The Virginia Cavaliers’ men’s lacrosse team won its first ACC Championship in seven years on Sunday, dismantling the North Carolina Tar Heels 16-6 in Charlotte. It’s the program’s eighth ACC Tournament title and head coach Lars Tiffany’s seconds. The ‘Hoos had an explosive weekend, taking down No. 1 Notre Dame, 15-10, on Friday night before getting revenge for an overtime loss to the No. 5 Tar Heels back in April.
Goalie Jake Marek was the ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player. The Air Force transfer
made 28 saves in two games, stopping 65.1% over the weekend. He was especially good against North Carolina, shutting the door early and often while making 16 stops.
McCabe Millon was the headliner for a Virginia offense that is playing like one of the best in the country. He scored 10 points in the tournament including a six-point performance in the championship.
Freshman faceoff specialist won 54.5% of the draws he took in the tournament which is especially impressive given the competition. North Carolina’s Brady Wambach (third nationally in faceoff win percentage) is widely regarded as the best faceoff man in the country. Notre Dame’s Tyler Spano – a Charlottesville native – and the Fighting Irish wing unit is up there, as well.
Everything is clicking for the Cavaliers entering the NCAA Tournament. Tiffany’s squad has won seven of its last nine games after starting the season 3-4. Virginia is the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host the Georgetown Hoyas in the first round on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. ET. The ‘Hoos and Hoyas have recent NCAA Tournament history, playing in the quarterfinals in 2021 and 2023. Virginia won both games behind Connor Shellenberger’s brilliance.
Now on the sideline as an assistant coach, Shellenberger will be hoping to help facilitate similar success for Millon and the rest of Virginia’s offense against Georgetown. The Hoyas have won eight-consecutive Big East Tournaments and are paced by a pair of brothers, Liam and Rory Connor, on attack. The Connors transferred from Colgate in the offseason and are both top-20 nationally in points per game.
If UVA takes care of business on Sunday night, the team will head to Delaware for the quarterfinals where they’d play the winner of No. 4 Richmond versus Duke. Either matchup would be a rematch from a matchup earlier this season. The Spiders blitzed the Cavaliers, 18-12, on Valentine’s Day. Virginia ended its 8,022-day regular-season losing streak to the Blue Devils in April.
Should the ‘Hoos make their fifth Championship Weekend in seven NCAA Tournaments, they’ll play their semifinal in Scott Stadium as the final four comes to Charlottesville over Memorial Day Weekend. Princeton – the Ivy League champion – is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and would be UVA’s most likely matchup in the semifinal.
All five ACC teams made the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame (No. 2) North Carolina (No. 3 seed), and Syracuse (No. 6) join as top-eight seeds while Duke was un-seeded and will play at Richmond in the first round as a result.
Virginia’s first-round matchup against Georgetown will be broadcast on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
