Conference Carnage Influences USA Lacrosse Division II Men's Top 20

The Division II landscape shifted slightly with the results of the past week.

The carnage in the NE-10 and the Sunshine State Conference set the tone for a heated postseason slate, as teams from both of those power conferences will vie for NCAA births. Of course, the third conference in the mix is the SAC, where wins and losses aren’t going to move much around, but whichever teams emerge in that title game will likely be bossing the southern side of the bracket in a few weeks.

Let’s begin in the NE-10, where Saint Anselm has tumbled down the standings thanks to two losses in a row to Saint Michael’s and Adelphi. As it stands, the Hawks are now tied for fourth place with the Purple Knights, who now have a win over them. Saint Anselm’s next game is their last of the regular season — and it’s against second-seeded Pace.

The Sunshine State quarterfinals saw Florida Southern advance thanks to a 20-15 win over Saint Leo in the first game, and Florida Tech advanced after it defeated Lynn 10-9 in overtime. Senior attackman Collin Stewart scored the game-winning goal for the Panthers 75 seconds into the extra frame. As a result, The Mocs will move on to face No. 1 seed Tampa on Wednesday, and Florida Tech will square off against Rollins on the same day.

In the SAC, Wingate and Newberry won their quarterfinals against Coker (18-1) and Anderon (20-14), respectively. The Bulldogs will face Lenoir-Rhyne in the semifinals, and Newberry will travel to face the bogeyman of Division II, Limestone, in the other semifinal.

We are getting to the end of the regular season with one more week to play in April. We all know that, in Division II, it’s not necessarily “win and you’re in” like it is in other conference tournament fields, but winning the remainder of your games certainly makes your chances of being cast into the bracket that much more likely.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION II
MEN’S TOP 20

1. Limestone, 15-0 (Prev: 1)
2. Lenoir-Rhyne, 13-1 (Prev: 2)
3. Tampa, 15-1 (Prev: 3)
4. Adelphi, 11-2 (Prev: 4)
5. Mercy, 11-1 (Prev: 5)
6. Pace, 11-1 (Prev: 8)
7. Wingate, 11-4 (Prev: 9)
8. Newberry, 11-3 (Prev: 10)
9. Rollins, 11-3 (Prev: 6)
10. UIndy, 11-3 (Prev: 11)
11. Saint Anselm, 7-3 (Prev: 7)
12. Frostburg State, 11-3 (Prev: 14)
13. Mercyhurst, 10-4 (Prev: 12)
14. Florida Southern, 10-5 (prev: 18)
15. Bentley, 7-4 (Prev: 15)
16. Saint Leo, 9-6 (Prev: 19)
17. Seton Hill, 7-5 (prev: 13)
18. Mount Olive, 10-3 (Prev: 20)
19. Maryville, 10-3 (Prev: NR)
20. Rockhurst, 9-3 (Prev: 16)

Also considered (alphabetical order): Colorado Mesa, Florida Tech, Lewis, Palm Beach Atlantic, St. Michael’s, Westminster

HOT

Tampa (no change)

The Sunshine State Conference is stacked, with nearly every team in the conference currently ranked or appearing in the “also considered” section — and yet Tampa remains clearly on top. The Spartans finished the regular season undefeated in SSC play. In fact, they haven’t lost to anyone since Feb. 17, when they came up short against defending champ Lenoir-Rhyne. It’s been 13 straight wins since. Both Canyon Birch and Andrew Milani are over 60 points, and the pair have combined to score 96 goals. An SSC semifinal showdown with Florida Southern is set for Wednesday.

NOT

Saint Anselm (-4)

Saint Anselm lost back-to-back games last week, which dropped them down to No. 4 in the NE-10. The Hawks fell to St. Michael’s in a 15-13 stunner and followed with a one-goal loss to Adelphi, 8-7. The NE-10 is a conference loaded with heavyweights — teams with postseason and big-game experience. Adelphi is leading the charge, but Pace and Bentley aren’t far behind. A Tuesday date with Pace is massive for Saint Anselm, as the Hawks play for NE-10 tournament positioning.

IN

Maryville (No. 19)

Maryville notched a big win against Rockhurst, winning 13-10 on Saturday behind hat tricks from Justin Simonson and Ben Foster. That closed the gap between Maryville and Rockhurst at the top of the GLVC standings, as both now have just one loss, and Maryville still has two games left to play. The Saints claw their way into the Top 20 with some momentum going into the week, and with two wins, they can take the GLVC regular-season crown.

OUT

Lewis (was No. 17)

Lewis saw its five-game winning streak snapped by UIndy in a 15-10 loss. The loss was the second for Lewis in GLVC play, which dropped the Flyers behind Rockhurst, Maryville and UIndy in the conference standings. The Flyers are still locked into a top-four conference finish, but for the sake of the Top 20, they drop behind their GLVC peers that are in better form.