Following Duke’s back-to-back championship wins, it seems there’s a solid perspective on the ACC as the Power House Conference. I think that’s accurate.
Lacrosse continues to grow from east to west, meaning younger programs pop up the further west one goes in the US. Mostly MCLA and NCLL competition other than the Denver Pioneers. Let’s take a glance at the season-ending records of the ACC teams:
Maryland 13-4
Duke 17-3
Syracuse 11-5
Virginia 10-6
Notre Dame 12-6
North Carolina 10-5
Johns Hopkins is no longer in the ACC because they volunteered to be an “independent” team until they become part of the new Big 10 in 2015.
I’d like to bring the three points outlined above together now:
All these teams, with the exception of Notre Dame, are considered east coast teams. They have been around the longest, have the best programs and the strongest abilities to recruit the top coaches and players. For the Fighting Irish to have climbed this conference ladder to appear in the championship against one of the best known programs is a statement in itself.
The Final Four were Maryland, Duke, Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins; that means 75 percent of the final tournament consisted of half the ACC. The Elite Eight even included Johns Hopkins (force of habit to mention them) and Syracuse (upset by Bryant).
When the Big 10 is activated, newer teams such as Penn State will find themselves struggling with these power house programs until they can transition into that level of competition. The realignment is meant to balance out NCAA lacrosse competition.
Back to the ACC, let’s break down these teams individually:
Maryland
A very talented but young team. The Terps made their usual happen this year, making a deep playoff run but unable to top the Final Four.
In speaking with others, some are skeptical as to whether Maryland will be able to pull this off again next year. On the one hand, their team is young and able, but they’re losing key seniors.
One of their weaknesses this season was stamina and consistency. They seemed to slow down in many fourth quarters and, though they had a respectable record, competed inconsistently.
Offseason Advice: Develop the young leaders on the team now, and hopefully they can fill the voids left by graduating seniors, or at the least, create an even stronger depth chart.
Duke
National champions, again. And, legal champions.
This season brought the final judgment of the Blue Devil’s years-old case concerning a party, hookers/strippers, etc. All players were found innocent, and the program can now fully continue to reclaim their reputation.
Myles Jones was depended on quite frequently for success. If he had gotten injured, I’m not sure how far Duke could have gotten without him. Also, Luke Aaron and other goaltenders were inconsistent this season, leaving a lot of doubt for Duke in the cage.
Though they’re a strong program, remember and continue to spread ability throughout the whole roster to avoid dependency on a single player.
Syracuse
What a season. The Orange were initiated into the ACC this year and they had adjustments to make.
UVA, Albany, and a few select other games were upset losses for ‘Cuse, but they banded together when they needed to. The team still made a good postseason run, but were upset again by Bryant.
Work on the upsets. A concern this season was faceoffs, and the Orange worked all season to remedy that. If they continue to work that phase of the game, and develop their preparations, they could avoid similar upsets in the future.
UVA
The Cavaliers surprised the lacrosse community right out of the gate this season. Going undefeated for six games, they beat big names like Syracuse, Loyola and Rutgers. Later in the season, opponents seemed to find the answers they were lacking earlier on, and found ways of upsetting.
UVA lost their first game to Cornell, who in turn ended up going to and losing in the NCAA First Round (to Maryland).
UVA should do exactly what they did this season again next, only work their stamina and conditioning to better compete deeper into the season.
Notre Dame
Another big surprise. With them giving training and coaching tips weekly on social media platforms such as Facebook, I personally thought they wouldn’t go far with other teams knowing their “secrets.”
Apparently, their secrets and training were good enough to get them to the finals, where they lost the Duke 11-9. Duke controlled the game for the first three quarters, but started to fatigue earlier on in the fourth quarter, where the Fighting Irish began to take advantage.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. After watching them in Baltimore, they need to be more commanding of the possessions and tighter on defense. Work on their slides, transitions and faceoffs.
UNC
Only five losses this season. So how come they didn’t make an appearance in the Elite Eight?
The Tarheels were the most underrated team in my perspective this season. They had a phenomenal season that started 3-0, then later consisted of a four-game streak, and a win towards the end of the season.
I feel opponents surprised them with how much they grew over the offseason. Now, UNC will need to make up for that this offseason, and double preparations.
These were some basic reflections on the ACC in 2014. What did you observe about these teams this year? We’d love the feedback/additional insights!
@LacrosseWeTrust
@IanNeadle
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