Virginia secured its 20th Atlantic Coast Conference men’s lacrosse championship with a decisive 16-6 victory over North Carolina on May 3 at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte. The Cavaliers, seeded fourth, scored 12 unanswered goals in the first half and limited the second-seeded Tar Heels to just six goals overall.
The result marks Virginia’s eighth ACC Tournament title and its first since 2019. Goaltender Jake Marek was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after making a season-high 16 saves in the final. Marek also had 12 saves during Virginia’s semifinal win over Notre Dame and earned his second consecutive conference tournament MVP honor, having previously won as an Air Force senior at the ASUN Tournament in 2025.
Other Cavaliers named to the all-tournament team included attackmen Brendan Millon, McCabe Millon, Truitt Sunderland; midfielder Joey Terenzi; and defenseman John Schroter. Virginia’s faceoff unit won more than half of the game’s draws against North Carolina’s Brady Wambach, who entered with one of Division I’s top faceoff percentages.
After falling behind by two early goals, Virginia responded with a dominant run that kept North Carolina scoreless for nearly thirty minutes. Six different Cavaliers scored during this stretch. In total, ten of Virginia’s sixteen goals were assisted as they continued their trend as national leaders in assists per game.
With this win, Virginia improved its all-time record against North Carolina to 60-34 and achieved its seventh ten-win season under head coach Lars Tiffany. The team now awaits its postseason placement during the NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Selection Show scheduled for Sunday night on ESPNU.
Reflecting on their performance this season and recent years, Virginia has recorded four straight games scoring at least fifteen goals and remains undefeated when recording more assists than opponents.
