The UNC men’s lacrosse team is ranked No. 19 in the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll, which was released on Monday.

The Tar Heels are one of four ACC teams to be ranked in the top 20, along with No. 1 Virginia, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 8 Duke. Syracuse also received votes but was not ranked. UNC will play seven regular-season games against teams ranked in the poll, including a home game with Virginia on April 7. For a full look at the rankings, click here.

Carolina is looking to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing the field last season. The Tar Heels reached the semifinals in 2021 as the No. 1 overall seed, but lost in the semifinals. They last won the national championship in 2016, the fifth in program history. The team lost leading scorer Chris Gray after last season, but still retain defensive midfielder Connor Maher, who was named a preseason second-team All-American by USA Lacrosse Magazine.

Carolina will open the regular season on Friday, February 10 at 5 p.m. against Mercer in Chapel Hill. ACC play begins February 25 at Syracuse.

 

Featured image via UNC Men’s Lacrosse on Twitter

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