This Saturday at high noon, an intriguing match-up between the Florida Gators and North Carolina Tarheels will open the women’s NCAA lacrosse season in Chapel Hill, NC. These are two of the best teams in Division I lacrosse, and fans should expect quite the show come Saturday.
Last season, the Gators finished with a record of 18-2, losing in the quarterfinals of tournament play against Syracuse. With such an impressive record, it’s hard to believe anyone could be better, but North Carolina was. The Tarheels finished the 2012-2013 season at 17-3, slightly worse than Florida, but come playoffs, regular season does not matter. North Carolina would defeat number one Maryland and become the champions of NCAA lacrosse.
In their match-up last season, North Carolina lost to Florida 5-3 after a long defensive battle. Both teams still remain strong both offensively and defensively, so Saturday’s game should be eerily similar to last seasons. Currently, North Carolina is ranked number one in the ACC Preseason poll, while Florida is not even in the top eight. We learned last year that rankings, records, and stats don’t really matter, but I do expect the Tarheels to come away with a win this weekend. Unlike last year, offense will be the story of this game, and I predict the final score to be 12-10 in favor of North Carolina.
