 | | | Acalanes Collin Jeffries and Miramonte Josh Radlow Photo Gint Federas | | | | | | Asked about the possibility of the considerable outside hype becoming a distraction for the Acalanes lacrosse team, head coach Brent Ringwood had to let out a laugh.
"Honestly, I don't think they even know about those rankings," Ringwood said of his club, pegged as the No. 20 team in the state and the No. 71 team in the nation, per MaxPreps.
"They're used to being pretty well regarded. We haven't had a down season in a really long time," Ringwood added. "And we always talk about the history of the (program) and they put in the work."
As Acalanes carves through the schedule with an unblemished 8-0 record in league, the Dons have suffered just one defeat overall, falling 12-4 on Redwood of Larkspur back on March 18.
"We weren't really sure how the team was going to be this year," Ringwood admitted. "We knew we had a lot of talent, but we didn't quite know how they fit together and at the beginning of the season we were kind of getting by the skin of our teeth, but lately we've found a groove."
Perched atop the Diablo Athletic League standings, the Dons (10-1), have benefitted from a roster stacked with skilled athletes.
"We've got some talented players," Ringwood said. "But we're spread pretty evenly across offense and defense."
With six DAL contests remaining on the docket, the Dons are on the path to scratching the first bullet point off their annual to-do list.
"We have the same goals pretty much every year," Ringwood said. "We ask the kids for team goals at the beginning of each season. We have them submit them and write them all down. They always consist of two goals. They want to win league. They want to compete for an NCS championship."
Last spring, Acalanes advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCS Division 2 bracket before watching their season come to an end. While the focus remains on the league schedule and the task at hand, the Dons already have designs of producing yet another deep postseason march.
"I think Division 2 teams will tell you that we're going to be there or we're going to be close at the end," Ringwood said. "We just want our shot."
Campolindo is one of the teams that is angling to take down the Dons. The Cougars face off against Acalanes on the road on May 2 in the penultimate game of the DAL season.
Campolindo was on the wrong end of the score line in the first meeting, falling 9-7 to Acalanes on March 24. The loss stands as one of just two defeats for the Cougars, who sport an 8-2 mark overall and a 7-1 record in the DAL.
After dropping the season opener 13-5 to Monte Vista back on Feb. 21, Campolindo has found its form, running off eight wins in a stretch of nine matches.
Miramonte sits in a tie for fourth in the DAL table after edging Northgate, 9-8, on the road on March 30. The win stemmed the team's two-game slide, and leaves the Mats at 5-6 overall and 4-4 in league play.
While head coach Byron McGovern's team dropped back-to-back contests to their local rivals during the week of March 14, the Mats still have one more crack at the Dons and Cougars, respectively. The Mats visit Moraga on April 21 for DAL showdown with their neighbors and travel to Lafayette on April 25 to meet up with Acalanes.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA