A tournament where rankings don't mean very much and history rarely repeats itself might be best described as a free-for-all. Virginia lacrosse coach Dom Starsia, however, has his own way of analyzing the parity and unpredictability of the event.
"The ACC tournament is a frickin' meat grinder," Starsia said. "It doesn't matter who you play, you've got your work cut out for you."
Four of the nation's top 13 ranked lacrosse teams visit Klöckner Stadium this weekend to compete for the ACC tournament crown.
The semifinals take place tonight, with No. 4 Virginia (7-2, 2-1 ACC) facing No. 12 North Carolina (5-5, 2-1) following the first semifinal at 6:00 p.m. between No. 5 Maryland (7-2, 2-1) and No. 13 Duke (7-5, 0-3). The winners then will face off in the championship game Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
The Cavaliers, Tar Heels and Terrapins all finished with identical conference records, but Maryland drew the tournament's No. 1 seed in a blind draw.
Although the Blue Devils have had little success in conference play this season, they managed to win the title last year under similar circumstances. After losing to both Maryland and Virginia in regular season play, Duke beat both squads in the tournament.
Upsets seem to be a consistent feature in the tournament. Only six top seeds have won the tournament since 1989.
"Every team is going to be better in the ACC tournament because that's when the title is at stake," freshman attackman Matt Ward said. "Every team is going to be gunning for each other."
The Cavaliers beat North Carolina 10-7 April 5 and hold a three game winning streak over the Tar Heels, but will face a difficult task in defeating North Carolina for a second time in under two weeks. Unlike the other ACC schools, Virginia plays all of its conference games the three weeks before the ACC tournament.
"I think that we have the greatest challenge in the conference," Starsia said. "It's really hard, after you beat these guys, to come out and play them again. I don't care if we're better or not, it's going to be a tough game."
Virginia has won the regular season ACC title seven times but has won only three tournament crowns.
Goalie Tillman Johnson had a standout performance for the Cavaliers in Virginia's last win over North Carolina, stopping 14 shots to help earn him ACC Player of the Week honors. Johnson continued his stellar play the following week in an 11-8 victory over Duke in Virginia's regular season finale, and could carry the Cavaliers to victory this weekend if his hot streak continues.
The Cavaliers come into this weekend's tournament riding a two game win streak and face a North Carolina squad that has dropped three straight games since its upset win over then-undefeated Maryland.
But, after all, this is the ACC tournament and none of these statistics are likely to matter. So throw the numbers out the window and buckle up. It's going to be a wild weekend of lacrosse.
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