Baltimore could host ACCs

The ACC lacrosse tournament has been compared to the NCAA final four because of its weekend format and ferocious play. Next year it appears it will also have a final-four venue.

The ACC and M&T Bank Stadium management are close to an agreement to bring the conference’s lacrosse tournament to Baltimore in 2005 and 2006, only the second and third times the event has left a campus site.

“We feel good about it. … I wouldn’t want to commit that we had an agreement, but we are nearing an agreement,” ACC Director of Championships Davis Whitfield said yesterday.

In recent years, the site has mostly rotated among the four conference schools with varsity lacrosse programs, though the 2001 tournament was played in Orlando, Fla. Next year is Maryland’s turn to play host, but it appears the event will be at the home of the 2003 and 2004 NCAA final fours instead of Byrd Stadium.

The tournament will also be pushed back a week next year, giving Duke and Virginia two weeks between a possible rematch and Maryland some extra time to recover from its draining game against Johns Hopkins. The conference schedules the event so it does not interfere with players’ final exams.

No-win scenario?

This year’s ACC tournament, which begins today in Chapel Hill, N.C., could be the last stand for two of its participants.

Third-seeded Virginia (4-6), which plays second-seeded North Carolina (7-3), must win the tournament to remain in contention for an NCAA bid. Fourth-seeded Duke (4-6) needs to at least defeat top-seeded Maryland (8-2) to keep its postseason hopes alive. However, the Blue Devils haven’t defeated anyone in this week’s top 20 and might have to win out to gain the selection committee’s attention.

“I can’t see how a conference tournament is beneficial to the conference when one team is eliminated from the NCAAs,” Maryland coach Dave Cottle said. “By playing again, we’ve eliminated ourselves. We’re guaranteed one team will be eliminated from the tournament with Virginia and Duke. Someone’s guaranteed to get a loss. Two teams can’t win the tournament.”

History, though, suggests this season might be an anomaly. Besides Duke and Virginia, only four other teams in the tournament’s 16-year history have entered the weekend with a losing record and three came from North Carolina’s late-1990s slide.

The tournament also has served as a springboard for teams. In 2002, Duke entered with a 5-5 record and left with two impressive victories that it parlayed into an NCAA bid. Three years earlier, Virginia won the tournament to begin a winning streak that ended with a national title.

“I don’t think it has hurt anyone except for a few spots in the rankings, and it clearly has helped some teams,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “Overall, the conference likes it. It draws pretty well among the conference schools. There’s enough reasons it should happen.”

Passavia again All-ACC

Maryland senior defenseman Chris Passavia was named to the All-ACC team for the third straight year. Passavia has caused 33 turnovers for the Terps, who spent two weeks atop the polls earlier this month.

Teammates Joe Walters (attack) and Lee Zink (defense) joined him on the team.

Virginia senior goalie Tillman Johnson was also selected for the third consecutive season. Senior defenseman Brett Hughes and sophomore attackman Matt Ward also earned all-conference nods for the Cavaliers.

Junior attackman Jed Prossner, senior defenseman Ronnie Staines and junior midfielder Bryant Will made the team for North Carolina, while Duke was represented by midfielders Peter Lamade and Matt Zash.

Miaritis emerges

It’s tough to pick out many stars in No.7 Georgetown’s offense, but midfielder Nick Miaritis quietly has become one of the most valuable weapons for the Hoyas (7-2, 1-0 ECAC), who welcome Massachusetts (6-5, 1-0) to Harbin Field tomorrow.

Miaritis has scored in six straight games, including his first career hat trick in Saturday’s 14-10 defeat of Loyola, and has 11 goals this season.

“Sometimes, we kind of had to encourage him to shoot more,” Georgetown coach Dave Urick said. “Some guys will shoot the ball coming out of the locker room. I think that from playing attack, he wanted to get in tighter. He was looking for that layup, and he needs to have more confidence in punching it from outside. He’s capable of doing that and in the last two games he’s made some well-placed shots.”