“I really think it’s going to be an All-ACC Final Four,” said 5wins CEO Alanna Goldman in an early season editorial meeting. Our usual planning of coverage had devolved into the idle sports chatter, but the thought was striking.

Obviously, the ACC was strong, with seven teams in the top 25 at Week 11, none ranked lower than #13. But the best attack in the country was in the SEC at Arkansas, as was Mississippi State’s top defense one state over. New additions to the Big Ten, UCLA, and USC, looked like additional tournament title contenders.

When teams began dancing in November, over one-fourth of the field, nine teams, hailed from the ACC. That held with trends from the year, where ACC teams held just over a quarter of the top 25 spots on average.

All nine ACC teams also won their first-round matchup before three teams fell off before the round of 16. California and Virginia fell first, two teams that had finished the season outside that top 25. However, Florida State was upset by eighth-seed Vanderbilt after a season mired by inconsistency.

The six remaining teams all reached the quarterfinals before conference had to face conference, knocking out Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.

Now, four big dogs remain: Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, and Stanford. In keeping with the theme of this season, every single team thinks they can win.

Duke has a lethal, balanced attack, with all five attacking players having contributed double-digit goals and assists en route to the most goals by a Duke soccer team in a single season. The Blue Devils will want to put the cherry on top of storied Head Coach Robbie Church’s final year in Durham. They’ve also spent the longest time at #1 of any team and are as close to a favorite as any of these teams can be.

Stanford also spent multiple weeks at number one before finally losing in week six. Stanford has an extremely strong defense, led by Elise Evans, and plays a controlled, possessive style. This approach can temper up-tempo, creative teams like Arkansas. If Stanford can dictate the game, they always have a strong chance to advance.

Wake Forest never spent time at number one, instead climbing steadily from number 13 to five, then four, then three, then two for a few weeks in a row. This team is the right combination of consistent and ascending, and has handed Stanford one of their two losses on the year. A team that spreads their attack super evenly, Stanford’s defense must be better prepared if they hope to cope with the Demon Deacons.

UNC is led by junior Kate Faase, who headed (or shouldered) the Tar Heels past Penn State in the previous round. Faase has an NCAA-leading 19 goals on the season, as well as three assists. UNC’s other creators have a handful of assists each, and one will need to step up and support Faase against a strong Duke team. During the season, Duke won both battles, but UNC bested the Blue Devils in the conference tournament. Was it a flash in the pan, or can UNC rise again?