2014 ACC lacrosse

[jimsumner]

I somehow missed this press release from a few days ago.

But I know we have some lacrossenicks on the board, so here goes.

"Atlantic Coast Conference newcomer Syracuse has been selected as the preseason favorite in the ACC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll. The announcement comes in conjunction with Inside Lacrosse’s release of its annual Face-Off Yearbook.

Head coach John Desko’s Orange received 28 points in balloting among the ACC’s six head coaches. Reigning NCAA Champion Duke and defending ACC champion North Carolina each received 27 points and were selected second. Virginia (16), Notre Dame (15) and Maryland (13) were selected to finish fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

The Preseason All-ACC Team features 10 returning United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-Americans from five of the six member schools, with three selections each from Duke, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. Notre Dame had one student-athlete selected to the team.

Duke’s Brendan Fowler who was selected to the Preseason All-ACC Team as the face-off specialist, is the lone returning USILA First Team All-American. Fowler was also named the 2013 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player.

Joining Fowler on the Preseason All-ACC Team are five returning USILA All-America Second Team honorees, including Duke senior attackman Jordan Wolf, North Carolina junior midfielder Chad Tutton, Maryland senior defenseman Mike Ehrhardt and senior goalkeeper Niko Amato, and Virginia senior defenseman Scott McWilliams. Maryland junior defenseman Goran Murray, North Carolina junior attackman Joe Sankey, and Virginia senior attackman Mark Cockerton and senior midfielder Rob Emery are USILA All-America Third Team honorees from a season ago and are also Preseason All-ACC selections.

Rounding out the Preseason All-ACC Team are Notre Dame senior midfielder Jim Marlatt, Duke senior long-stick midfielder Luke Deprey and North Carolina senior short-stick midfielder Ryan Creighton, who earned honorable mention USILA All-America honors following the 2013 season.

All 13 student-athletes were also named to Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook Division I All-America Team with Wolf, Tutton, Fowler and Ehrhardt earning first team honors. Cockerton, Sankey, Marlatt, Emery, Murray and Amato were named to the second team, Creighton and McWilliams on the third team, and Duprey honorable mention.

All six ACC teams are ranked in the top nine in Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook Top 20 preseason poll. Duke leads the way at No. 1 followed by No. 2 Syracuse, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 6 Maryland and No. 9 Virginia.

The 2014 men’s lacrosse season gets under way Saturday, February 8. The ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be played April 25-27 at PPL Park in Philadelphia, Pa. The semifinals are set for Friday, April 25 and the championship for Sunday, April 27. A friendly will be played between the fifth and sixth place finishers on Saturday, April 26.



ACC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason All-ACC Coaches Poll and Team

Coaches Poll

1. Syracuse (28)

T2. Duke (27)

T2. North Carolina (27)

4. Virginia (16)

5. Notre Dame (15)

6. Maryland (13)


Preseason All-ACC Team

Attack

Mark Cockerton, Sr., Virginia

Joe Sankey, Jr., North Carolina

Jordan Wolf, Sr., Duke



Midfield

Rob Emery, Sr., Virginia

Jim Marlatt, Sr., Notre Dame

Chud Tutton, Jr., North Carolina



Defense

Mike Ehrhardt, Sr., Maryland

Scott McWilliams, Sr., Virginia

Goran Murray, Jr., Maryland



Goalkeeper

Niko Amato, Sr., Maryland



Face-off

Brendan Fowler, Sr., Duke



Long-stick Midfield

Luke Duprey, Sr., Duke



Short-stick Midfield

Ryan Creighton, Sr., North Carolina"

[BD80]

... All six ACC teams are ranked in the top nine in Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook Top 20 preseason poll. Duke leads the way at No. 1 followed by No. 2 Syracuse, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 6 Maryland and No. 9 Virginia. ...

Wow!

Amusing that we are #1 nationally, but #2 in the conference.

[Faison1]

Wow! In lacrosse terms, this season might rival those of the late '80's and early '90's for hoops in the ACC.

That is a lot of strength in the conference....heavyweights with haymakers!

[burnspbesq]

Just about everyone except Quint Kessenich has Duke/Cuse/Carolina as their preseason top three, in some order. The Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook has them in that order.

Quint's preseason Top 20 is here.

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/news/2...op-20-rankings

I think Quint's explanation of why he has us at number four makes a good deal of sense. We do have five holes to fill in midfield, and while I think I have a pretty good idea who's going to fill them (Bruckner, Shaffer, Keenan, Zenker, and Van de Ven), they still have to prove that they can do as well as Lawson, Tripucka, Offit, DeLuca, and Patterson.

I like the coaches' pre-season all-ACC selections with only two exceptions. I would have picked ND's Matt Kavanaugh instead of Sankey and UVa's Chris LaPierre instead of Creighton.

Eight weeks from tomorrow.

[ForkFondler]

The biggest news to me is the ACC championship details. First, it will be held in Philadelphia rather than on one of four campuses. Saying hello to Syracuse is perhaps a part of that. But mainly, it also is clearly being set up to be the first of two NCAA championship weekends.

[g-money]

Wow! In lacrosse terms, this season might rival those of the late '80's and early '90's for hoops in the ACC.

That is a lot of strength in the conference....heavyweights with haymakers!

Yep. SEC:new ACC::Football:Lacrosse

Although that analogy may not accurately express just how good the new ACC will be.

[Faison1]

Yep. SEC:new ACC::Football:Lacrosse

Although that analogy may not accurately express just how good the new ACC will be.

If only hoops could keep up with Lacrosse, Football, and every other sport, the ACC would be golden.

[MCFinARL]

Wow!

Amusing that we are #1 nationally, but #2 in the conference.

Yeah, which polls d'ya read? I think the national poll tends to put a great weight on being the defending NCAA champion. Duke isn't the defending ACC champion, but then, of course, neither is pre-season ACC number 1 Syracuse.

Just about everyone except Quint Kessenich has Duke/Cuse/Carolina as their preseason top three, in some order. The Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook has them in that order.

Quint's preseason Top 20 is here.

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/news/2...op-20-rankings

I think Quint's explanation of why he has us at number four makes a good deal of sense. We do have five holes to fill in midfield, and while I think I have a pretty good idea who's going to fill them (Bruckner, Shaffer, Keenan, Zenker, and Van de Ven), they still have to prove that they can do as well as Lawson, Tripucka, Offit, DeLuca, and Patterson.

I like the coaches' pre-season all-ACC selections with only two exceptions. I would have picked ND's Matt Kavanaugh instead of Sankey and UVa's Chris LaPierre instead of Creighton.

Eight weeks from tomorrow.

This seems like a good point to me. Hope the new kids on the block are up to the challenge.

Looking forward to some great games.

Yep. SEC:new ACC::Football:Lacrosse

Although that analogy may not accurately express just how good the new ACC will be.

Been a while since I took SATs (and I gather this is a useless skill now anyway because they don't have analogies any more), but wouldn't it be SEC:football::new ACC:lacrosse?

Forgot to link ForkFondler's post about the ACC championship--but PPL Park is a really good lacrosse venue. You are probably right that it's expected the ACC championship may have appeal beyond the fans of the individual teams--and even more right about the impact of Syracuse. 'Cuse fans are notorious as the best travelers in lacrosse, but even for them, a trip to Philly is going to go down a lot easier than a trip to Charlottesville or the Triangle.