The ACC in Men’s Lacrosse is often compared to the SEC of collegiate football. Nothing but the best. With the ACC holding teams such as Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia only got better when they added Notre Dame, and Syracuse. Out of the 13 weeks the Coaches Poll was available, an ACC team held 1st place in 11 of them falling as low as second in the other two. It should also be noted that it was 3 different ACC teams holding that first place position as well.
This year the ACC was very competitive with UNC having a historic year, Duke coming in strong, late as usual, and of course we can not forget Maryland who is never out of the conversation no matter where they are ranked. The shortcoming of the league would have had to be Virginia who had a terrible year.
Many wonder if it was the easy start to the year that gave Virginia the hiccups or, if it was the lack of leadership from everyone but their lone captain Chris LaPierre who was only able to play in three games due to injury. In my opinion I believe that Virginia will have a bounce back year next year with a bit of chip on their shoulders. Don’t get me wrong by saying that I believe they will lead the ACC but I think this will be an end to their bottom of the pack run.
Duke looses a lot of goal scoring and leadership from the seniors who also won their freshman year. With Duke being the school they are, they will have no problem recruiting, and refilling those positions. With freshman Miles Jones getting some key playing time, and key goals he will be one to watch out for in the future. Archrival UNC is a team that I am questioning for next season. Bitter will still be Bitter, and Sankey will still pull off amazing things, as a team I am going to say not so amazing. They will still be a great team with a lot of potential but I don’t believe they will have the same skill or record they had this year.
Maryland was a bit of a disappointment for me this season. Although I am a Hopkins fan I was expecting some big things out of Maryland this year! They had a strong year with some good games. What I am about to write might be one of the best sentences I have wrote while at InLax, I want to say that it was the game vs. my Jays that broke the final straw of Maryland’s back. I believe if Maryland would of pulled out that game they very possibly could have been fighting for a spot in the final four. I think Maryland looked at this year as a disappointment, which will motivate now senior goalie, and in my opinion should be captain Niko Amato. I do also believe however that Maryland will have another average year next year.
As for the new comers in Syracuse and Notre Dame, I believe they will only add to the intensity of the ACC competition. Syracuse will be in the top three of the ACC next year being a strong, battle tested team ready to take on the ACC juggernauts. Notre Dame on the other hand, not so ready. While they did have a decent year I don’t believe they will be ready to move from the Big East to the ACC. While the have a stud in now sophomore Matt Kavanagh, I am not overly convinced he will be able to dominate the stiff competition he will be facing day in and day out. I believe that Notre Dame could be the bottom dweller of the ACC this year.
If I had to list out the standings for the ACC next year it would stand as follows:
1. Duke
2. Syracuse
3. Maryland
4. UNC
5. Virginia
6. Notre Dame
While it will be a very, very close conference I would have to give that as my final standings for the ACC at the end of next year.
