We’re beginning to see a trend in the Division II men’s game this season — upsets, upsets and more upsets. Save from Merrimack and Le Moyne at the top, it seems no team is safe in 2018.
It makes for plenty of excitement early on this season, and plenty of shakeups in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Men’s Top 20. This week, four top-10 teams fell: No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne, No. 5 Adelphi, No. 6 NYIT and No. 10 Mount Olive.
That means teams like Colorado Mesa, LIU Post, Saint Leo and Queens (N.C.) made significant jumps in the rankings. Rest assured, the top 20 is bound to change again come next week.
Feb. 26, 2017 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merrimack | 1-0 | 1 | 3/3 vs. No. 17 Lake Erie |
| 2 | Le Moyne | 2-0 | 2 |
3/1 vs. Roberts Wesleyan
|
| 3 | Tampa | 4-0 | 4 |
3/3 vs. North Greenville
|
| 4 | Belmont Abbey | 4-0 | 8 | 3/1 at No. 19 Queens (N.C.) |
| 5 | Pace | 0-0 | 7 |
3/3 vs. No. 14 LIU Post
|
| 6 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 4-1 | 3 |
3/2 vs. Florida Tech
|
| 7 | Limestone | 1-2 | 9 | 2/28 at Lees-McCrae |
| 8 | Seton Hill | 2-1 | 11 | 3/3 at Saint Anselm |
| 9 | Colorado Mesa | 3-0 | 15 | 3/6 vs. Rockhurst |
| 10 | NYIT | 1-3 | 6 |
3/3 at Bentley
|
| 11 | Mercyhurst | 2-1 | 12 | 3/4 vs. No. 7 Limestone |
| 12 | LIU Post | 2-0 | 19 |
3/3 at No. 5 Pace
|
| 13 | Adelphi | 0-1 | 5 |
3/1 at American International
|
| 14 | Mount Olive | 3-1 | 10 | 3/3 vs. No. 16 Saint Leo |
| 15 | Mercy | 2-1 | 16 |
2/27 at Saint Rose
|
| 16 | Saint Leo | 4-0 | 20 |
3/3 at No. 13 Mount Olive
|
| 17 | Lake Erie | 0-0 | 14 |
3/3 vs. No. 1 Merrimack
|
| 18 | Wingate | 1-2 | 13 |
3/3 at Lynn
|
| 19 | Queens (N.C.) | 2-1 | N/A |
3/1 vs. No. 4 Belmont Abbey
|
| 20 | Lindenwood | 2-0 | 18 |
2/27 vs. Wheeling Jesuit
|
ALSO CONSIDERED: Florida Southern, Florida Tech, Indianapolis, Rollins, Southern New Hampshire, Saint Anselm, Tusculum, Wheeling Jesuit
HOT
Tampa (+1)
Yes, the Spartans only moved up one spot in the rankings, but they’ve now beaten three teams that appear in the top 20. It started with Queens (N.C.), then Limestone and now a win over NYIT this weekend. Andrew Kew has 19 points through four games.
Belmont Abbey (+4)
Belmont Abbey certainly benefitted from the losses of teams above it in the rankings, but three straight convincing wins are impressive. The Crusaders beat a competitive Florida Southern team 16-5 this weekend.
Colorado Mesa (+6)
Welcome to the top 10, Mesa. The competition out west is hard to come by at times, so Colorado Mesa took advantage of its opportunity at Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday, surging to an early lead and surviving the second half to score a major upset.
LIU Post (+7)
LIU Post is no stranger to big wins, but after a disappointing 2017 campaign and a coaching change, there was some doubt on the Pioneers. All they did was start the season 2-0 with a 9-8 win over No. 5 Adelphi.
Saint Leo (+4)
Saint Leo started the season 3-0, but against teams it was expected to beat. However, Sunday’s upset of No. 6 NYIT (by eight goals) put this team on the radar and warranted a big move forward.
NOT
NYIT (-4)
The Bears have struggled through an opening stretch that includes four ranked teams in the first four games. After beating Mercyhurst, NYIT has fallen to Merrimack, Tampa and Saint Leo. None of those losses are embarrassing, but an eight-goal setback against Saint Leo was striking.
Wingate (-5)
Wingate followed its one-goal loss to Mercyhurst with another one to Indianapolis on Saturday. At 1-2, the Bulldogs will look to right the ship in the coming weeks.
Adelphi (-8)
The season opener didn't go the way Adelphi would have hoped. Depsite a furious second-half rally, the Panthers fell to LIU Post for the first time in almost four years.
IN
Queens (N.C.)
It dropped out of the rankings last week, but a win over No. 10 Mount Olive pushes it back in for the time being. Of the teams that were also considered, Queens (N.C.) had the most impressive win.
OUT
Saint Anselm
By virtue of not having played a game so far, Saint Anselm dropped out of the rankings. There’s plenty of time for the Hawks to jump back in. They face No. 9 Seton Hill this weekend.