W&L Still the Talk of D-III, Up to No. 2 in Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20

Defending national champion Middlebury opened with a dominant win over Babson last week and maintains its place atop the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20.

The top four teams remain undefeated, but Washington and Lee’s third win against a ranked opponent enabled the Generals (5-0) to slide into the No. 2 spot ahead of Tufts, which opened with a 10-6 win over ranked Colby, and ahead of TCNJ, which is off to a 2-0 start.

In a battle between last week’s No. 7 Franklin & Marshall and No. 8 Messiah, the rankings held accurate, as F&M won 19-11 on the strength of Lydia Cassily’s five goals and one assist. Both teams moved up a spot, though, because of Colby’s loss.

Catholic’s early season struggles against good competition finally caught up to it with an upset loss that forced the Cardinals out of the Top 20 for now. Of the ranked teams, only St. Lawrence hasn’t played yet, and that is only because of inclement weather postponing the scheduled opener last weekend.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION III WOMEN’S TOP 20

* at USA Lacrosse HQ in Sparks, Md.

Also considered (alphabetical order): Colorado College, Hamilton, Kenyon, Mary Washington, Pomona-Pitzer, Roger Williams, St. John Fisher, Trinity

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

HOT

Washington and Lee (+2)

The Generals rallied back from a three-goal deficit in the fourth quarter and beat former No. 10 Gettysburg 10-9 in overtime on Jenny Lisovicz’s game-winner.

Although it was a narrow decision, Washington and Lee already owned victories against two other top 10 foes, defeating current No. 5 Salisbury and No. 7 Franklin & Marshall over the first two weekends of its season. The Generals were rewarded for their ability to pull through in big games with a climb to No. 2.

On Saturday, W&L only had the lead once against Gettysburg, but it was the one that mattered. After the Bullets took a 9-6 lead in the fourth quarter, the Generals scored three goals in the final two minutes to send the game to overtime. Julie Thompson scored the last two with 30 and 19 seconds left in regulation, then had the assist to Lisovicz’s winner with 14.5 left in the first overtime period.

Thompson finished with three goals and one assist, and Hanna Bishop also added a hat trick.

SUNY Cortland (+2)

Cortland dropped a 13-5 loss to No. 6 William Smith but a 9-8 win over former No. 12 Ithaca allowed the Red Dragons to move up.

They scored five of the last six goals in the game to erase a three-goal deficit and won on Toni Cashman’s lone score with 4:07 left. Hannah Keech recorded a game-high four goals to lead Cortland’s attack, while Gabby Meager added three goals and an assist. Lauren Hopsicker and Cashman each chipped in a goal and an assist. Freshman goalie Margaret Morgan made collected four saves, six ground balls and two caused turnovers.

NOT

Colby (-2)

The Mules faced a tough opening weekend and couldn’t keep up with Tufts or Salisbury in their first two games. They lost by a combined five goals, which isn’t bad, but with Messiah and Franklin & Marshall owning wins over ranked opponents, they jump Colby for now.

Colby held a one-point lead at halftime in the opener against Tufts on Friday, and even though Annie Eddy registered five goals and Gianna Bruno added three goals and an assist, the Mules fell short, 17-14.

At Salisbury on Sunday, Colby trailed by four going into the fourth quarter but could only cut the deficit in half, falling 14-12. Page Saudek led with five goals, while Eddy added a hat trick.

Ithaca (-4)

The Bombers own lopsided wins over Brockport and FDU-Florham, but a 9-8 loss to former No. 14 Cortland on Wednesday caused them to fall.

After the Red Dragons pulled ahead with four minutes left, Ithaca had a chance to tie the game after a timeout with 1:24 left on the clock. Cortland came up with a save and ran out the remaining time for the win.

Ithaca bounced back with a 22-7 win over FDU-Florham, a team that has struggled out of the gate. The next big test for the Bombers will be March 15 against newly ranked Amherst, but not before games against Scranton and Rochester this week.

IN

Amherst (No. 20)

The Mammoths opened with a 7-6 win over NESCAC foe Hamilton, and that was enough to push them into the rankings with help from a spot opening in the top 20.

A three-goal third quarter was the difference in the game, as Amherst gave new coach Brooke O’Brien — a 2003 graduate of the school — a win in her debut.

All seven goals came from first-year players, including the decisive goal from Bridget Finley with 2:14 left when she was awarded a free-position shot and scored for the first time as a college player. The Continentals had tied the game with 4:38 left.

Freshman Clara Sosa finished with three goals, freshman Sofia Guttmann added two and classmate Emily Petersen chipped in a goal as well.

OUT

Catholic (No. 19)

The Cardinals couldn’t be faulted too much when they lost their first two games against Salisbury and William Smith, both by five goals, but a 13-12 loss to unranked Dickinson on Saturday couldn’t be overlooked.

They now fall to 1-3 and are on the outside looking in with some more tough opponents coming up on the schedule.

Grace Hill had tied the game against Dickinson at 12 with 2:29 left, but Dickson’s Delaney Herbert scored in a player-up situation on a free-position shot with 54 seconds remaining and Catholic didn’t have an answer.

Kate Olsen scored five goals in the loss.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• Preseason

• Week 1: Feb. 20, 2023

• Week 2: Feb. 27, 2023