If you think the Division III lacrosse world doesn’t have parity, you better think again.
Gettysburg, Denison and Ohio Wesleyan all lost big – with the latter creating an ominous outlook for North Coast Athletic Conference club that now faces an uphill battle.
Elsewhere, top-10 teams York and Cabrini move up the table some, all while Salisbury and RIT continue to win big. The broader picture should be complicated soon, too. Most NESCAC programs, including defending national champion Wesleyan, get underway this coming Saturday.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division III Men’s
Top 20
Feb. 25, 2019 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wesleyan | 0-0 | 1 | 3/2 vs. Williams |
| 2 | Salisbury | 4-0 | 2 | 3/3 vs. Ohio Wesleyan |
| 3 | Amherst | 0-0 | 3 | 3/2 at Colby |
| 4 | Tufts | 0-0 | 4 | 3/2 at Hamilton |
| 5 | RIT | 2-0 | 5 | 3/5 vs. Springfield |
| 6 | York | 3-0 | 7 | 3/2 vs. No. 16 Lynchburg |
| 7 | Cabrini | 2-0 | 8 | 2/26 at Hampden-Sydney |
| 8 | Gettysburg | 2-1 | 6 | 3/2 vs. No. 19 Stevenson |
| 9 | Dickinson | 2-0 | 10 | 2/27 vs. Elizabethtown |
| 10 | Christopher Newport | 2-1 | 12 | 2/27 vs. No. 14 Roanoke |
| 11 | Denison | 1-1 | 9 | 3/2 at No. 14 Roanoke |
| 12 | Washington and Lee | 2-2 | 13 | 3/2 vs. Franklin & Marshall |
| 13 | Stevens | 2-0 | 14 | 3/2 at Springfield |
| 14 | Roanoke | 1-0 | 15 | 2/27 at No. 10 Christopher Newport |
| 15 | Ithaca | 0-0 | 18 | 2/27 at Lycoming |
| 16 | Cortland | 0-0 | 17 | 2/27 vs. Ursinus |
| 17 | Lynchburg | 1-2 | 16 | 3/2 at No. 6 York |
| 18 | Ohio Wesleyan | 0-2 | 11 | 2/26 vs. Otterbein |
| 19 | Stevenson | 1-1 | NR | 3/2 at No. 8 Gettysburg |
| 20 | Coast Guard | 1-0 | 20 | 2/27 vs. RPI |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Colorado College, Franklin & Marshall, RPI, Springfield, Ursinus, Williams
Hot
Christopher Newport (+2)
The Captains nudge up two spots this week after recording back-to-back wins over Colorado College (16-9) and Hampden-Sydney (12-9).
This group is held in high regard by coaching colleagues throughout the South region, and it’s easy to see why. They’re young on offense, led by freshman attack Brady Altobello’s 12 points and eight points apiece from sophomore attackmen Dylan Rice and Will Stockhausen.
Wednesday’s game against Roanoke, a traditional ODAC powerhouse, should prove far more telling for this group’s long-term fortunes.
Salisbury
While there’s no movement up or down for Salisbury until Wesleyan gets a chance to play, the 2018 NCAA runner-up is thriving early on.
This past weekend’s 17-10 win over Gettysburg was the biggest statement yet and was led by four-goal showings from seniors Corey Gwin and Zach Pompea. Tyler Snyder also had three goals and three assists, making him four points shy of his career high (16).
After leading 6-2 at the end of the first stanza, the Sea Gulls held a 16-6 lead early into the fourth quarter. It was simply a dominant performance.
Not
Denison (-2)
The Big Red suffered a setback this past weekend when dropping a 13-6 home contest to Stevenson. Senior attackman Spencer Butler found some success with four goals and an assist, but few others could get into a rhythm.
It was almost like Stevenson gave head coach Mike Caravana’s team a knockout punch, as it was held off the board until 10 seconds left in the first quarter. Now it’s back to the drawing board ahead a pivotal Saturday matchup vs. Roanoke.
Gettysburg (-2)
A 17-10 loss to Salisbury is hardly anything for the Bullets to mope about. But the manner in which it unfolded – Gettysburg allowed an eight-goal run after leading 2-1 early – surely has head coach Hank Janczyk ruing what transpired.
The biggest concern came at goalie, where Scott MacMillan and Chris Crowley combined for just six saves.
Ohio Wesleyan (-7)
Troubling times are abound in Delaware, Ohio. The Battling Bishops have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since early March 2017, only these defeats weren’t even close.
Last Saturday, they fell 15-9 to Messiah, a program that hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2004. That followed a season-opening, 19-9 loss to national-title contender RIT two weekends ago.
We’ll now see if Ohio Wesleyan can rebound when hosting Otterbein on Tuesday night. The game was rescheduled from a week ago after snow created unplayable field conditions.
IN
Stevenson
After one week out of the rankings, the Mustangs slot back in powered by a 13-6 win over Denison. Stevenson never trailed and led 6-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Senior attackman JT Thelen led the way with five goals and one assist, giving him 201 points for his career. Other standouts ahead of Saturday’s trip to Gettysburg were junior goalie Sam Ross with 15 saves and sophomore attackman Will Smith with one goal and three assists.
Even more impressively, Stevenson held Denison to its fewest goals scored since a Feb. 21, 2015, loss to Washington and Lee.
Out
Williams
Through no fault of their own, the Ephs bump just outside the top 20 this week. We’ll see if they can wedge back in after this coming Saturday’s opener vs. Wesleyan.
Keep an eye out Cameron Brown and Rock Stewart, who are both steady defensemen. The Ephs' top returning scorer is junior attackman Kevin Stump, who had 103 points as an underclassman. Juniors Johnny Hincks and Brendan Hoffman are the biggest names to watch for out of midfield.