with an open net because the Duke goalie was chasing the double team and missed. Duke got the back-up scored two quick goals and won it in OT. That was basically the nail in Tony Seaman's coffin. He was fired after the 98 season.

I won't get into the number of times Hopkins (especially in the early 2000s) came in with the number 1 seed (the 2003 team comes to mind) and lost heartbreakers.

Yep! The final nail for Seaman came in 1998, when Maryland, a team Hop had beaten in the regular season, beat them in OT in that same Quarterfinals round. Most of his good moments at Hopkins came when being the underdog. They were the favorite in all three games mentioned in these two posts.

[ICGrad]

Nothing comes close to Cornell's loss to Syracuse in the 2009 Finals. I vividly remember the Goldstein-led team's loss by a goal to JHU in the finals, and (much less vividly) remember the earlier loss to JHU in the finals to break the record winning streak, but neither of those losses are even in the conversation with 2009 loss, for all the reasons so many have listed here.

I was watching that game on ESPN or whatever network it was being televised on. I think it was the first time my 3 older boys had sat down and watched a full lacrosse game.

I remember a few years before, the Colts had lost to the Steelers in the playoffs on a fluke last-minute missed field goal; that was the first of those undefeated Colts teams that played their scrubs in the last couple of regular season games to stay fresh for the playoffs, and was also the year where Tony Dungy's son committed suicide a little over a week before the playoffs. I'm still convinced that, had it not been for that unspeakable tragedy, the Colts would have won the SB that year; one of the best football teams I've ever watched. But that loss to the Steelers was soul-crushing; we were so certain the Colts were going to send the game to OT and win it from there. My oldest son, a huge Colt's fan, was just devastated.

That was the same feeling I had after that Cornell/Syracuse game; I was just numb afterwards. The last few minutes of the Syracuse game were even more mind-boggling than that Colt's loss. It was like watching a car crash in slow motion.

[Farfromgeneva]

Does Yale flipping Ben Reeves from us at Hobart count?

[Basement Bias]

As a younger Hopkins fan, the championship loss to Syracuse and 2015 semi to Maryland are tied.

Losing to those two, Virginia, and Princeton always suck. Even losing to Duke, UNC, ND, Loyola, and OSU sucks too!

[nyjay]

'89 National Championship Game - one of the best games ever - Petro vs. Gaits - 13-12 Syracuse. I was there.

But honestly, last year's 22-7 loss to the Terps at Homewood made me angrier, as did the 18-5 loss to Duke in the first round of the 2010 tournament.

[Farfromgeneva]

Hopkins losing the 1989 title game to Cuse. A classic. The laspaa aa few minutes were wrenching

No pressure. But what does "laspaa aa" stand for?

My stuff usually contains at least one typo. Lax Fi made a career out of editing my posts early in the AM or correcting me in another post. In this case should read “the last few”

My brother!

I was going to go with Lhasa Apso, on the brain as I’ve got a 17tr old one who’s still holding up strong.

My canine is homding uo very well for a 10 yo considering he is large. He still runs up and down stairs

Take good care of him. And lay off the table scraps, I fattened you my two too much early on from that but thankfully lived in NYC at the time so they were forced to go out for a lot more walks then after moving south and having a backyard.