Dec. 15, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion Notre Dame has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2015 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Poll. The announcement comes in conjunction with Inside Lacrosse’s release of its annual Face-Off Yearbook.
The Fighting Irish received 23 points in balloting among the ACC’s five head coaches. Syracuse followed with 22 points and was selected second. North Carolina (13), back-to-back NCAA champion Duke (10) and Virginia (7) were selected fourth and fifth, respectively.
All five ACC teams are ranked in the top 10 in Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook Top 20 poll. Notre Dame led the way at No. 2 followed by Duke (No. 3), Syracuse (No. 4), North Carolina (No. 6) and Virginia (No. 10).
Notre Dame junior attackman Matt Kavanagh was selected to the Preseason All-ACC Team. Kavanagh tallied 42 goals and 33 assists last season en route to second-team All-America honors. He also appeared on the All-ACC Team and was named the MVP of the ACC Championship.
Last season, Notre Dame posted a 2-3 mark in ACC regular-season play before downing Maryland, 6-5, and Syracuse, 15-14, to win the league tournament in its first campaign in the stout conference.
The Fighting Irish appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight year and they advanced to Championship Weekend for the third time in the last five seasons and for the fourth time overall in program history. Notre Dame fell to Duke, 11-9, in the national title game at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to finish with a 12-6 record.
The 2015 men’s lacrosse season gets underway in early February. The ACC Men’s Lacrosse Championship will be played April 24-26 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. The semifinals are set for Friday, April 24 and the championship for Sunday, April 26. The fifth-place ACC team that does not qualify for the championship will play Penn at PPL Park on Saturday, April 25.
ACC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Notre Dame (3 first place votes, 23 points)
2. Syracuse (2 first place votes, 22 points)
3. North Carolina (13 points)
4. Duke (10 points)
5. Virginia (7 points)
Preseason All-ACC Team
Attack
Matt Kavanagh, Jr., A, Notre Dame
Kevin Rice, Sr., A, Syracuse
Joey Sankey, Sr., A, North Carolina
Midfield
Deemer Class, Jr., M, Duke
Myles Jones, Jr., M, Duke
Chad Tutton, Sr., M, North Carolina
Defense
Brandon Mullins, R-Jr., D, Syracuse
Austin Pifani, So., D, North Carolina
Tanner Scales, Jr., D, Virginia
Faceoff Specialist
Stephen Kelly, So., M, North Carolina
Goalkeeper
Kieran Burke, Jr., GK, North Carolina
Longstick Midfielder
Ryan Kilpatrick, Sr., LSM, North Carolina
Shortstick Midfielder
Will Haus, Sr., SSM, Duke
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The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team pursues excellence on and off the field through the three pillars in which the program is built: Character, Culture & Community. These three foundational values guide the promise of the program, which is to provide its student-athletes with the most compelling and enriching experience in all of college athletics. Through academics, competition, service and travel, the program aims to immerse its players in situations that enhance their student-athlete experience to help them become the people, students and teammates they aspire to be.
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