Duke Set for ACC Championship Semifinal Friday Night

ACC Championship Details

The ACC Championship kicks off with No. 1 seed Syracuse against No. 4 Notre Dame, May 2 at 5 p.m., at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Duke and North Carolina square off at 8 p.m. The title game is at noon May 4. All three games will be televised on ACC Network.
Tickets are $20 for single day tickets and ticket books are $50. ACC Championship final game tickets are $15. Bring a group of 10 or more to take advantage of preferred group pricing and special Group Experiences. Anyone 5 years-and-older requires a ticket for entry.

The Opening Faceoff

Duke moved to 11-4 following a 10-9 overtime win over Virginia. Patrick Jameison was unbelievable in the net for Duke, matching his career-high 14 saves, including two stellar stops in overtime and four in the fourth quarter. Benn Johnston scored the overtime winner while Andrew McAdorey led Duke in points with a goal and three assists.
North Carolina heads into postseason play 10-3 overall and a No. 5 RPI. The Tar Heels are led by the stellar attack duo of Owen Duffy (54 points) and Dominic Pietramala (46 points) while Brady Wambach is dominant at the faceoff dot with a 64.8 win percentage. In goal, Michael Gianforcaro sports an 8.93 goals against average and a .522 save percentage. This is North Carolina's first appearance in the four-team tournament since 2017.
Duke and North Carolina meet for the 83rd time with the Tar Heels leading 45-37. This will be the 14th matchup between the ACC rivals in ACC Championship action with Duke leading 8-5. Since 2007, Duke is 4-1 against North Carolina with all four wins leading to an ACC title.

By the Numbers
173 - Career points for senior captain Andrew McAdorey (104g, 69a) - 26th in Duke history
7 - Duke's most recent RPI rating. Duke has played or will play current RPI Nos. 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 28 and 31 with five top-15 wins
1.73 - Caused turnovers per game average for Charlie Johnson, leading the ACC overall
50 - Combined caused turnovers for Maguire and Johnson this season, ranking tied for fifth for a defensive duo in Duke history
23-24 - Duke's all-time record in ACC Championship play
3-0 - Record in overtime games in 2025, beating Michigan, Richmond and Virginia
58 - Points for graduate student Eric Malever this season - eight more than his previous career best of 48 at Maryland in 2022
9 - Opponents Duke has held to single digits this season, including each of the past four
13.46 - Goals per game average for North Carolina in 2025
8 - Goals scored by UNC in the regular season matchup with the Blue Devils - the second fewest all season by the Tar Heels
9.60 – Goals allowed per game by the Blue Devils, ranking 17th nationally

Series History

Duke and North Carolina are meeting for the 83rd time since the first meeting in 1952. The Tar Heels hold a 45-37 edge in the series and a 40-26 lead in regular season matchups. Duke is 3-2 in the past five meetings with both teams having five wins in the past 10. The Blue Devils are 8-5 against North Carolina in the ACC Championship with the last loss coming in Chapel Hill in 2013 - 18-17.
This will be the 28th meeting with both teams ranked in the top 10 and the 66th matchup with the rivals as top-20 foes. Duke is9-14 as the lower ranked team.
The regular season meeting between the two teams was the lowest scoring game - 8-7 final score - since an 8-7 Duke victory in 1997.

A Win Over North Carolina Would...

Be head coach John Danowski's 484th career win
Be Danowski's 265th win at Duke
Put Duke at 24-24 all-time in ACC Championship action
Make Duke 17-15 in ACC semifinals and 9-5 all-time against UNC
Be Duke's second top-10 victory this season

Defense to Offense

Duke's defensive unit not only is holding teams to just over nine goals per game, it is generating offense with 15 goals and 10 assists coming from defensive poles or shortsticks this season.
Mac Christmas has seven goals already this year, tying CJ Costabile for the most for a pole in a season. He also became the first Duke pole to record multiple goals in a game since Costabile did so in the NCAA quarterfinal win over North Carolina in 2010.
Last season, the Blue Devils had 14 goals and seven assists from defensive players in 19 games, including an assist from goaltender Patrick Jameison.

Johnson's Breakout Season

Junior close defenseman Charlie Johnson is having a breakout season. After redshirting in 2023, Johnson played in five games in 2024, picking up two ground balls and forcing a turnover.
Johnson spent the past two seasons on the "scout" team and guarded 2023 Tewaaraton Award winner Brennan O'Neill.
Now, Johnson is Duke's top close defenseman, matching up against the opponent's top scorer. The Riverside, Conn., native leads the ACC with 26 caused turnovers, which also ranks tied for fifth in Duke single-season history.
Johnson, a dual sport athlete as a football and lacrosse player at Brunswick, comes from an athletic family. His mother Katie [Thurlow] was a three-time All-American lacrosse player and three-time All-Ivy pick in field hockey at Princeton. His grandfather, Steve Thurlow, was a running back for the New York Giants. Johnson's sister, Ellie, is a sophomore for the Stanford women's lacrosse team.

Henry Bard - The Robin to Charlie Johnson's Batman

Charlie Johnson and Henry Bard are developing into an outstanding defensive duo for Duke. Johnson draws the opponents' top scorers while Bard regularly gets the No. 2 guy. Bard has started the past five games on close defense after beginning the campaign at LSM.
In Duke's four recent games, the Blue Devils have given up seven, eight, seven and nine goals, holding opponents to just a 22-percent shooting average with each team scoring under their season average.
Against North Carolina, Bard and company held UNC to just eight goals - 6.70 below its season average - and Syracuse to seven goals - 7.67 below its season average. Versus UNC, Bard held Dominic Pietramala to just two goals - just the third time this season with two or fewer goals. One week later, Bard kept Syracuse's Owen Hiltz to one goal - just the second time this season he has not had multiple scores.

Up Next

The winner of Friday's game advances to the title game to take on the winner between Notre Dame and Syracuse. The NCAA Tournament selection show is May 4 at 9:30 p.m., on ESPNU.

To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's lacrosse, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMLAX".
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Duke Set for ACC Championship Semifinal Friday Night

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Players Mentioned

Henry Bard

Mac Christmas

Patrick Jameison

Charlie Johnson

Benn Johnston

Eric Malever

Andrew McAdorey

Brennan O'Neill

Duke information

Duke Set for ACC Championship Semifinal Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Henry Bard

Mac Christmas

Patrick Jameison

Charlie Johnson

Benn Johnston

Eric Malever

Andrew McAdorey

Brennan O'Neill

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Duke information