After quickly jumping out to a 4-0 lead over Yale, the Big East/ACC Tweener Syracuse Orange lacrosse team either fell asleep or decided to do their best impression of Bryant, and would go virtually the entire rest of the game without scoring again. Read more…
The Blue Ribbon panel appointed by Johns Hopkins University to evaluate the pros and cons of joining a conference for lacrosse as an associate member has issued its report. The report recommends pursuing a conference affiliation. The Confidential believes that the ACC should add Johns Hopkins as an associate member for lacrosse only.
First, the ACC needs a sixth team. Duke, Syracuse, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia, and it was going to be Maryland. The loss of Maryland means the loss of the 6th program.
Second, in Johns Hopkins, the ACC gets a huge name in lacrosse, as well as solidifying the Maryland region. The rivalries are there.
Third, this would be the premier conference in the history of… ever. Imagine if Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Georgia left the SEC and joined a conference with Florida State and Miami. Regional and dominant! Or a basketball conference with Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Michigan State. You get the picture. If you are going six, go all the way.
Fourth, Johns Hopkins has a TV deal with ESPNU that it wants to keep. The ACC’s rights are owned by–wait for it–ESPN. This part of it works. How would Johns Hopkins mesh with the Big Ten Network? Not as easily.
Fifth, Notre Dame set the precedent here with a partial membership. Not really breaking any new ground. And other conferences have allowed members for just one sport under similar arrangements.
Finally, the Big 10 wants them too. Perhaps. Maybe. Why be in a conference with Rutgers lacrosse, when you can be in a conference with 5 of the biggest names in, well, ever. Johns Hopkins looks a lot more like Duke and Syracuse and Notre Dame, than it does a boring flagship state university with 50,000 members.
So there it is. Everything works for this. We just need the ACC to beat the Big 10 to the punch.
A great day for ACC lacrosse yesterday, as Syracuse and Duke both won… while the traitorous Maryland Terrapins Traitorpins were upset by Cornell. As you can see from the official NCAA bracket, this means that four teams with ACC ties are still alive in the NCAA elite-eight: Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.
It was not easy for Syracuse, who trailed Bryant, 4-0, before rallying to a 12-7 win. Syracuse also had to overcome losing 22 of 23 faceoffs to Bryant’s Kevin Massa. As Syracuse’s official press release noted, “Sophomore attackman Kevin Rice led the Orange with four points (two goals, two assists) and redshirt freshman Dylan Donahue scored a team-high three goals.” Picking up the win in the crease was Dominic Lamolinara. Syracuse will play Yale in Maryland next weekend.
Duke had it even tougher, as the #7 seeded Blue Devils needed two overtimes to dispatch reigning national champion, Loyola Maryland, 12-11. The hero was freshman attackman Case Matheis, who scored with only 1:40 remaining in the second overtime. But there were many heroes:
Brendan Fowler spearheaded the Blue Devil effort by winning 19 of 26 faceoffs and securing nine ground balls. Josh Dionne and Wolf added two goals apiece, while David Lawson chipped in one goal and three assists as the Blue Devils took 61 shots compared to Loyola’s total of 37. Kyle Turri posted 13 saves between the pipes.
Duke will move on to play Notre Dame in Indianapolis next weekend.
And let’s tall take a moment to laugh at the loss suffered by #6 seeded Maryland. The traitors were not only upset by unseeded Cornell, they were thoroughly demolished–16-8. At home. Given Maryland’s inability to manage an athletic department, it is probably a good thing that they do not need to play any more games. It costs a lot to keep the lights on, etc. Oh well. Those Big 10 partial revenue sharing checks will be coming soon enough.
The 2013 NCAA championship tournament is underway in mens lacrosse and the ACC Champion North Carolina Tar Heels are advancing. The #5 seeded Tar Heels defeated Lehigh impressively at home by a score of 16-7. With the win, North Carolina will move on to face the #4 seeded Denver Pioneers in Indianapolis. Denver defeated Albany in a 19-14 shootout on Saturday.
Although Lehigh jumped out to a 2-1 advantage, it was all North Carolina the rest of the way. The NCAA update included the following summary:
Marcus Holman led Carolina with a goal and four assists while Jimmy Bitter and Chad Tutton each had three goals and an assist. Steve Pontrello added a pair of goals as Carolina piled on the goals against a Lehigh defense which came into the match allowing only 7.44 goals per game, tied for second in the nation. Other goal scorers for UNC were Greg McBride, Walker Chafee, R.G. Keenan, Davey Emala, Ryan Creighton, Spencer Parks and Patrick Kelly. Joey Sankey had a trio of assists for Carolina while Jake Matthai and Greg McBride also had helpers.
A very impressive win for North Carolina.
And there was more for ACC fans to rejoice in, as the #2 seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Detroit, 9-7. In the other matchup from Saturday, Yale upset #8 seeded Penn State, 10-7. Keep track of the NCAA tournament here.
It’s 2016 and conference realignment has slowed down. Again. As most expected, the Atlantic Coast Conference has survived another round of unsubstantiated rumors and quasi-sourced reports from university big wigs and industry executives. Overall, the past few years have proven quite productive in terms of membership and revenue.
A combination of ESPN affirming its financial commitment to the conference and the additions of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Cincinnati and Connecticut have made way for a 16-team league which boasts a great amount of competitive talent, geographic diversity and athletic tradition.
The ACC now has eight teams competing in men’s lacrosse with Cincinnati, Louisville and UConn adding the niche sport to their athletic departments. Six of the league’s baseball teams are firmly in the Top 25 and seven teams are regulars in the women’s basketball Top 25.
College football has gradually improved over the past two years. The Seminoles and Tigers have continued their top-tier presence in the rankings and Virginia Tech, Louisville, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh add some needed depth to the conference schedule. NC State, Connecticut and Syracuse are steadily improving, the Tar Heels are sanction-free and competitive and Georgia Tech has awoken from its talent slumber.
College basketball is absolutely phenomenal. Along with the annual Tobacco Road matchup, Syracuse-UNC has become epic in its short existence and Pitt has become quite the foe of Duke, NC State and Virginia. Much anticipated matchups between Duke and Louisville and Connecticut and North Carolina have also given way to intense conference-wide games with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. The conference now boasts seven teams with national championship histories.
Although there is much competition among the field in both basketball and football, there is a great amount of talent at the top. Many believe multiple ACC representatives will punch cards to the Final Four and there is guarded optimism a team will soon vie for the Coaches’ Trophy at Cowboys Stadium.
As with anything, it takes vision, determination and patience to see a great idea through to fruition. The ACC is no different. Fantasies often begin with unrealistic expectations while goals are accomplished through steady hard work and practical ambitions.
Congratulations, ACC! You had the nerve and foresight to persevere and maintain your athletic tradition while maintaining and promoting solid academics. The Confidential looks forward to many more years of ACC excellence.
**Is this article fantasy or realistic? Join the discussion below and let the Confidential know your opinion.
After football and basketball, lacrosse may be the most popular sport in the ACC. At the very least, it has several GREAT teams participating in it: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. Starting soon enough, Syracuse and Notre Dame will be part of the mix too.
The current national standings are as follows:
| 1 | Maryland (22) | 4-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Notre Dame (3) | 3-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Cornell | 3-0 | 5 |
| 4 | Loyola (MD) | 4-1 | 4 |
| 5 | Princeton | 2-0 | 12 |
| 6 | Johns Hopkins | 3-1 | 3 |
| 7 | Denver | 4-1 | 10 |
| 8 | Ohio State | 4-0 | 13 |
| 9 | Virginia | 4-1 | 6 |
| 10 | Syracuse | 2-1 | 16 |
That means 4 of the top 10 schools are either part of the ACC or will be soon. Of course, Maryland will be leaving, but you get the idea. The ACC is THE dominant force in lacrosse.
Also consider that North Carolina is ranked #11 and Duke just fell out of the top 20.
The question that begs is what the ACC is going to do in the future to replace Maryland. The Big 10 is toying with the idea of adding Johns Hopkins for lacrosse purposes only (and research consortium monopoly games).
The Confidential has pondered the merits of adding Navy to the ACC as the 16th team. Give them the same deal as Notre Dame… all sports and 5 games of football. A 6th game could be Notre Dame vs. Navy, an annual matchup on the gridiron. It would certainly be nice to give the ACC that 6th conference team for lacrosse too–the prerequisite for an automatic bid.
Of course, as noted above, the ACC lacrosse teams are all heavy hitters. An automatic bid is not a make it or break it thing.
Not much to comment about here… the reports are that Notre Dame is unlikely to get out of the Big East in time for the 2013-2014 season. At least part of the issue is what is going on with the so-called “Catholic 7” and their formation of a new league. Notre Dame certainly does not want to be in a hoops conference with the leftovers from the Big East. But if the Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette, and DePaul group is still around for 2013-2014, the urgency to leave is reduced substantially.
We can expect the anti-ACC (i.e. West Virginia bloggers) to say that this is “proof” that the ACC is about to be raided and/or that Notre Dame is getting cold feet. If that is true, it will only be dumb luck for those bloggers. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. If you throw out rumors every week, you will be bound to get a few right over a long enough period of time.
On another note, Frank the Tank has an interesting update on the Catholic 7 and the Big 10’s possible interest in Johns Hopkins for lacrosse only. The Confidential continues to ponder whether the ACC should consider Navy for football only. Another partner for Notre Dame.
The NCAA has released the bracket for this year’s lacrosse national championship. At 14-1, Loyola Maryland earned the #1 overall seed. Perennial power Johns Hopkins is the #2 seed. The ACC’s very own Duke is the #3 seed, while Notre Dame is the #4 seed.
All five ACC schools will be participants. Syracuse had to win the Big East conference championship to qualify, but they did so. But the Orange (9-7) were “rewarded” with a game against Duke (14-3). The only ACC teams to have rematches in the tournament, Duke already defeated Syracuse earlier in the season, 12-10. The game will be played at noon on May 12, 2012, in Durham.
Virginia was given a #5 seed. With such a hot start, it is disappointing for the Cavaliers to end up with only a 5 seed. The Cavs (11-3) will play Princeton (11-4). The game will be in Charlottesville on May 13, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. Notre Dame is the top seed in the bracket.
North Carolina (11-5) is a #8 seed and landed an opening round matchup with Denver (8-6). The game will be played at Chapel Hill on May 12, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. Loyola is the top seed in the bracket.
Maryland (9-5) will travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to take on #7 seed and host, Lehigh (14-2). The game will be played at 5:00 p.m. on May 12, 2012. Johns Hopkins is the top seed in the bracket.
The Championship Game for the 2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship is now set. Following Friday’s two semifinal games, Duke will be playing North Carolina for the Championship.
In the 2-3 game between North Carolina and Virginia, the Cavaliers continued their late season swoon by falling to the Tar Heels, 11-9. The game was a see-saw affair for the first three quarters, as neither team was able to mount a lead of more than 1 goal. However, once North Carolina got to a 7-6 lead, it never trailed again. Attackman Marcus Holman was the leading goal scorer for North Carolina with three goals, while Joey Sankey added five points with two goals and three assists. Steele Stanwick of Virginia scored 7 points to lead the Cavaliers. For North Carolina, it was its first win over Virginia since 2004.
In the other semifinal game, red-hot Duke defeated suddenly surging Maryland 6-5. The low scoring affair was close throughout. Duke did have a 6-4 lead, before allowing Maryland to get within one goal. And then Maryland had a few opportunities in the final minutes to tie, before ultimately falling short. Duke’s Josh Dionne was a star for the Blue Devils with a hat trick. In the end, Duke protects its number 1 seed and will move on to Sunday’s Championship game against rival North Carolina.
Championship Game details: Duke v North Carolina. 3 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU and ESPN3. Good luck to both teams.
The ACC Lacrosse season continues to progress…
News/Rankings:
The big news this week was Duke defeating Virginia 13-5. Duke has been on a roll, so a win over Virginia would not have been entirely shocking. But to win by 8 goals? NOBODY saw that coming.
With all the losses, Loyola of Maryland and Massachusetts are atop the standings right now. Both teams are undefeated.
The Inside Lacrosse poll has Duke at #5, with no first place votes. Virginia is #6, Maryland is #8, North Carolina is #9, and Syracuse is #14.
In the USILA Coaches Poll, Virginia is #4 with 4 of the 0 first place votes. Duke is #7, Maryland is #8, North Carolina is #9, and Syracuse is #15.
Recent Scores:
Tuesday, April 10, 2012:
Cornell 12-Syracuse 6, Recap
Friday, April 13, 2012:
Duke 13-Virginia 5, Recap
Saturday, April 14, 2012:
Syracuse 19-Rutgers 6, Recap
North Carolina 12-Hofstra 9, Recap
Maryland 9-Johns Hopkins 6, Recap
Tuesday, April 17, 2012:
Syracuse 13-Hobart 12, Recap
Upcoming Games:
The 2012 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship Tournament:
Friday, April 20, 2012 (semifinals)
#4 Maryland v #1 Duke, 5:00 p.m.
#3 North Carolina v #2 Virginia, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Championship, 3:00 p.m.
Other Games:
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Georgetown @ Syracuse, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Maryland @ Mount Saint Mary’s, 7:00 p.m.
Records:
Virginia 10-2 (2-1 in conference).
Duke 11-3 (2-1 in conference)
North Carolina 9-4 (1-2 in conference)
Maryland 7-3 (1-2 in conference)
Syracuse 7-5
The Confidential’s ACC Lacrosse Rankings:
1. Duke (11-3). After a tough start, Duke has rebounded and dominated Virginia.
2. Virginia (10-2). After a great start, Virginia is fading a bit. Collapsed against Duke.
3. North Carolina (9-4). With a win over Maryland and more wins, North Carolina gets the edge.
4. Maryland (7-3). Maryland has an extra few games to show it deserves an upgrade.
5. Syracuse (7-5). Too many losses. And not enough impressive wins.
If you have any comments on the ACC Lacrosse season or this entry, please feel free to share!
The Confidential 