West Chester Remains No. 1 in USA Lacrosse Division II Women's Top 20

It was an interesting weather week for West Chester, which survived snow, cold and wind to claim an overtime win at Roberts Wesleyan before sloshing its way to an easy home victory against Shippensburg to start conference play. It all added up to two more victories and keeps the undefeated Golden Rams at No. 1 in this week’s USA Lacrosse Division II Women’s Top 20.

WCU’s senior attacker Julia Littlewood tied a school record with eight assists against Shippensburg and finished with 10 points. Her eight assists are tied for the second most in an NCAA Division II game this season.

No. 2 Pace recorded the best win of the week, scoring the last four goals for a 9-5 win over No. 6 East Stroudsburg. The Setters blanked the Warriors over the final 28 minutes to improve to 7-0. Combined with No. 3 Maryville, the top three teams in this week’s ranking have a combined 22-0 record.

With conference play heating up this week, we’re going to start seeing some important matchups that will influence postseason selections and positioning. Two great games to keep an eye on this week include West Chester at East Stroudsburg in the PSAC, and No. 5 Tampa at No. 12 Florida Southern in the SSC.

Other good games on this week’s slate include No. 19 Bloomsburg at No. 15 Kutztown, No. 10 GVSU at No. 17 UIndy and No. 7 Embry-Riddle at No. 11 Lynn in another SSC showdown.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION II
WOMEN’S TOP 20

1. West Chester, 6-0 (Prev: 1)
2. Pace, 7-0 (Prev: 2)
3. Maryville, 9-0 (Prev: 3)
4. Adelphi, 6-1 (Prev: 5)
5. Tampa, 8-2 (Prev: 6)
6. East Stroudsburg, 5-1 (Prev: 4)
7. Embry-Riddle, 10-1 (Prev: 8)
8. Limestone, 10-0 (Prev: 9)
9. Regis, 7-1 (Prev: 11)
10. Grand Valley State, 7-1 (Prev: 10)
11. Lynn, 8-1 (Prev: 15)
12. Florida Southern, 8-3 (Prev: 12)
13. Flagler, 11-2 (Prev: 7)
14. Rollins, 10-2 (Prev: 14)
15. Kutztown, 5-1 (Prev: 16)
16. Wingate, 8-3 (Prev: 17)
17. UIndy, 6-3 (Prev: 13)
18. Anderson, 9-1 (Prev: 19)
19. Bloomsburg, 6-0 (Prev: 20)
20. Florida Tech, 6-4 (Prev: 18)

Also considered (alphabetical order): Davis & Elkins, Lock Haven, Missouri Western, Mount Olive, Northern Michigan

HOT

Lynn (+4)

The Fighting Knights recorded their best win of the season, upsetting previously No. 7 Flagler 15-10 to extend their winning streak to seven. Sophomore Rebecca Clark had a team-high four goals along with three ground balls and seven draw controls. Lynn is outscoring its opponents by over 11 goals per game during its current streak and has a chance to add another impressive win this week when it welcomes No. 7 Embry-Riddle.

Regis (+2)

One week after falling out of the top 10 with a lopsided home loss to No. 3 Maryville, the Rangers have started the climb back up. A methodical 19-13 win over previously No. 13 UIndy restores some momentum for Regis as it dives fully into its RMAC schedule the rest of the way. The Rangers are the favorites to capture their fifth straight conference title in 2024.

NOT

Flagler (-6)

The Saints registered lopsided wins against Frostburg State and Shorter last week but failed the test that really mattered, losing at home against No. 11 Lynn. Flagler’s 11 wins are tied for most in the nation, and they have a strong road victory at Embry-Riddle last month, but it now has setbacks against South Region foes Florida Southern and Lynn.

UIndy (-4)

UIndy slips for the second straight week after another loss against a ranked opponent. The Greyhounds have taken care of business against the teams they were expected to beat, going 6-0 against unranked foes. It’s been a different story against the better competition, as UIndy is now 0-3 against Top 20 teams. The latest setback was a 19-13 loss at Regis last week. The Greyhounds have another chance for a resume-building victory this week against No. 10 Grand Valley State.