College lacrosse is back. As perhaps the most anticipated season in NCAA history approaches, we’re featuring every team ranked in the Nike/US Lacrosse Preseason Top 20.

Check back to USLaxMagazine.com each weekday for new previews, scouting reports and rival analysis.

Virginia Tech coach John Sung is candid when addressing his team’s standing in the always loaded ACC. But he feels the tides are turning.

“I always felt I was playing catch-up to the rest of our conference,” Sung said. “We’re about to turn that corner.”

At a time when some teams are beginning their 2021 spring seasons without much of a fall to speak of, Sung is excited about the work his group was allowed to put in. The Hokies ran four intersquad scrimmages and had officials. They could practice, condition and prepare. And the COVID-19 shutdown may have actually set Virginia Tech up for success.

In the season’s last game, a 13-11 loss to Brown, Paige Petty tore her ACL. Now, she’s healthy and ready to go. And Angie Benson, the goalie who return to college lacrosse after a long hiatus, is back with another year of eligibility.

But it’s the players Sung has brought in since the shutdown that gives him so much hope. Kennedy Lynch, a Team Canada midfielder, transferred in from Maryland, where she was stuck under other players on the depth chart. Freshman Sophie Student, a recruit Sung is particularly excited about, is expected to see a ton of time in the midfield, too.

There wasn’t much depth in the midfield. With three solid players and one developing prospect in 2020, Sung relied on those middies quite a bit. Now, his midfield line is potentially six or seven players deep. And because of Virginia Tech’s style of play, that depth is invaluable.

“Our team is the best when we can play unsettled,” Sung said. “If we can play unsettled against them, when we’re just running up and down the field, that’s when we have the strength.

“The midfielders, they get put in a really good position. It’s partly positioning, partly systematic and partly their talent. We try to recruit really gritty midfielders who can get up and down the field.”

With chaos comes training — a lot of it — and Sung said his players embrace the work that goes into preparing for playing a hectic style. With Benson, who doesn’t shy away from posting intense workout videos on her social media channels, the Hokies have a shining example to follow. And they’ve bought in.

“They put the work in. It’s a mantra of what we do,” Sung said. “You’ve got to be fit, and it’s a non-negotiable for us. Our conference is so fast, and you need to be able to keep up.”

Yes, Virginia Tech is perhaps overmatched on paper against the beasts of the ACC. North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Duke, Boston College and Virginia are all ranked higher than the Hokies in the Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20.

None of that bothers Sung, who enters 2021 just seven wins away from becoming the program’s all-time leader. He took over the program in 2017 and feels as if he finally has the players in place to enact the vision and culture he always sought for the Hokies.

“I love being the underdog,” he said. “You don’t have to respect us. That’s fine, and our kids don’t need it either. They want to prove themselves.”

TOP RETURNERS

Angie Benson, G, Grad.

Benson made her triumphant return to college lacrosse after a brief hiatus to save 53.5 percent of shots and allow just 7.38 goals per game.

Kayla Frank, M, Soph.

One of the top freshmen in the nation, Frank led the Hokies in points (45) and assists (22). She also had 15 ground balls and 10 caused turnovers.

Paige Petty, M, Sr.

The dynamic middie was third in the nation with 38 goals in 2020, and her 52 draw controls were a team high.

KEY ADDITIONS

Kennedy Lynch, M/D, Jr.

Lynch appeared in two games when Maryland won the 2019 national title, but she transferred to a Hokies team with high hopes for her talent.

Caroline Allen, A/M, Grad.

The first-team All-Ivy choice transfers to Virginia Tech from Cornell, and Sung is excited to work her into the mix.

NUMBERS GAME

20+

Virginia Tech featured the only midfield in the nation with three 20-plus goal scorers (Paige Petty, 38; Kayla Frank, 23; Emma Crooks, 23). While the attack also posted strong numbers, much of the Hokies’ offense comes from the middies.

ENEMY LINES

What rival coaches say about the Hokies:

“They were interesting last year with a slower start and the younger defense. Then they went back to that crazy zone defense with the flier who applies pressure up at the top. They went back to their roots. I don’t think you can sleep on Tech. They’re a top-20 team, hands down. They find a way. They’re very physical. If you talk about a team who does the whole 'prove everybody wrong' thing in our conference, Virginia Tech is kinda that.”

“Virginia Tech is just a tough, hard-nosed team that likes to compete. I like having them early in the schedule so that they’re not polished yet. As the season goes on, they get grittier and grittier and tougher and tougher. I think that’s why they do well in the ACC.”