Ahead of his senior season, the easiest word to describe Ryan Conrad is “urgent.”

He’s eager for what 2019 could bring about for Virginia, to be a second-year captain, to work towards his degree in the McIntire School of Commerce and — maybe, just maybe — extend his college lacrosse career.

Conrad, seven months removed from tearing his meniscus, ACL and MCL in a March game against Syracuse, had a redshirt appeal denied by the Atlantic Coast Conference. The threshold for an extra year of athletic eligibility is playing in 30 percent or less of a team’s season, and that Syracuse game pushed Conrad 11 minutes over the mark.

Conrad plans to appeal to the NCAA, but knows the numbers game is hard to argue against.

“I don’t think 11 minutes should determine my fate, but that’s out of my control,” Conrad said.

As for Lars Tiffany, the Cavaliers’ head coach, he wants to put the ifs and buts to rest. The rules are clear, Tiffany stressed, even if it means Conrad only plays three years and change.

“It’s probably not going to happen, so we need to not hold our bated breath and focus on him having a fantastic year of college lacrosse,” Tiffany said. “With all of his preparation and recovery, we hope he’s going to go out with a bang.”

Those crossroads reflect a potentially special spring for Virginia.

It’ll get a sizable boost from the return of Conrad, a two-way middie who took home All-American honors in 2017. The offense should also be powerful, with Kraus, Dox Aitken, Ian Laviano, Matt Moore and Mikey Herring back, featuring their combined 244 points from 2018 (66 percent of Virginia’s offense). Leading faceoff specialist Justin Schwenk also returns.

A highly anticipated freshmen class is also expected, featuring the likes of middies Jeffrey Conner and Jack Simmons, attackmen Xander Dickson and Payton Cormier, defensemen Cade Saustad and Hall Peters and goalie Patrick Burkinshaw.

Add in Conrad, and things are starting to look up ahead of the former Brown coach’s third year in charge, up-tempo style and all.

“He’s a young man who effuses more energy than anyone I’ve ever been in the presence of, whether it’s the look in his eye or the relentless knee tapping,” Tiffany said of Conrad. “He gets more out of 24 hours than most other people on this planet.”

In recent weeks, some of those hours have been devoted to “The Boys in the Boat,” a 2013 book by Daniel James Brown. It was required summer reading for the Cavaliers lacrosse team, as part of a “cultural Thursdays” movement filled with team-building discussions and debates. Tiffany even issued a pop quiz when the team returned to campus this fall.

The link to Conrad? The central character from “The Boys in the Boat,” Joe Rantz, overcomes grave personal hardship to make Washington’s rowing team, which ultimately served as the U.S. gold-medal winning eights boat at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Conrad finds himself trying to channel Rantz and seize what looks to be his last chance in a Cavalier uniform.

“For the freshman, yes, you have three more years after this, but you’re not ever going to play with this specific group ever again,” Conrad said. “This is our last chance. We’ll give everything we have.”

Tiffany, leaning on his three captains to craft UVA’s team culture this fall, isn’t surprised to hear Conrad referencing “The Boys in the Boat,” of all things.

“That mantra from Joe Rantz is shaping our thought process as a team,” Tiffany said. “If we attack this day, this semester, this season like we only have one shot, how does that shape our behaviors?”

Conrad and company are coming off their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2015, ending a dry spell for one of the country’s more storied programs. Virginia boasts five national titles, including three since 2003, but has gone through ebbs and flows in transitioning from the era of Dom Starsia to Tiffany.

Conrad said Virginia has “gotten away” from its rich history in recent years, but feels the 2019 squad could reinstate those late-May playoff games. The main reason? The trifecta of leadership, team culture and talent.

“Even if I get another chance, I’m going to give everything I have this spring,” Conrad said. “With the likelihood this is my last year, I have that urgency.”

However many games remain in Conrad’s college lacrosse career, Tiffany is cherishing every last one.

“I’m really fortunate to have a guy like Ryan Conrad leading this group of men,” Tiffany said.

Fall Focus
Atlantic Coast Conference

The ACC boasted the national runner-up in Duke, a team that finsihed second in the conference. There's no void in talent with this group, but names like Justin Guterding, Chris Cloutier and John Sexton are gone. A new crop of faces will soon rise in the ACC, a conference that, outside of Duke, did not have a good showing in May. 

Syracuse
4-0 ACC, 8-7 Overall

The Orange, despite barely finishing above .500, won the ACC regular season title last year. Those ups and downs translated to a first-round loss to Virginia in the conference tournament, then an early loss to Cornell in the NCAA Tournament — both by one goal. However, there’s little reason for coach John Desko to fret. All-Americans return in defenseman Nick Mellen and middie Jamie Trimboli, while all-conference players attackman Nate Solomon and defenseman Brett Kennedy are also back. Another key returner is leading scorer, Stephen Rehfuss, with 48 points. Anything but another NCAA tournament trip will be a disappointment for Syracuse, owners of 15 national championships in program history.

Duke
3-1 ACC, 16-4 Overall

Oh, what could have been in 2018. The Blue Devils got hot in the NCAA tournament, but fell to Yale in the national championship game and were denied their fourth title since 2010. Their biggest loss is undoubtedly All-American attack Justin Guterding, who holds the NCAA record for goals (212). Duke will also need a new goalie, with All-ACC member Danny Fowler concluding his final year of eligibility. It’s certainly not an overhaul for Duke, though, with All-Americans back like midfielder Brad Smith and defensemen Cade Van Raaphorst and JT Giles-Harris. Find some new offensive firepower and gel early, then Duke could go far.

Notre Dame
1-3 ACC, 9-6 Overall

Last year, the Fighting Irish saw six players named as USILA/Nike All-Americans, most notably long-stick middie John Sexton, also the recipient of the William C. Schmeisser Award as the nation's top defensive player. Beyond Sexton, midfielder Bryan Costabile, attackman Ryder Garnsey, midfielder Brendan Gleason, midfielder Drew Schantz and defenseman Hugh Crance are all back. That core serves as a strong foundation for Notre Dame, fresh off its second ACC tournament title by blowing out Virginia, 17-7. However, the program fell in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 9-7, to Denver. This spring, can Notre Dame make it 14 straight trips to the big dance?

North Carolina
1-3 ACC, 7-7 Overall

The 2016 national champions, UNC settled for its second straight season of eight wins or less, missing out on the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007. With that decade-plus streak snapped, the Tar Heels’ first order of business will be replacing attackman Chris Cloutier, the 2018 MLL Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-American at UNC. The good news is coach Joe Breschi’s team returns seven of its top eight scorers from 2018, plus All-American defenseman Jack Rowlett. To return to their usual place in college lacrosse, the Tar Heels will need to discover some consistency. They won their first six games of 2018, then lost seven in a row.