The first full weekend of the Division III slate had no major surprises, but the NESCAC favorites flexed some early muscle.
Middlebury, Tufts, Wesleyan, Amherst and Trinity all opened with league wins, no small feat given the depth of great teams in the NESCAC.
The marquee games this week include Washington and Lee continuing its early season gauntlet, hosting No. 2 Gettysburg on Sunday. The Generals have already played three top-15 teams this season, including Sunday's 10-7 victory over then-No. 3 Salisbury.
Another game to keep an eye on comes from New York, where No. 13 Brockport hosts No. 14 Ithaca. Both teams are undefeated in the early going with impressive showings.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division III Women’s Top 20
March 2, 2020 |
W/L |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middlebury | 1-0 | 1 | 3/7 at Connecticut College |
| 2 | Gettysburg | 3-0 | 2 | 3/8 at No. 7 Washington and Lee |
| 3 | Tufts | 1-0 | 4 | 3/4 vs. MIT |
| 4 | Franklin & Marshall | 3-0 | 7 | 3/4 vs. Messiah |
| 5 | Wesleyan | 1-0 | 6 | 3/4 vs. Babson |
| 6 | York | 1-1 | 5 | 3/4 vs. Denison |
| 7 | Washington and Lee | 3-1 | 8 | 3/4 vs. Christopher Newport |
| 8 | Salisbury | 1-1 | 3 | 3/3 vs. Moravian |
| 9 | St. John Fisher | 0-0 | 9 | 3/5 at Lynchburg |
| 10 | Amherst | 1-0 | 12 | 3/4 at Springfield |
| 11 | TCNJ | 1-0 | 10 | 3/3 vs. Moravian |
| 12 | Catholic | 2-0 | 12 | 3/9 at Washington College |
| 13 | Brockport | 1-0 | 17 | 3/7 vs. No. 14 Ithaca |
| 14 | Ithaca | 3-0 | NR | 3/7 at No. 13 Brockport |
| 15 | Mary Washington | 2-2 | 14 | 3/3 at Meredith |
| 16 | Colorado College | 2-0 | 15 | 3/9 vs. No. 5 Wesleyan |
| 17 | Pomona-Pitzer | 4-0 | NR | 3/3 vs. Kenyon |
| 18 | Trinity | 1-0 | NR | 3/4 vs. Endicott |
| 19 | Bowdoin | 0-1 | 18 | 3/4 vs. Plymouth State |
| 20 | Cortland | 0-1 | 19 | 3/3 at Union |
Also considered (in alphabetical order): Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Denison, Geneseo, Messiah, Shenandoah, St. Mary’s, William Smith
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Brockport (+4)
The Golden Eagles haven't played since beating Denison 14-12 on Feb. 23, but a combination of teams losing ahead of them and the Denison win gaining some added value moves them up. You can bet Brockport has had this weekend's Ithaca game circled on the calendar for a while. Brockport gave up a season-high 23 goals in a loss to the Bombers last season.
Franklin & Marshall (+3)
The Diplomats have been living dangerously, but as long as they keep winning, they'll keep climbing. No. 4 F&M went on the road to beat York in double-overtime and Mary Washington last week, moving its record to 3-0 with the victories coming by a combined four goals — all against top-15 competition.
NOT
Salisbury (-5)
Salisbury pressured W&L into 22 turnovers but got dominated on the draw (14-5) and converted just 1 of 9 free position opportunities in a 10-7 loss.
IN
Ithaca (No. 14)
The Bombers have been red hot, opening the season with three wins by a combined 28 goals. Senior Bailey Herr leads the team with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists), and Jacqui Hallack has poured in 11 goals in three games, including four in a win over Cortland on Sunday.
Pomona-Pitzer (No. 17)
The Sagehens are off to a 4-0 start to the season, highlighted by an 11-9 victory over next-door-neighbor Claremont-Mudd Scripps last Wednesday. It was Pomona-Pitzer's first win over CMS since 2016.
Pomona-Pitzer, which lost to CMS three times last season, has gotten strong starts by a young lineup. The Sagehens top four scorers are sophomore Sarah Casey (eight goals, three assists), first-year Eloise Cherian (seven goals, four assists), sophomore Maggie Sweeney (eight goals, one assist ) and first-year Caroline Worthington (eight goals, one assist).
Trinity (No. 18)
Trinity scored a pair of goals in the final four minutes to post a season-opening 15-14 victory against Williams. Katrinia Angelucci had six goals, including the game-tying and game-winning goals for the Bantams.
OUT
William Smith (previously No. 11)
The Herons came back from a season-opening loss to Geneseo by routing Oswego, but the loss to Geneseo (which is 1-1 with a seven-goal loss to Denison) was enough to bounce William Smith from the Top 20 for now.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (previously No. 16)
The Athenas swept three games from Pomona-Pitzer last season, including a 15-3 triumph in the SCIAC championship game. CMS's first loss to the Sagehens since 2016 knocks them out of the Top 20.
Colby (previously No. 20)
Colby jumped out to a 3-1 lead against Tufts, led 4-3 midway through the first half and then got absolutely blitzed by the Jumbos. Tufts went on a 16-goal run and beat the White Mules 19-5.