Most teams don’t enter survive-and-advance mode until the NCAA tournament. For Virginia, the shift is occurring a week before the ACC tournament.
After last week’s 11-9 loss at North Carolina, the 16th-ranked Cavaliers (3-6, 0-2 ACC) must win out to secure the .500-or-better record needed to be considered for an at-large NCAA berth — just the latest shock for a program less than 11 months removed from a national title.
“Part of the issue is that we’re regarded as a quality win [regardless of record],” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “We’re still the team that gets off the bus with defending national champs pasted on our forehead. We’ve gotten everybody’s A-game. We’re just not good enough unless we have our best stuff.”
To become tournament eligible, Virginia must beat equally desperate Duke (4-5, 0-2) tomorrow at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville, win next week’s ACC tournament and defeat Penn State in its regular-season finale on May8.
Without a four-game winning streak, though, the Cavaliers would become the first defending champ to miss the postseason since Cornell in 1972.
“People ask, ’Do you know if your backs are against the wall?’ Yeah, we know it,” Starsia said. “I haven’t said a word to our players. They know it. They don’t need to be told.”
Mids aim for crown
Navy zoomed to No.3 in the Inside Lacrosse rankings after its 9-6 victory at then-No.1 Maryland on Saturday and has a date with new No.1 Johns Hopkins looming April24.
For now, though, the Midshipmen (8-1, 5-0 Patriot) must contend with Lehigh (3-8, 1-3) this afternoon and Holy Cross (3-7, 0-5) on Sunday.
“I’m concerned about some of the academic stuff at the academy, and obviously it’s natural emotionally to have a little bit of a letdown,” Navy coach Richie Meade said. “By the time we play on Friday and Sunday, we’ll be prepared. One of the advantages of not having a big ego is not getting too high or too low. We’ll be OK.”
Those who watched the uptempo Mids frustrate Georgetown and Maryland the last two weeks have little doubt they’ll be ready for two of the Patriot’s weaker teams. With an outright league title and the opportunity to play host to the league tournament April30 and May2 at stake, Navy has plenty to play for this weekend.
“We haven’t clinched the Patriot League tournament site, and that’s a goal. To be undefeated in the league was a goal,” Meade said. “Both of those things are within our grasp. I would hope everyone recognizes that.”
Hopeful ’Hounds
When No.7 Georgetown visits Loyola tomorrow afternoon, the Hoyas will encounter a young, hungry team that might be the most inconsistent squad in the country.
One week, the Greyhounds (3-4) are thumping Notre Dame or Towson. The next, they’re getting blown out by Brown or Duke or squeaking past woeful Quinnipiac. Such is life for a team with eight freshmen in key midfield roles, including five on the first two midfield lines.
“I think it’s more mental than physical,” coach Bill Dirrigl said. “Physically, they’re there. They’re very athletic, they’re tough, they care. Mentally, practicing every day and playing a top-two or -three schedule, that’s what’s been difficult.”
Despite the struggles, the Greyhounds have impressive victories over Notre Dame and Towson — hardly top-five victories but still noteworthy — and could bolster their postseason resume by upsetting the Hoyas (6-2).
“We have a lot better wins than a lot of people in the top 10,” Dirrigl said. “Those people, I don’t know who votes, but right now, for our team, it’s just about getting better. It’s not really a cliche. We just want to get better.”
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