Virginia Lacrosse vs. North Carolina ACC Championship Preview

With a win over No. 1 Notre Dame on Friday night, the Virginia men’s lacrosse team has likely secured a home game for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Now, Virginia squares off against No. 5 North Carolina in the ACC Championship as the Hoos seek their first ACC Tournament title since 2019. As for the Tar Heels, they defeated Syracuse in the second semifinal, 12-10, bouncing back after falling to Duke in their regular-season finale.

In the regular season matchup between Virginia and North Carolina, the Hoos fell 16-15 in overtime. During the game, the Cavaliers showed what’s been the theme of their season, a refusal to quit. After trailing 15-11 with less than six minutes remaining, the Hoos rattled off four straight goals, including one by Ryan Duenkel with one second remaining, to send the game to OT. The primary reason for the loss was penalties, as the Hoos were penalized four times in the first half, allowing UNC to score four extra-man goals as part of a seven-goal run that forced Virginia to play catch-up for the remainder of the game.

Headed into the rematch, here are three players and two matchups to monitor:

No. 9 McCabe Millon

On Friday, McCabe Millon delivered his best game of the season, posting two goals and two assists against First Team All-American defender Shawn Lyght. Millon set the tone for the game with a crossfield assist to Ryan Colsey, showing his vision as a quarterback in this offense. Later, the junior scored a pivotal goal to cap a three-goal run for the Hoos that gave them a 9-5 lead at the half. If McCabe Millon is playing his best ball alongside his younger brother, Brendan Millon, who delivered three goals and two assists against Notre Dame, this offense is unstoppable. The Millon brothers two quarterback system emulates the 2021 National Championship-winning offense led by Connor Shellenberger and Matt Moore.

No. 77 Dominic Pietramala

Last time out against Virginia, Pietramala ran rampant with three goals and one assist. Pietramala leads the Tar Heels in goals and is capable of scoring from range. If the Hoos want to keep the North Carolina offense at bay, getting out on his hands and never giving him an inch of space will be critical on Sunday.

No. 5 Joey Terenzi

After the win against Duke, Coach Lars Tiffany credited Virginia’s four-game winning streak to the health and play of Joey Terenzi. The captain from Manhasset, New York, has proved pivotal to Virginia’s success on both sides of the field, registering one goal, one assist, three groundballs, and one caused turnover on Friday night. Terenzi’s goals usually come at pivotal moments in games, with Friday night’s goal coming immediately after Notre Dame’s first goal of the second half, preventing any comeback. When the Hoos need an answer, look to No. 5.

No. 49 John Schroter vs. No. 8 Owen Duffy

A battle of two heavyweights, Owen Duffy may have had the upper hand in the first matchup as he notched three goals and five assists, although three of those assists were on man-up. Against Syracuse, Duffy recorded one goal and six assists as he has established himself as the heartbeat of the UNC offense. As for Schroter, he allowed only two goals and one assist against Notre Dame’s best offensive player, Josh Yago, in addition to being part of a defense that only allowed ten goals on Friday night. If Virginia is going to shut down the Tar Heels' offense, it starts with Schroter blanketing Duffy, forcing the North Carolina offense to look to alternative initiators.

No. 30 Griff Meyer vs. No. 22 Brady Wambach

In the last few games, freshman faceoff specialist Griff Meyer has established himself as the primary FOGO for the Hoos. Against Notre Dame, Meyer boasted a 9/17 mark at the X while facing off against Tyler Spano and Aidan Diaz-Matos. Now, Meyer gets a rematch against Brady Wambach, who was 23/33 in the first matchup against the Hoos. Look for Meyer to look to tie Wambach up and get his wings of Robby Hopper, Joey Terenzi, Aidan Murnane, or Hudson Hausmann involved to make this a 3v3 scrum. Wambach has had stretches this season where North Carolina is playing make-it-take-it offense; preventing this will be essential on Sunday.

Opening faceoff is set for Sunday at noon on ACC Network.

Add us as a preferred source on Google