2014 Atlantic Coast Conference men's lacrosse season
The 2014 ACC men's and women's lacrosse conferences will include six teams, up from four in 2013. Notre Dame and Syracuse joined the ACC in July 2013. This will be the only year that the ACC men's lacrosse conference will include these six teams as Maryland will leave the ACC for the Big Ten at the end of the 2014 season. The finalists from the 2013 NCAA championship game are in the ACC conference in 2014, Duke and Syracuse. Additionally, all six teams are included in the Top 10 of the Lacrosse Magazine preseason ranking. The 2014 ACC men's lacrosse conference includes teams that have won 23 national championships and have 45 appearances in the title game in the 42-year history of the NCAA Championship.
On May 4, 2014 the NCAA will announce the 18 teams that will play in the Division I men's lacrosse tournament. As part of this selection, the bottom four teams will play two play-in games. The ACC is one of 10 conferences that have automatic qualifiers, meaning the winner of the ACC tournament will appear in the tournament, leaving five ACC teams competing for eight at-large bids. Four of the six teams in the ACC will compete in the conference tournament on April 25, 2014. PPL Park in Philadelphia, Pa., will host the ACC tournament in both 2014 and 2015.
ACC men's lacrosse team class composition
| Duke | Maryland | North Carolina | Notre Dame | Syracuse | UVA | All ACC | |
| Freshmen | 23% | 29% | 30% | 24% | 38% | 31% | 29% |
| Sophomores | 35 | 27 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 24 |
| Juniors | 21 | 29 | 23 | 20 | 25 | 26 | 24 |
| Seniors | 21 | 16 | 27 | 33 | 14 | 24 | 22 |
ACC teams with most "top 50" recruits in last three years
| Team | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | TOTAL |
| UNC | 8 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 29 |
| UVA | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| Duke | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Syracuse | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 |
- Inside Lacrosse
NCAA tournament performance (last six years)
2014 MLL draft - ACC players
| Pick | Name | School | Position |
| 2/64 | Jordan Wolf | Duke | Attack |
| 4/64 | Luke Duprey | Duke | LSM |
| 7/64 | Michael Ehrhardt | Maryland | D, LSM |
| 8/64 | Scott McWilliams | Virginia | LSM, D/LSM |
| 11/64 | Mike Chanenchuk | Maryland | Midfield |
| 12/64 | Ryan Creighton | North Carolina | Defensive Midfield |
| 14/64 | Brendan Fowler | Duke | FO |
| 17/64 | Rob Emery | Virginia | Midfield |
| 18/64 | Josh Dionne | Duke | Attack |
| 21/64 | Matt Harris | Syracuse | LSM, D/LSM |
| 27/64 | Scott Loy | Syracuse | M |
| 29/64 | Nick Amato | Maryland | Goalie |
| 29/64 | Henry Lobb | Duke | D |
| 39/64 | Derek Maltz | Syracuse | Attack |
| 49/64 | RG Keenan | North Carolina | FO |
| 50/64 | Mark McNeill | North Carolina | Defensive Midfield |
| 55/64 | Chris Hipps | Duke | D |
| 56/64 | Mark Cockerton | Virginia | Attack |
| 64/64 | Brian Cooper | Maryland | D |
Returning All-Americans in the ACC
| Duke_____________ | 2013 All-American team | Position___________ | Class year in 2014 | Note____________________ |
| Brendan Fowler | 1st team | Face-Off | Senior | 2014 Preseason 1st team All-American |
| Jordan Wolf | 2nd team | Attack | Senior | 2014 Preseason 1st team All-American, #2 pick in 2014 MLL Draft |
| Josh Dionne | Honorable Mention | Attack | Senior | |
| Will Haus | Honorable Mention | Midfield | Junior |
| Maryland_________ | 2013 All-American team | Position___________ | Class year in 2014 | Note____________________ |
| Mike Chanenchuk | 2nd team | Midfield | Senior | Ivy League rookie of the year in 2010 at Princeton, withdrew after first season |
| Michael Ehrhardt | 2nd team | Defense | Senior | 2014 Preseason 1st team All-American |
| Niko Amato | 2nd team | Goalie | Senior | |
| Goran Murray | 3rd team | Defense | Senior |
| North Carolina___ | 2013 All-American team | Position___________ | Class year in 2014 | Note____________________ |
| Chad Tutton | 2nd team | Midfield | Junior | 2014 Preseason 1st team All-American |
| Joey Sankey | 3rd team | Attack | Junior | |
| Jimmy Bitter | Honorable mention | Attack | Junior | |
| Ryan Creighton | Honorable mention | Midfield | Senior |
| Notre Dame_______ | 2013 All-American team | Position___________ | Class year in 2014 | Note____________________ |
| Jim Marlatt | 3rd team | Midfield | Senior | |
| Matt Kavanagh | Honorable Mention | Attack | Sophomore |
| Syracuse_________ | 2013 All-American team | Position___________ | Class year in 2014 | Note____________________ |
| Henry Schoonmaker | Honorable mention | Midfield | Redshirt Junior |
| UVA______________ | 2013 All-American team | Position___________ | Class year in 2014 | Note____________________ |
| Scott McWilliams | 2nd team | Defense | Senior | |
| Mark Cockerton | 3rd team | Attack | Senior | |
| Rob Emery | 3rd team | Midfield | Senior |
Next games
Non conference:Duke vs. Harvard, Sunday, 3/29/14, 12pm
North Carolina vs. Johns Hopkins, Saturday, 3/29/14, 2pm
Conference:
Maryland vs. Virginia, Sunday, 3/30/14, 12pm
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse, 3/29/14, 12pm
High School matrix
| Boys Latin, Md. | Calvert Hall, Md. | Chaminade, NY | Deerfield Academy, MA | St. Anthony's, NY | ||
| Duke | Christian Walsh, M, Sr | Brian Dunne, D, Fr. Brendan Fowler, M, Sr. Danny Fowler, G, Fr. Greg Rhodes, M, So. Thomas Zenker, M, Fr. | Luke Aaron, G, Jr. Teddy Henderson, M, Fr. Christian Walsh, M, Sr | - | ||
| Maryland | Thomas Guarino, G, Sr. Colin Heacock, A, Fr. Mac Pons, D, Fr. | Tyler Adelsberger, M, Sr. John Belz, M, Fr. | Michael Ehrhardt, D, Sr. Tim Muller, D, Fr. | - | Mike Chanenchuk, M, Sr. Joe LoCascio, M, Jr. Charlie Raffa, M, Jr. | - |
| North Carolina | Pat Foster, A, Sr. R.G. Keenan, M, Sr. | Frankie Kelly, M, Sr. Patrick Kelly, M, So. Stephen Kelly, M, Fr. Evan Connell, D, So. | Jimmy Bitter, A, Jr. | Kieran Burke, G, So. | - | |
| Notre Dame | Matt Kavanagh, A, So. | - | ||||
| Syracuse | - | |||||
| Virginia | Ryan Lukacovic, A, Fr. | Joe French, A, Fr. Alec Webster, D, Fr. | Greg Danseglio, D, Jr. | - |
Regional matrix
| Canadians | Pennsylvania | Central NY, NY | Long Island, NY | Upstate, NY | Maryland | Virginia | ||
| Duke | Tanner Scott, Jr., M, Conestoga Will Haus, Jr, M, Palmyra Area Brian Dailey, Jr, LSM, Conestoga Jordan Wolf, Sr, A, Lower Merion Jamie Ikeda, So, D, Lower Merion Henry Lobb, Sr, D, Malvern Prep | - | ||||||
| Maryland | Bryan Cole, Jr, M, The Hill Academy | Casey Ikeda, Jr., D, Conestoga Tyler Brooke, So., A, Conestoga Mike Bender, Jr., LSM, Emmaus Bellarmine Ryan Lehman, So., D, Garnet Valley Matt Rambo, Fr., A, LaSalle College HS Bradlee Lord, So., A, Conestoga Kevin Forster, Jr., A, LaSalle Niko Amato, Sr., G, LaSalle Goran Murray, Jr., D, Haverford Chad Raffery, Fr., D, Malvern Jon Garino, Jr., So., M, Episcopal | - | |||||
| North Carolina | Chad Tutton, Jr, M, The Hill Academy Shane Simpson, Fr, M, Hamilton, Ontario then Salisbury | Ryan Creighton, Sr., D-Mid, Malvern Prep. Ryan Kilpatrick, Jr., D, Salesianum Austin Pifani, Fr., D, Abington Joe Sankey, Jr., A, William Penn Charter | Jake Bailey, Jr, D, McQuaid Jesuit Drew Hays, Jr, M, Fairport | Kieran Burke, So, G, St. Anthony's Briam Balkam, Fr, G, Smithtown East Mark Rizzo, RFr, D, Hewlett | Luke Goldstock, Fr, A, Niskayuna Jack Lambert, John Jay | - | ||
| Notre Dame | Kyle Trolley, So, M, from Ontario, played three years at Culver Academy | P.J. Finley, Fr, M, Malvern Adam Goins, So, M, Conestoga Westy Hopkins, Sr, A, LaSalle Conor Kelly, Jr, G, Haverford Liam O'Connor, Sr, M, Haverford Stephen O'Hara, Sr, D, St. Joe's Prep Jack Sheridan, So, D, Malvern | - | |||||
| Syracuse | Sean Young, Jr, D, The Hill Academy Randy Staats, Jr, A/M, McKinnon Park | Matt Walters, Jr, M, Haverford bobby Tait, RSo, D, Germantown | - | |||||
| Virginia | Matt Cockerton, Sr, A, Monsignor Paul Dwyer Joe French, Fr, A, St. Michael's then PG at Deerfield | Matt Barrett, Fr, G, Malvern Bobby Hill, Sr, M, Malvern Joseph Lisicky, Sr, D, Unionville | Ryan Lukacovic, Fr, A, Chaminade Dan Marino, So, G, Garden City Greg Danseglio, Jr, D, St. Anthony's James Pannell, So, A, Smithtown West | Greg Coholan, RSo, M, Irondequoit Davi Sacco, Jr, D, Jamesville DeWitt Zed Williams, Fr, M, SIlver Creek | Ryan Tucker, Jr, M, Gilman Pat Harbeson, Sr, M, DeMatha Tyler German, Jr, M, Queen Anne's Pat Glading, Sr, M, Georgetown Prep | Carlson Milikin, RFr, M, Woodberry Forrest Owen Van Arsdale, RJr, A, St. Anne's Beifeld Albert Kammler, Jr, D, St. Alban's Matt Robertson, Sr, G, Salem | - |
Duke
In the 2013 season, Duke defeated Syracuse 16-10 to win the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse championship. 15 of the 25 players in the 2013 championships game will play again for Duke in 2014. Attackman Jordan Wolf and face-off man Brendan Fowler were named pre-season first team All-Americans. Joining them on the list on the second team is Henry Lobb, senior defenseman. Honorable mentions are Josh Dionne, Myles Jones, Will Haus, Luke Duprey and Chris Hipps. Face-off specialist Brendan Fowler was a first team All-American in 2013. In the four games in the NCAA tournament that year, he won 70% of his face-offs and gathered 10 ground balls per game. For the entire season he won 64% of his face-offs.Duke's coaching staff places a priority on ground ball statistics in their post-game reviews. In comparison, Johns Hopkins has found that the four most important post-game statistical considerations are shooting percentage, your opponent’s shooting percentage, your save percentage and your opponent’s save percentage.
Duke starters
Attackmen
Midfield
Long-Stick Midfield
Defense
Face Off
| Year | Player | Faceoffs won | Total faceoffs | % faceoffs won | Ground balls/game |
| 2014 | Fowler, Sr. | 98 | 153 | 64.1% | 8.57 |
| 2013 | Fowler, Jr. | 339 | 526 | 64.4% | 9.95 |
| 2012 | Fowler, So. | 90 | 149 | 60.4% | 2.00 |
| 2011 | Fowler, Fr. | 86 | 155 | 55.5% | 2.44 |
Goalkeeper
Maryland
In 2013, Maryland lost to Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament.Maryland starters
Attackmen
Midfield
Long-Stick Midfield
Defense
Face Off
Goalkeeper
Amato's statistics
North Carolina
North Carolina is the only men's lacrosse team in the ACC that has not been to either the final four or the championship game in the last three years. In fact, UNC has not been to the final four of the NCAA championship tournament since 1993. Last year UNC lost to Denver in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Before that, UNC won the ACC tournament for the first time since in 17 years.The 2014 North Carolina Tar Heels men's lacrosse team will represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2014 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse season. The head coach, UNC alumnus Joe Breschi, will coach UNC for his 6th year. Breschi was previously a first-team All-American defenseman in 1990 and a USA national team member in 1990 and 1994.
UNC will return seven out of ten players from its 2013 starting lineup. Four midfielders on the 2014 team were on the roster of the U19 USA team in 2012: Brent Armstrong, Stephen Kelly, Steven Pontrello and Michael Tagliaferri. UNC and UVA had the most players on the 2012 U19 team, both with four. Returning faceoff man R.G. Keenan was a first-team All-American in 2012. ACC coaches named attackman Joey Sankey to the 2013 All-ACC team. Senior defensive midfielder Mark McNeill also plays wide receiver on the UNC football team.
Senior midfielder Frankie Kelly and sophomore attackman Patrick Kelly are cousins. Their uncle, Bryan Kelly , coached them in high school at Calvert Hall in Baltimore, Maryland. Frankie Kelly is freshman Stephen Kelly's older brother.
Frankie and Stephen Kelly are brothers and sons of Frank Kelly, III, who played lacrosse at Cornell. Frank Kelly, III has two brothers that played lacrosse at UNC and both won championships at UNC: David Kelly and Bryan Kelly. Both played on the UNC lacrosse team with current head coach Joe Breschi. Patrick Kelly is a cousin of Frankie and Stephen Kelly. His father David Kelly won a lacrosse championship in 1986. His uncle on his mother's side played football at UNC.
In other family relations, Junior attackman Jimmy Bitter's older brother Billy Bitter was a first-team All-American for UNC in 2009 and 2010. Sophomore midfielder Jake Matthai's dad played on the UNC lacrosse team from 1975-79. Sophomore goalkeeper Kieran Burke's two older brothers played lacrosse at UNC, Brian, a defenseman, and Sean, a midfielder.
UNC had the most recruits in the Inside Lacrosse top 50 rankings for the last two years. UNC had seven players on the Inside Lacrosse top 50 list in 2012 versus nine in 2011. In total, UNC had 16 players in the top 50 lists in the last two years. The next highest count was Duke University with 10.
Stephen Kelly signed a National Letter of Intent with Carolina in November 2012 and will enroll in UNC after he graduates high school in August 2013. Kelly was the only rising senior in high school that made the U19 U.S. Team in 2012 - the rest of the team had already graduated high school.
UNC recruits in Top 50
- Inside Lacrosse
UNC players on 2014 team on "Top 50" recruit list
- Inside Lacrosse
UNC depth chart
Attackmen
| Year | Player | Goals/game | Assists/game | GB/game | Turnovers/game |
| 2014 | Bitter, Jr. | 2.1 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.9 |
| 2013 | Bitter, So. | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 1.3 |
| 2012 | Bitter, Fr. | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
| Year | Player | Goals/game | Assists/game | GB/game | Turnovers/game |
| 2014 | Sankey, Jr. | 2.1 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 2.5 |
| 2013 | Sankey, So. | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| 2012 | Sankey, Fr. | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
Midfield
| Other midfielders on roster | Other midfielders that played in season |
| Brent Armstrong, So. | Will Campbell, Sr. |
| Drew Hays, Jr. | Brett Bedard, Fr. |
| Duncan Hutchins, Sr. | Joe Costigan, RSo. |
| Frankie Kelly, Sr. | Derek Henson, Jr. |
| Tate Jozokos, Fr. | |
| Peyton Klawinski, Fr. | |
| Campbell Wood, RSr. |
Face-off
Long-stick midfielder rotation (last game)
Defense
Close defense statistics (starters) versus prior season
Goalkeeper
UNC goalkeeper statistics versus prior season
2014 Injuries and missed games
Notre Dame
In 2013, Notre Dame lost to Duke in the second round of the Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament.Notre Dame starters
Attackmen
Midfield
Long-Stick Midfield
Defense
Face Off
Goalkeeper
Syracuse
In 2013, Syracuse lost to Duke in the finals of the Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament.Syracuse starters
Attackmen
Midfield
Long-Stick Midfield
Defense
Face Off
Goalkeeper
Virginia
In 2013, Virginia did not make the Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament for the first time since 2004. UVA led Division I lacrosse teams in ground balls per game in 2013 with 39.93/game. That average is down in the first three games of 2014 at 36/game.Virginia starters
Attackmen
Midfield
Long-Stick Midfielders
Defense
Face Off
Goalkeeper
Face-Off Matrix
| Team | Duke | Maryland | North Carolina | Notre Dame | Syracuse | Virginia |
| Duke | N/A | 2013: Raffa won 11/17 faceoffs versus Fowler and other Duke players and recovered 8 ground balls. Fowler was 9/22 with 10 ground balls. Played against each other in high school, with Raffa's St. Anthony's team annually playing Fowler's Chaminade team in the Long Island Catholic league. Fowler won the 2010 Nassau Suffolk Catholic High School Athletic Association Face-off Midfielder of the Year; Raffa won the 2011 NSCHSAA Face-off Midfielder of the Year | 2013 Game 1: Duke's Fowler won 17/23 and had 13 GBs in 11-8 win; UNC was 6/23 with Keenan 5/15 2013 Game 2: Duke's Fowler won 25/38 and had 15 GBs in 17-18 loss; Keenan was 11/33 with 5 GBs 2012 Game 1: Fowler was 3/5 in 13-11 win; Keenan was 10/26 with 8 GBs 2012 Game 2: Fowler was 0/1 in 12-9 win; Keenan was 17/25 with 11 GBs 2011: Duke was 9/27 in win; Keenan was 18/27 | |||
| Maryland | 2013: Raffa won 11/17 faceoffs versus Fowler and other Duke players and recovered 8 ground balls. Fowler was 9/22 with 10 ground balls. Played against each other in high school, with Raffa's St. Anthony's team annually playing Fowler's Chaminade team in the Long Island Catholic league. Fowler won the 2010 Nassau Suffolk Catholic High School Athletic Association Face-off Midfielder of the Year; Raffa won the 2011 NSCHSAA Face-off Midfielder of the Year | N/A | ||||
| North Carolina | 2013 Game 1: Duke's Fowler won 17/23 and had 13 GBs in 11-8 win; UNC was 6/23 with Keenan 5/15 2013 Game 2: Duke's Fowler won 25/38 and had 15 GBs in 17-18 loss; Keenan was 11/33 with 5 GBs 2012 Game 1: Fowler was 3/5 in 13-11 win; Keenan was 10/26 with 8 GBs 2012 Game 2: Fowler was 0/1 in 12-9 win; Keenan was 17/25 with 11 GBs 2011: Duke was 9/27 in win; Keenan was 18/27 | N/A | 2013: Jr. Liam O'Connor won 17/25 and had nine ground balls against UNC in a 10-9 3OT victory 2011: Fr. Liam O'Connor was 2/8 and had two ground balls against UNC in an 8-9 OT loss; Fr. R.G. Keenan won 15/21 and had 11 ground balls | |||
| Notre Dame | 2013: Jr. Liam O'Connor won 17/25 and had nine ground balls against UNC in a 10-9 3OT victory 2011: Fr. Liam O'Connor was 2/8 and had two ground balls against UNC in an 8-9 OT loss; Fr. R.G. Keenan won 15/21 and had 11 ground balls | N/A | ||||
| Syracuse | N/A | |||||
| Virginia | N/A |