The Sunday Slide: February 18, 2024

There’s a natural curiosity as each lacrosse season nears. A curiosity about the mystery of what’s to come.

We can do all the research and talk to all the coaches we want. We’re thorough over here at USA Lacrosse Magazine, but there’s no way to quantify or prepare for the unexpected results of February (or March, or April, or May, for that matter).

There’s no way for us to account for an unknown sophomore taking a massive jump heading into her junior year, for example. We can predict bumps in playing time or role, sure, but sometimes players, for lack of a better phrase, just figure it out.

That’s part of the fun of college sports, in my opinion.

The same goes for teams — like Michigan, which is the early talk of the women’s lacrosse world. Or like Notre Dame, which bolstered its roster in the offseason and has built chemistry faster than perhaps anyone could have predicted, knocking off defending national champion Northwestern on Friday night.

The result is a massive shakeup in the USA Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 coming on Monday. There will be a new No. 1 (no spoilers, though), and a top 10 in which no team is occupying the same spot as the week before.

Strap in as the mysteries continue to unfold.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

Does Northwestern have a turnover problem? Or possibly worse, a draw problem? By no means am I full-on doubting the Wildcats. That would be foolish. But against Notre Dame, they turned it over 21 times and won only 8 of 28 draws. It very well could have been a matchup thing, as those numbers weren’t too alarming in a one-goal win over Syracuse. Let’s give plenty of credit to Notre Dame’s unheralded draw team, too. Still, I’m sure those are things Kelly Amonte Hiller is cleaning up as we speak.

More of this. So much more of this.

Professional t-shirt toss-ers ready for your next event! pic.twitter.com/0fB1lSg2V3

Professional t-shirt toss-ers ready for your next event! pic.twitter.com/0fB1lSg2V3

— Pitt Lacrosse (@Pitt_WLAX) February 18, 2024

Women’s lacrosse at Delaware hasn’t experienced the same success as the men’s team in recent years, but the Blue Hens are now 3-0 for the first time under Amy Altig. What’s impressive about their start is the consistent unselfishness. They’ve used at least seven scorers in every game.

Ohio is for lacrosse lovers. Ohio State is 4-0 under new head coach Amanda Moore, and all four wins have come against in-state foes — Robert Morris, Kent State, Youngstown State and Akron. Cincinnati and Xavier are the only other Ohio teams left, but the Buckeyes don’t see Xavier this year. They play Cincy on April 5. CORRECTION: All four wins have come in Ohio. Robert Morris is located in Pennsylvania. I knew this, of course.

FUN WITH NUMBERS

0 • Shots taken by Mckenna Davis in a 17-3 win over Jacksonville, but that’s OK. Davis is one of the top feeders in the nation, and she assisted five goals in the win. Davis knows her role and is certainly capable of scoring on her own when presented an opportunity, but why force what’s not there?

1 • Win No. 1 for Siena head coach Danielle Schwan-Tetreault. Promoted to the head coach’s role in August after six years as an assistant at Siena, Schwan-Tetreault helped the Saints earn their first-ever win over a ranked opponent by downing Army 12-11.

9 • Goals allowed by Michigan this season. In total. In three games. The Wolverines’ most recent masterclass was an 8-4 win over Denver, a team that rode defense all the way to the final four last season. Is Michigan ready to enter that same conversation? Maddie Burns is the real deal, by the way.

10 • Points for Ellie Masera in Stony Brook’s opener. She had eight goals on 16 shots with two assists. Alex Finn, making her Seawolves debut after a strong career at UMass, had seven assists.

11 • Combined cards in Maryland’s 9-8 overtime win against Syracuse. Cathy Reese was emphatic, saying that the Terps won’t be penalized like that again.

25 • Most goals scored in a game this season, courtesy of both Duke and Notre Dame on Sunday. in blowout wins over Winthrop and Butler, respectively.