The regular season comes to a close for several teams this week, and although that doesn’t mean the postseason is here just yet, it’s an indicator that it’s right around the corner.
The ACC’s regular season wraps up this week with a handful of interesting contests. The top matchup is of little importance in the grand scheme of things. Both North Carolina and Duke are essentially assured NCAA tournament bids (not to mention national seeds), but the Tobacco Road foes square off in a battle for the conference’s regular-season title.
On the opposite end of things is Virginia, a team that sits at 7-8 and desperately needs to beat Virginia Tech to both boost its resume and keep it in contention for an at-large bid.
Keep your eyes on the Big Ten this weekend, too. Northwestern and Maryland clash on Saturday in what figures to be one of the top games of the spring.
NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION I WOMEN’S TOP 20
April 18, 2022 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
North Carolina |
14-0 |
1 |
4/21 vs. No. 4 Duke |
|
2 |
Northwestern |
13-2 |
3 |
4/23 at No. 6 Maryland |
|
3 |
Syracuse |
12-3 |
4 |
4/19 vs. Albany |
|
4 |
Duke |
15-1 |
9 |
4/21 at No. 1 North Carolina |
|
5 |
Boston College |
13-2 |
2 |
4/22 vs. No. 3 Syracuse |
|
6 |
Maryland |
13-1 |
5 |
4/23 vs. No. 2 Northwestern |
|
7 |
Stony Brook |
10-2 |
6 |
4/19 at Binghamton |
|
8 |
Loyola |
13-1 |
7 |
4/20 vs. Bucknell |
|
9 |
Florida |
10-4 |
8 |
4/23 vs. Temple |
|
10 |
Denver |
13-1 |
10 |
4/23 at Villanova |
|
11 |
James Madison |
11-4 |
11 |
4/23 vs. Delaware |
|
12 |
Princeton |
8-3 |
12 |
4/20 vs. Penn |
|
13 |
USC |
11-3 |
13 |
4/22 at Arizona State |
|
14 |
Rutgers |
12-3 |
14 |
4/23 vs. Penn State |
|
15 |
Stanford |
9-6 |
15 |
4/23 at Cal |
|
16 |
UConn |
11-2 |
17 |
4/20 at Yale |
|
17 |
UMass |
14-2 |
18 |
4/23 at Davidson |
|
18 |
Virginia |
7-8 |
16 |
4/21 at Virginia Tech |
|
19 |
Michigan |
10-5 |
19 |
4/30 vs. No. 6 Maryland |
|
20 |
Richmond |
13-3 |
20 |
4/23 at George Mason |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Arizona State, Jacksonville, Johns Hopkins, Navy, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Temple, Virginia Tech
Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Duke (+5)
No team raised its stock more this week — and maybe even all season — than Duke. The prevailing question for the Blue Devils up until Saturday’s 16-15 win over Boston College was if their record actually held any weight. After all, other than ACC wins over Virginia and Notre Dame (two teams both struggling to stay consistent), Duke didn’t have much too boast about. Then Maddie Jenner provided the final strike in that one-goal defeat of the reigning national champions, suddenly shooting her team up the ranks.
Duke still stays one spot behind Syracuse, which beat the Blue Devils by a goal in March. But Duke has an opportunity to continue its ascent this week when it plays top-ranked North Carolina for the ACC’s regular season crown.
NOT
Boston College (-3)
Rachel Hall was one of Boston College’s heroes during last season’s historical run to a national title, but the goalie has not carried over her success from the final four into this season — at least not consistently. She’s saved greater than 50 percent of shots three times this season, and she hit a season low on Saturday when she made just three save on 19 shots on goal.
When Hall is on a hot streak, there are few teams in the country that can stop BC. But Duke proved what’s possible when you catch her on an off day.
Virginia (-2)
Virginia hasn’t won two games in a row since its first two games of the season. The Cavaliers’ rollercoaster season included another loss this week — albeit an understandable one against North Carolina.
Now at 7-8, UVA effectively puts its season on the line this weekend against Virginia Tech. Playing in the ACC gives UVA a considerable RPI boost, but with its only top-20 wins against Stanford and Richmond, UVA needs to make an ACC tournament run to further boost its resume.