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What an awesome game lacrosse fans were treated to on Saturday. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish took down the North Carolina Tar Heels in this season's second no. 1 vs. no. 2 matchup, and for the second time this year the Irish beat the no. 2 team in the nation at home. The 15-14 win gave Notre Dame the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament. North Carolina, meanwhile, will be the no. 2 seed.
This means that Syracuse will play the Tar Heels in the no. 2 vs. no. 3 matchup in the ACCT at 7 p.m. ET. The Duke Blue Devils will play Notre Dame in the no. 1 vs. no. 4 game at 5:30 p.m. ET. These opening round games will take place this Friday (April 24) at PPL Park in Chester, PA, while the championship game will be held on Sunday (April 26).
As a consolation prize, the Virginia Cavaliers will play Penn in the ACC-Penn Classic game on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Obviously the word "Classic" is used liberally in this case. There is really no way that the Hoos will miss the tournament, but a loss to Penn could hurt UVA's seeding. Penn, on the other hand, is not expected to make the NCAAs.
With the win over UNC, Notre Dame is almost guaranteed the top seed in the NCAA Tournament. That two-seed is still open, and it is possible for the Syracuse Orange to pick up the spot, but will need a first round, and maybe even an ACC Championship title, to do it
The Orange will take on UNC on Friday at 8 p.m. ET at PPL Park. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM. Of course you can also follow me @Orangelax for updates throughout the game.