NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse 2024 Midseason Storylines
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© 2024 USA Lacrosse. All Rights Reserved.
© 2024 USA Lacrosse. All Rights Reserved.
This week, the women’s lacrosse season hits its midway point — at least on the calendar. But it feels like it’s gone on for more than a year and flown by all at once.
Part of the reason? Some teams front-loaded their schedules and have a handful of games remaining (Notre Dame and Michigan, for instance). It’s also been a whirlwind of a season, with four different changes atop the national rankings involving three different teams. This week, it’s Maryland. The Terps were No. 6 in the preseason rankings after missing the Final Four for the second time in three years in 2023.
The Terps being No. 1 isn’t all that new, though. But some programs are emerging as potential party-crashers. And can we talk about the rules for a second? These storylines have contributed to us perpetually having our heads on a swivel during the 2024 Division I women’s season.
This topic could be its own story. During Monday night’s North Carolina-Northwestern game, ESPN commentator Sheehan Stanwick Burch mentioned feeling for pollsters who have to rank teams each week. Thanks, Sheehan. Saturdays and Sundays have been wild rides. After Penn State upended Northwestern — No. 1 in the USA Lacrosse Top 20 and unanimous No. 1 in the IWLCA poll — we discussed at least five scenarios for the top six. Three teams were in the running for No. 1 — Maryland, Michigan and Notre Dame.
We (and the IWLCA) went with Maryland. However — and this speaks to how challenging it is to rank teams during an unsettled season — our final Top 20 was a sixth draft. It’s frequently been a game of Tetris. Northwestern’s previous loss to Notre Dame knocked it from its preseason perch, which it regained after beating a Boston College team that had taken its place.
Syracuse beat Virginia and Notre Dame but lost by one to Stony Brook. Notre Dame lost to Syracuse and Virginia but downed Northwestern and Boston College. The list goes on.
For now, we’ve honored two teams from a power conference that have been consistent during an unpredictable year. The players and coaches will settle things on the field in time for the ranking that matters most: the one that comes out after Memorial Day.
Sticking with rankings for a moment. Despite the headline-making nature of some of this year’s biggest upsets and subsequent Top 20 shakeups, Maryland feels like a humble No. 1.
To be clear, the Terps aren’t perfect. An early-season one-goal loss to a Florida team that Maryland looked well on its way to beating with a 7-2 halftime lead seems like a strange anomaly more than a month later.
The Terps aren’t flashy, either. Their scoring offense is in a four-way tie for No. 40 nationally (13 goals per game). The defense is stout, as it often is (fourth nationally at 7.30 goals per game). Maryland has gotten the job done repeatedly since that Florida loss, rattling off six-straight wins, including over Denver and James Madison, programs that beat the Terps last season.
Did we mention Michigan was No. 17 in the preseason rankings? It shows how much stock anyone should bother to put in those.
Michigan’s defense has given opponents fits this year. The Wolverines lead the country in scoring defense (5.73 goals allowed per game). It’s tempting to call them “this year’s Denver,” but that’s not all that accurate. Sure, the goals-against average is low. However, the Wolverines employ a 1-v-1 defense.
Their scoring offenses are similar. (Denver finished 2023 at 60th nationally, averaging 11.91 goals per game. Michigan is currently 60th at 12 goals per game.) Yet, Michigan has relied more heavily on its attack in recent wins over Rutgers and Marquette, the latter of which involved using a 12-0 game-ending run for a come-from-behind victory.
A now-healthy Kaylee Dyer (33 G, 7 A) has complemented Jill Smith (35 G, 10 A), preventing Michigan from becoming too one-dimensional and giving the Wolverines multiple ways to win. Should Michigan advance to the Final Four a la Denver, the it might not need to eke out a 5-4 quarterfinal victory (though we wouldn’t complain about watching a defensive clinic).
Sonia LaMonica has breathed new life into a Virginia team that struggled to crack the upper echelon of the ACC in recent years. Its losses are to North Carolina (by a goal) and Syracuse. The North Carolina one has gone from acceptable to one that deserves a side-eye, given the Tar Heels’ injuries and struggles (like a 15-goal defeat to Syracuse).
But the Cavaliers have wins over four teams currently in the Top 20 (Notre Dame, James Madison, Stanford and Princeton). They also beat Richmond by 15, a team that has given them trouble as recently as last year.
The ACC is certainly an enigma. Boston College hasn’t been tested too hard. UNC is down (but never out). Notre Dame is unbeatable at its best, but UVA exemplified what happens when the Irish aren’t firing. The Hoos could challenge for an ACC crown, but we’ve been here before.
The Academies each trotted out a freshman star last year (Brigid Duffy for Army, Ava Yovino for Navy) and seemed primed to challenge Loyola. Army has struggled to find footing without some other key offensive cogs, and Navy has done well with Yovino sidelined with a season-ending injury.
Yet, Loyola remains the top dog, dispatching both teams in March. At this point, the discussion about where the Greyhounds stand on the national scene is more interesting than whether anyone will dethrone them in the Patriot League. They beat Florida — the lone blemish on No. 1 Maryland’s slate. Other quality wins include those over a solid Johns Hopkins team and Penn State, which — ICYMI — just beat Northwestern. Wednesday’s bout with Syracuse will be an interesting one.
The Ivy League has been a blast — everything we thought the Patriot League would be and then some.
Last weekend, a few programs separated themselves from the Ancient Eight pack. Defending champion Penn was an 18-8 winner over an emerging Harvard team, and undefeated Yale cruised by Dartmouth (which upset USC six days earlier). The Bulldogs also beat Princeton, but the Tigers seem to be on the comeback trail after a down 2023.
Brown is also thriving under first-year head coach Katrina Dowd, including pushing Notre Dame in a 16-15 loss on March 13. And Cornell plays tough, most recently pushing the Tigers in a one-goal loss.
The usuals are certainly the favorites, but it’ll be interesting to see how it shakes out, especially when all teams need to do is win two games to snag the league’s AQ (and those who don’t capture it could sit on the bubble on Selection Sunday).
In anonymous conversations, coaches have shared opinions that run the gamut. Some say the ride is gone. Others call it a nothing-burger, saying they’ve stressed keeping sticks off bodies in practice, and it’s translated well into games.
Green cards have certainly slowed the pace, but (personally) I haven’t seen games slog on so significantly that the sport is at risk of seeing the strides it’s made in getting on national television rolled back. Ultimately, one coach put it best in the preseason: “The rules are here, so adapt.”
Those who have adapted are seeing success.
Don’t sleep on Denver (again). The Pios — last year’s welcome surprise guest in the Final Four — had a trio of early losses to Michigan, Maryland and Northwestern. Those don’t seem too shabby in hindsight, with all three currently in the top four. Will Denver be there in the end? The Pioneers’ win on a late goal from Jane Earley kicked off a three-game winning streak.
This season, teams have had better luck against the defense — sort of (the team goals-against average of 8.33 is still in the top 10 nationally). But Denver’s offense is taking shape. It’s no longer the Julia Gilbert (25 G, 5 A) show. Yale transfer Olivia Penoyer (15 G, 19 A) has used her lacrosse IQ to feed and take it herself. Lauren Black (14 G, 8 A, 15 DC) has also filled the stat sheet.
Denver should run the table in the Big East, which comprises the bulk of its remaining slate. The biggest challenges are an April 3 date with fringe-Top 20 Colorado and one on April 22 against Yale.
At the risk of overreacting to USC’s loss to unranked Dartmouth, the Trojans won’t be a shoo-in for the sunsetting league’s title. Colorado has seen success, but Stanford is the hot team, especially following a recent win over the Buffs.
The program is bouncing back after an “off” year (the Cardinal went 7-2 in conference play and missed the NCAA tournament). Stanford played Denver tough in a 10-6 loss. Its other two losses are of the one-goal variety to Yale and Virginia, which were back in February.
Even without Ashley Humphrey at X, the Cardinal have been able to deploy a balanced attack with Aliya Polisky (25 G, 10 A), Sarah Jacques (19 G, 11 A), Jordyn Case (23 G, 6 A) and Jay Browne (16 G, 13 A) at or near the 30-point mark. And Annabel Frist (98 DC) has been masterful in the circle.
The Cardinal are on our radar — and a recent add to our Top 20 — in the second half.
Beth Ann Mayer is a Long Island-based writer. She joined USA Lacrosse in 2022 after freelancing for Inside Lacrosse for five years. She first began covering the game as a student at Syracuse. When she's not writing, you can find her wrangling her husband, two children and surplus of pets.
