# 2021 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament

The 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the 39th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of Division I NCAA women's college lacrosse. The semifinal and championship rounds were played at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, MD from May 28–30, 2021. All other rounds were played at campus sites, usually at the home field of the higher-seeded team, from May 14–22. This marked the return of the tournament after 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Tournament field

All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship, and a total of 29 teams were invited to participate. 15 teams qualified automatically by winning their conference tournaments while the remaining 14 teams qualified at-large based on their regular season records.

### Teams

| Seed | School | Conference | Berth Type | RPI | Record |
| 1 | North Carolina | ACC | Automatic | 1 | 18–0 |
| 2 | Northwestern | Big Ten | Automatic | 7 | 13–0 |
| 3 | Syracuse | ACC | At-large | 2 | 14–3 |
| 4 | Boston College | ACC | At-large | 3 | 13–3 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | ACC | At-large | 6 | 9–6 |
| 6 | Florida | American | Automatic | 10 | 16–2 |
| 7 | Duke | ACC | At-large | 21 | 9–7 |
| 8 | Stony Brook | America East | Automatic | 5 | 14–2 |
| | UConn | Big East | At-large | 30 | 12–6 |
| | Denver | Big East | Automatic | 13 | 14–3 |
| | Drexel | CAA | At-large | 4 | 13–2 |
| | Fairfield | MAAC | Automatic | 14 | 13–1 |
| | High Point | Big South | Automatic | 38 | 10–7 |
| | Hofstra | CAA | At-large | 11 | 6–6 |
| | Jacksonville | ASUN | Automatic | 17 | 11–1 |
| | James Madison | CAA | Automatic | 15 | 11–4 |
| | Johns Hopkins | Big Ten | At-large | 46 | 8–6 |
| | Loyola (MD) | Patriot | Automatic | 8 | 11–2 |
| | Maryland | Big Ten | At-large | 36 | 9–6 |
| | Massachusetts | Atlantic 10 | Automatic | 12 | 15–2 |
| | Mercer | SoCon | Automatic | 45 | 7–7 |
| | Mount St. Mary's | NEC | Automatic | 16 | 14–2 |
| | Robert Morris | MAC | Automatic | 39 | 14–2 |
| | Rutgers | Big Ten | At-large | 54 | 6–8 |
| | Stanford | Pac-12 | Automatic | 9 | 11–0 |
| | Temple | American | At-large | 18 | 12–5 |
| | Towson | CAA | At-large | 23 | 9–8 |
| | Vanderbilt | American | At-large | 19 | 12–6 |
| | Virginia | ACC | At-large | 25 | 8–8 |

## Bracket
### Tournament bracket

Games on Conference Sports Networks (BTN & BTN+) or ESPN3 for First & Second Rounds. Semifinals on ESPNews & Finals on ESPNU.
| First Round May 14 Regional Campus Sites | First Round May 14 Regional Campus Sites | First Round May 14 Regional Campus Sites | Second Round May 16 Regional Campus Sites | Second Round May 16 Regional Campus Sites | Second Round May 16 Regional Campus Sites | Quarterfinals May 22 Campus Sites | Quarterfinals May 22 Campus Sites | Quarterfinals May 22 Campus Sites | | Semifinals May 28 Johnny Unitas Stadium | Semifinals May 28 Johnny Unitas Stadium | Semifinals May 28 Johnny Unitas Stadium | | Final May 30 Johnny Unitas Stadium | Final May 30 Johnny Unitas Stadium | Final May 30 Johnny Unitas Stadium |
| | | | 1 | North Carolina* | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | James Madison | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | James Madison | 9 | | James Madison | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Johns Hopkins | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Johns Hopkins | 6 | | | | 1 | North Carolina* | 14 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 8 | Stony Brook* | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| | Drexel | 13 | | | | | | | 8 | Stony Brook* | 11 | | | | | |
| | Rutgers | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Rutgers | 16 | | Rutgers | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Stony Brook | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Towson | 8 | 8 | Stony Brook | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Stony Brook* | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Stony Brook* | 14 | | | | | | | | 1 | North Carolina | 10 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Boston College | 11 | | | | |
| 5 | Notre Dame* | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Boston College | 11 | |
| | Robert Morris | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Robert Morris | 0 | 5 | Notre Dame | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Virginia | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Virginia | 19 | | Virginia | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | UConn | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | UConn | 13 | | | | 5 | Notre Dame | 10 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Boston College | 21 | | | | | | | | |
| | Massachusetts | 13 | | | | | | | 4 | Boston College | 21 | | | | | |
| | Temple | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Temple | 14 | 4 | Boston College | 21 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Temple | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Fairfield | 6 | | Temple | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Boston College* | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Boston College* | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Boston College | 16 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Syracuse | 10 |
| | | | 3 | Syracuse* | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Loyola (MD) | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Loyola (MD)* | 11 | | Loyola (MD) | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Hofstra | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Hofstra | 9 | | | | 3 | Syracuse* | 17 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Florida* | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| | Jacksonville | 20 | | | | | | | 6 | Florida* | 11 | | | | | |
| | Vanderbilt | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Vanderbilt | 12 | | Jacksonville | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Florida* | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mercer | 5 | 6 | Florida* | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Florida* | 23 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Florida* | 23 | | | | | | | | 3 | Syracuse | 21 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Northwestern* | 13 | | | | |
| 7 | Duke* | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Northwestern* | 13 | |
| | Mount St. Mary’s | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Mount St. Mary’s | 13 | 7 | Duke* | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Maryland | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Maryland | 17 | | Maryland | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | High Point | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | High Point | 6 | | | | 7 | Duke | 10 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Northwestern* | 22 | | | | | | | | |
| | Stanford | 13 | | | | | | | 2 | Northwestern* | 22 | | | | | |
| | Denver | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Denver | 15 | | Denver | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Northwestern* | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | |
* *First and second round host.