Spring starts Tuesday, but many NCAA Division III women’s lacrosse teams have had schedules adjusted by Mother Nature or have played games in conditions typically found in January instead of March.

Regardless, roughly a third of the way through the season, it’s time to check in with some news and notes, particularly as a big week of matchups concludes Sunday. The next Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20 will be released Monday.

‘All In’ Geneseo Moves to 4-0

Longtime Geneseo coach Carly Ritchlin has had the Knights on the precipice of national attention before, finally leading them into the NCAA tournament in 2013 and 2014 after roughly a decade of struggle to emerge from alma mater Cortland’s shadow, and others, in the competitive SUNYAC. The Knights nearly missed a third straight bid in 2016, then regressed to 9-9 last season.

“The players made up their minds in the fall what they wanted to accomplish,” Ritchlin said. “We got a taste a few years ago, now we want to get back to the NCAA tournament. This year, they’ve had that ‘all-in’ mentality. Every practice is competitive, every scrimmage is competitive — and that’s prepared us to make every game competitive.”

Geneseo pushed its chips to the center immediately, toppling then-No. 8 William Smith, 12-9, in its opener. After winning at Rochester, the Knights upended another ranked foe, then-No. 13 Hamilton, in Florida Tuesday before hammering Eastern Connecticut State yesterday. No. 16 Geneseo hosts in-state rivals RIT and Ithaca next week.

“What separates this team [from prior years] is the overall balance of talent,” Ritchlin said. “There isn’t a huge separation between the starting lineup and the players looking to earn more time. That has elevated the team as a whole.”

Case in points. Freshman Hannah Marafioti scored five goals in the season-opening defeat of the Herons, and Ritchlin credited freshman defender Caitlyn Merkel (eight caused turnovers) with challenging the offense in every practice. Senior attacker Rachel Fisher leads the way thus far with 18 points on seven goals and 11 assists. Junior defender Mallory Max leads with 10 caused turnovers.

“We have to keep making sure that every practice counts,” Ritchlin said. “But this group works so hard; they’ve made it fun for me to coach them.”

New No. 1 to Come as Wesleyan Stuns TCNJ

No. 14 Wesleyan earned the season’s biggest win to date, rallying from deficits of 4-0 and 6-3 to stun No. 1 The College New Jersey, 7-6, Wednesday in Ewing, N.J. Junior Caitlin Wood scored three goals to lead the Cardinals, including the game-winner on a free-position shot with 1:51 to play. Another junior, Abigail Horst, tied it less than a minute prior, also on a free-position shot.

The Cardinals, under third-year coach Kim Williams, entered the season unranked following their best season ever. Seven seniors graduated from that squad, which earned the program’s first NCAA tournament bid and set a school record with seven wins in NESCAC play.

But Williams has an impressive, albeit brief, coaching resume. Prior to turning around a Wesleyan that endured eight straight losing seasons, she coached Stockton in its first two seasons of varsity play, finishing 10-5 in 2014 and 10-6 in 2015. As an assistant at Colby under the great Karen Henning, she helped the Mules reach the NCAA tournament in each of her three seasons.

The Cardinals (4-0) fly right back into the fire, however, traveling to No. 2 Middlebury for a noon draw tomorrow.

Cortland Storms Past Catholic in Meeting of Clementi Sisters

With temperatures in the 30s and a stiff breeze Wednesday in Sparks, Md., No. 11 Cortland made itself right at home in a neutral-site matchup against No. 12 Catholic. A competitive, enjoyable game to watch on the campus of US Lacrosse, the Red Dragons rewrote the story by exploding for 13 goals in the final 20 minutes to turn a 6-3 deficit into a 16-8 win.

Cortland interim coach Bobbie Hall, who’s leading the program while Kelly Lickert-Orr is on maternity leave, scratched sophomore Lexie Meager from the starting lineup a few minutes before the opening draw to tend to a brief health issue. A late entry didn’t prevent Meager from making her mark, however, as she scored six of her game-high seven goals in the second half to fuel the wild run.

“We had too many turnovers in the first half,” Meager said.

The Dragons committed 11, including a couple by freshman goalie Annie Casey that led directly to Cardinal tallies. But Cortland flipped the script in the second half, using its team speed to pressure Catholic into 12 second-half giveaways.

“We focus on rides and pressuring during clears, and the midfield is where it happens,” Meager said.

Also in the second half, Hall switched players on the circle with those that were taking draws, and Cortland’s speed showed through as Kristyn Drake, Liza Ferro and Katie Wolfe combined to control five draws during the comeback.

The non-conference matchup included a meeting of sisters Carli and Julia Clementi of Huntington, N.Y. Senior Carli anchors the defense for Cortland, while Julia is a sophomore midfielder for the Cardinals. Their mother, Maria, was able to make the trip to Tierney Field for the game.

“It was interesting,” Carli said. “We said, ‘We can’t look at each other. We have to focus on the game.’”

Carli rarely drew Julia as an assignment, mostly only on brief switches during screens out front. But the two enjoyed a moment together above the restraining line about six minutes into the first half. Following a Cortland turnover, Catholic cleared into the attack zone.

“I was frustrated and said that we needed to get better,” Carli said. “She told me, ‘You got this. Just keep doing what you’re doing.’ It was great that she was still encouraging me even though we’re playing against each other. We both just love lacrosse.”

Carli, who’s studying to become a teacher, tried unsuccessfully to recruit Julia to Cortland.

“She wants to be a nurse, and Catholic has a really good nursing program,” Carli said, shortly after noting with pride that Julia had an assist in the game.