Week 2 Brings New No. 1, Drastically Different Top 10 in Division I Women's Top 20

Last week, we touted that USA Lacrosse Magazine’s team tends to be a conservative ranker. Division I women’s lacrosse said, “Hold my Gatorade.”

The joke’s on us, I guess. What a week it was. It started with Notre Dame downing defending NCAA champion Northwestern 14-10 on Friday night and went crazy from there. As the dust settles, the women’s lacrosse landscape is anything but. For all the talk of parity (and teams and the game have certainly gotten better through the years), the same four to six bluebloods have generally dominated all the way through Memorial Day Weekend. The past three days have given fans looking for shakeups some hope 2024 could be the year.

Speaking of shakeups, there are plenty in this week’s rankings, starting with a new No. 1 in Boston College. Notre Dame checks in at No. 2 after toppling previous top cat Northwestern. The Wildcats are third. No. 4 James Madison, and No. 5 Maryland, an overtime winner over No. 7 Syracuse on Saturday, round out the top five.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION I 
WOMEN'S TOP 20

1. Boston College, 3-0 (Prev: 2)
2. Notre Dame, 4-0 (Prev: 8)
3. Northwestern, 1-1 (Prev: 1)
4. James Madison, 3-0 (Prev: 4)
5. Maryland, 2-0 (Prev: 7)
6. North Carolina, 2-1 (Prev: 5)
7. Syracuse, 1-2 (Prev: 6)
8. Michigan, 3-0 (Prev: 13)
9. Denver, 1-1 (Prev: 3)
10. Loyola, 2-0 (Prev: 9)
11. Stony Brook, 1-0 (Prev: 10)
12. Johns Hopkins, 3-0 (Prev: 11)
13. USC, 3-0 (Prev: 12)
14. Penn, 1-0 (Prev: 17)
15. Virginia, 3-0 (Prev: 18)
16. Florida, 0-2 (Prev: 14)
17. Navy, 2-0 (Prev: 20)
18. Princeton, 0-1 (Prev: 19)
19. Colorado, 3-0 (Prev: NR)
20. Clemson, 3-0 (Prev: NR)

Also considered (alphabetical order): Army (0-3), Brown (1-0), Duke (2-2), Fairfield (2-1), Penn State (1-1), Siena (1-1), UConn (0-2), UMass (0-2)

HOT

Notre Dame (+6)

For the second year in a row, Notre Dame beat the defending national champion during the regular season and ended a winning streak in the process. Last year, it was North Carolina’s ACC and home winning streaks. On Saturday, the Irish handed Northwestern its first loss since Feb. 11, 2023, to Syracuse — a span of 22 games. But Notre Dame did what no team has done to Northwestern since North Carolina in the second half of the 2022 national semifinals — essentially take the Wildcats off the field.

The Irish dominated on the draw from start to finish (20-8, with M.K. Doherty and Kelly Denes combining for 14 of those). None were bigger than the final six of the game, which allowed the Irish to close the door with a 5-0 run and hold Northwestern to no shots in the final 9:01.

Christine Halfpenny stopped short of bold statements about 2024 being the Irish’s year. Respect to that. But we’ll say it. Yes, it’s February. No, the win wasn’t the national championship game. But this team sure looked prime to make a run at one (and an ACC title, too).

Michigan (+5)

Much of the concern around Michigan entering the year had to do with the Wolverines offense, which was a one-woman show starring Jill Smith too often in 2023. Smith didn’t score at all in Michigan’s 8-4 win over Denver, but five others did. The Wolverines used a balanced attack that saw three players score two goals apiece (Annabelle Burke, Julia Schwabe and Kaylee Dyer, who also tallied four goals against Cincinnati on Wednesday). That, combined with a defensive effort anchored by a 14-save performance from Erin O’Grady, earned the Wolverines a signature win over the 2023 national semifinalists — and a five-spot jump.

NOT

Northwestern (-2)

There’s no doubt Northwestern will be one of the top teams — if not No. 1 — when May closes. The Wildcats are too good and too competitive not to play deep into May. And, listen, most teams would sign up for being No. 3 on Feb. 19. But the Wildcats have higher standards. A nine-minute disappearing act courtesy of Notre Dame’s draw and defensive domination had the Wildcats looking lost, a rarity for them in the last 365 days.

Denver (-6)

Denver’s new-look offense looked … rather new on Saturday, as the Pioneers struggled to get anything flowing against Michigan. Though Hot Pink shut down Michigan’s offense, the defense couldn’t match a balanced and methodical attack from the Wolverines. It was a rare recent swing and miss for a Pioneers team that was almost a sure thing for so much of 2023.

IN

Colorado (No. 19)

One-goal wins over Penn State — who was previously No. 16 — and Saint Joseph’s have the Buffs in the Top 20 this week. Colorado tends to be good for a head-turner or two each season — it gave Denver one of its toughest tests (10-9) and beat Stanford last year, for instance. However, the wins and close calls haven’t materialized into a deep run in May or steep climb up the rankings. Will it happen for the Buffs in 2024? Challenging Northwestern on Thursday would build a stronger case.

Clemson (No. 20)

We can already hear the Internet scream, “The schedule?!” No, wins over Davidson, Furman and Coastal Carolina don’t scream “Top 20.” But the Tigers beat the teams they were supposed to beat, which, cold as it sounds, feels like an exception and not a rule this week. The Tigers face a taller task this Saturday in Duke, a team they upended in 2023.

OUT

Army (was No. 14)

Losses to USC and Syracuse? Understandable. A one-goal loss to Siena? That one removes the Black Knights from the Top 20. That’s with all due respect to Siena, which pushed Johns Hopkins last weekend and has entered “also considered” territory. Army lost some critical offensive players to graduation last year, and it’s shown early on. It may take more time than anticipated for the team to gel, but it will.

Penn State (was No. 16)

The Nittany Lions had four shots in the final minute — two (one from Kristen O’Neill and one from Gretchen Gilmore) went wide. Then, Buffs’ goalie Danielle Heintz stopped two on-net attempts from O’Neill to seal the upset. While Penn State made a run at it late, on paper, the Nittany Lions shouldn’t have been in the situation to start with, hence the bump out of the Top 20. Penn State returns much of last year’s core and could still make a run in the Big Ten, but it’ll need to firm up its offense to prepare for stronger defenses out of Michigan, Northwestern and Maryland.