NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The men’s lacrosse season is quickly approaching, as the 2020 ACC Men’s Lacrosse Preseason Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday. Notre Dame was slotted second in the annual rankings. The Irish had three players selected to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Baumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan‘s Fighting Irish received 18 points in balloting among the ACC’s five head coaches. Virginia took the top spot with 21 points. Syracuse (15) was picked third, with Duke (11) fourth and North Carolina (10) fifth.
All five ACC teams are ranked in the top 11 in Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook Top 20 poll. Notre Dame enters the season ranked No. 7 with Virginia starting at No. 1. Duke comes in at No. 6 with Syracuse close behind at No. 8. North Carolina earned the No. 11 ranking in the preseason poll.
Representing Notre Dame, senior midfielder Bryan Costabile, senior defenseman Jack Kielty and senior FOGO Charlie Leonard were selected to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
The Fighting Irish appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th straight year in 2019 and made it to their ninth NCAA quarterfinal in the last 10 seasons.
The 2020 men’s lacrosse season gets underway at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 15, as the Irish play Cleveland State in Loftus Sports Center on the Notre Dame campus.
ACC MEN’S LACROSSE COACHES POLL
TEAM STANDINGS
- Virginia, 21
- Notre Dame, 18
- Syracuse, 15
- Duke, 11
- North Carolina, 10
PRESEASON ALL-ACC TEAM
Attack: Chris Gray, Jr., North Carolina
Attack: Michael Kraus, Sr. Virginia
Attack: Matt Moore, Jr., Virginia
Midfield: Dox Aitken, Sr., Virginia
Midfield: Bryan Costabile, Sr., Notre Dame
Midfield: Brendan Curry, Jr., Syracuse
Defense: JT Giles-Harris, Sr., Duke
Defense: Nick Mellen, Sr., Syracuse
Defense: Jack Kielty, Sr., Notre Dame
Goalkeeper: Drake Porter, Sr., Syracuse
Goalkeeper: Caton Johnson, So., North Carolina
Face-Off: Charlie Leonard, Sr., Notre Dame
Long-Stick Midfielder: Jared Conners, Sr., Virginia
Short-Stick Midfielder: Peter Dearth, Sr., Syracuse
Short-Stick Midfielder: Connor Maher, So., North Carolina
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.