This week’s Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 didn’t see movement at the top of the pack, but that doesn’t mean this past week didn’t have exciting, noteworthy results.
No. 2 North Carolina coach Jenny Levy earned her 300th career win when the Tar Heels defeated Canisius 16-8 at the US Lacrosse headquarters on Sunday. No. 1 Maryland and No. 3 Florida continued to roll, the latter downing a defensive-minded Towson, and No. 4 Syracuse escaped a near scare after scoring 12 second-half goals to recover from a seven-goal halftime deficit against ACC rival Virginia. Stony Brook also impressed with a dominating 13-5 win over Northwestern.
This week’s Top 20 highlights another newcomer in the mix – Elon, coming in at No. 15. After opening the season at 4-0 before losing to Notre Dame, the Phoenix topped a budding Virginia Tech program in overtime. The Hokies then turned around to upset ACC rival Duke to sit atop the conference rankings, tied for first with Syracuse and Notre Dame.
Just six teams in the Top 20 remain undefeated – Maryland, Syracuse, Stony Brook, Penn State, Princeton and Colorado. The Buffs may be the surprising group in that prestigious category, but they continue to convincingly handle their opponents, most recently in-state rival Denver 14-3.
March 6, 2017 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 4-0 | 1 | 3/8 vs. Boston College |
| 2 | North Carolina | 5-1 | 2 | 3/11 vs. Virginia |
| 3 | Florida | 3-1 | 3 | 3/8 at Loyola |
| 4 | Syracuse | 7-0 | 4 | 3/11 at No. 1 Maryland |
| 5 | Stony Brook | 4-0 | 5 | 3/8 at Yale |
| 6 | Penn State | 6-0 | 6 | 3/8 vs. No. 13 James Madison |
| 7 | USC | 3-1 | 7 | 3/8 vs. Boston University |
| 8 | Princeton | 4-0 | 9 | 3/11 vs. No. 11 Notre Dame |
| 9 | Colorado | 6-0 | 10 | 3/12 vs. No. 6 Penn State |
| 10 | Cornell | 2-1 | 17 | 3/7 vs. Colgate |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 7-1 | 12 | 3/7 vs. Ohio State |
| 12 | Penn | 3-1 | 8 | 3/7 at Lehigh |
| 13 | James Madison | 5-1 | 18 | 3/8 at No. 6 Penn State |
| 14 | Northwestern | 2-4 | 11 | 3/11 vs. Marquette |
| 15 | Elon | 5-1 | NR | 3/8 vs. Vanderbilt |
| 16 | Virginia Tech | 7-2 | 19 | 3/8 at George Mason |
| 17 | Duke | 4-2 | 13 | 3/11 at Louisville |
| 18 | Johns Hopkins | 5-1 | 15 | 3/8 vs. UMBC |
| 19 | Towson | 3-3 | 16 | 3/12 vs. Stetson |
| 20 | Denver | 5-1 | 14 | 3/12 vs. Vermont |
Also considered: Boston College, Louisville, Stanford
HOT
Cornell (+7)
Cornell won the Ivy League tournament last year in one of its best seasons yet, but started 2017 sitting behind both Princeton and Penn. The Big Red quickly positioned themselves in a better position after upsetting the Quakers 10-4.
James Madison (+5)
The Dukes’ jump may be surprising to some, but since opening the season with just a two-goal loss to No. 2 North Carolina, JMU won five straight games games, highlighted by a win at Virginia Tech, a team that keeps jumping in the polls.
NOT
Denver (-6)
After opening the season with five straight wins, the Pioneers suffered its first loss of the season to former MPSF rival Colorado. They scored only three goals against their in-state opponent and allowed 14.
Penn (-4)
The Quakers dropped their first game of their year to last season’s Ivy League tournament champ, Cornell. They struggled scoring goals, netting just four on 14 shots compared to Cornell’s 10 on 27 shots.
Duke (-4)
The Blue Devils have lost back-to-back games, both to ACC foes – first to Notre Dame by one and next to Virginia Tech by five. They’ll have a chance to get back on track against Louisville on March 11.
NEW
Elon
The Phoenix may have dropped out of the Top 20 last week after falling to Notre Dame 16-7, but they played their way back in, defeating Virginia Tech in overtime.
OUT
Stanford
Stanford is 4-2, but its two losses were to Denver and Duke, which both suffered losses this week.