Lower Merion's Wolf leads Duke in ACC lacrosse

When Jordan Wolf was earning all-American honors as a senior at Lower Merion High School, the Duke senior attack thought good things were in store for him.

But this good?

"I've always had high expectations," said Wolf, a candidate for national player of the year.

This weekend Wolf will attempt to lead defending national champion Duke to the ACC men's lacrosse championship at PPL Park. The Blue Devils (12-2) will face Syracuse (9-3) in one semifinal; and regular-season champion Maryland (10-2) will play Notre Dame (6-5) in the other. The championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m.

Duke's success has blossomed with Wolf's ascension to an elite player. He ranks fifth in ACC history in career points with 166 goals and 102 assists. This season he leads the ACC in goals (46) and points (67). He has scored goals in 55 straight games.

For Wolf, returning to Philadelphia with a chance to win the ACC championship holds significance but pales in comparison to returning home in 2013, when Jordan scored four goals and helped lead the Blue Devils past Syracuse to capture the 2013 NCAA Division I men's national championship. The game was played at Lincoln Financial Field.

"It was awesome to come home and win the national championship, something that you can't put into words," Wolf said. "When I decided to go to Duke, winning a national championship was my goal, so it was great getting one. It's such a great feeling."

Duke won its first national championship in 2010, so another title this spring would give the Blue Devils their third in five seasons. But Wolf said that is looking too far into the future.

"We beat [Syracuse] earlier in the season," Wolf said of a 21-7 victory at Duke. "That was the best our offense has performed this season. But the flip side of that is we know they are going to want revenge. We have to be ready for their intensity and match it."

@JmitchInquirer