There’s a new No. 1 for the first time this season.
Maryland moves into the top spot after defeating Penn in a midweek game before enjoying a weekend bye. The Quakers had more success Saturday, edging Duke 10-9.
This probably shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. The Blue Devils have visited Franklin Field to play the Quakers three times, in 2011, 2013 and 2018. All three times they left with February losses.
This one was closer, hence the modest drop in Duke’s ranking. Besides, it’s almost a late winter rite of passage for Duke to have a surprise stumble before truly figuring things out around midseason.
As for Maryland, it has its own nemesis coming up this week. The Terrapins have dropped their last four meetings against Notre Dame, including last year’s 5-4 rock fight in South Bend.
Feb. 26, 2018 |
W/L |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 4-0 | 2 | 3/3 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame |
| 2 | Albany | 2-0 | 3 | 3/3 vs. Cornell |
| 3 | Duke | 4-1 | 1 | 3/3 vs. Richmond |
| 4 | Denver | 2-1 | 4 | 3/3 at Furman |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 2-0 | 5 | 3/3 at No. 1 Maryland |
| 6 | Villanova | 3-0 | 7 | 2/27 vs. Drexel |
| 7 | Ohio State | 4-0 | 6 | 3/2 vs. No. 16 Marquette |
| 8 | Yale | 1-1 | 8 | 2/27 at UMass |
| 9 | Virginia | 4-0 | 9 | 3/4 vs. No. 13 Syracuse |
| 10 | Loyola | 2-1 | 10 | 2/28 vs. Towson |
| 11 | North Carolina | 4-0 | 13 | 2/28 vs. Mercer |
| 12 | Penn | 2-1 | 17 | 3/3 vs. Penn State |
| 13 | Syracuse | 2-1 | 18 | 3/4 at No. 9 Virginia |
| 14 | Army | 3-1 | 11 | 3/3 at Lafayette |
| 15 | Rutgers | 3-1 | 12 | 3/3 at Brown |
| 16 | Marquette | 2-0 | NR | 3/2 vs. No. 7 Ohio State |
| 17 | Georgetown | 3-0 | NR | 2/27 vs. Mount St. Mary's |
| 18 | Delaware | 3-0 | NR | 3/3 vs. No. 6 Villanova |
| 19 | Vermont | 5-0 | NR | 3/3 vs. Jacksonville |
| 20 | Johns Hopkins | 1-2 | 15 | 3/3 vs. Princeton |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Brown, Bucknell, Colgate, Hofstra, Lehigh, Penn State, Princeton, Providence
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Penn (+5)
The Quakers can’t be upset with their split for the week. They lost 13-6 at defending national champion Maryland, then bounced back three days later to deal Duke a 10-9 setback.
Kevin McGeary had three goals and an assist for Penn, which looked like it could be an intriguing team this season and responded accordingly. Coach Mike Murphy is one of the best nonconference schedule builders in the country and the Quakers still have solid games against Bucknell, Navy, Penn State and Villanova to come. This one, though, figures to remain valuable right up to Selection Sunday.
Syracuse (+5)
The Orange move up on the strength of their 11-10 defeat of Army in triple overtime. Ryan Simmons delivered the game-winner after taking a full-field pass from goalie Dom Madonna to help the Orange move past an ugly 15-3 loss to Albany.
There is a common thread between the two games. Syracuse has scored just a single goal in the first half of back-to-back games, and that’s pretty much the antithesis of the Orange’s identity. Perhaps escaping in this game provides a boost, but it’s just as possible the Orange are going to be vulnerable to getting buried by teams with more potent offenses. Perhaps Virginia, which it visits Sunday?
NOT
Johns Hopkins (-5)
It isn’t that Hopkins lost to North Carolina, it’s how it lost to the Tar Heels. The Blue Jays played from ahead for much of the day, but handed Carolina extra-man opportunities on an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for flipping a stick after a goal and with a flag with a second left in a timer-on situation. The Tar Heels cashed in both. Hopkins also failed to switch on an early fourth-quarter play that led to an open Carolina shot.
The word of the night after Hopkins’ 13-11 loss was discipline. The Blue Jays need to find it, and in a hurry. They’ll face Princeton, Syracuse and Virginia in March.
Army (-3)
The Black Knights’ weekend in two words: Missed opportunity. Up five at halftime at Syracuse, the Black Knights barely had more shots (10) than turnovers (nine) in the second half of their 11-10 loss to the Orange.
Should Army tumble a ton? Not really, but it’s not as if Syracuse warranted more of a jump than it made, either. They met in the middle. Joe Alberici’s team now heads into Patriot League play over the next eight weekends (with the conference tournament making nine).
IN
Marquette
Beating Jacksonville by a goal is looking less and less like a cause for concern after the Dolphins continued their competitive early play with an overtime loss to Ohio State. And the Golden Eagles looked sharper in their 13-6 victory over Detroit behind freshman Anthony Orsini’s four goals.
Georgetown
The Hoyas haven’t reached the postseason since 2007 and they haven’t been 3-0 since 2003, but here they are — owners of victories over High Point, Robert Morris and Towson as February nears a close.
Daniel Bucaro had four goals and two assists in Saturday’s 12-10 victory at Towson, a triumph likely to grow in value as the young Tigers offense eventually figures things out.
Delaware
Another team off to a hot start, the Blue Hens have won their first three games under new coach Ben DeLuca, including Saturday’s 15-11 defeat of Monmouth.
Jake Hervada won 21 of 28 faceoffs for Delaware, which could be a candidate to leap into contention in a Colonial where both Hofstra and Towson have struggled in the season’s first few weeks.
Vermont
The Catamounts are 5-0 after Rob Hudson had two goals and three assists in Saturday’s 10-5 defeat of Quinnipiac.
Granted, the five teams Vermont has upended (Fairfield, Furman, Holy Cross, Mercer and Quinnipiac) are a combined 4-14. But the Chris Feifs’ Catamounts aren’t squeaking by, winning by an average of 7.6 goals. A neutral-site game with Jacksonville in Severn, Md., on Saturday could be the sneaky-good game of the weekend.
OUT
Penn State (previously No. 14)
The concerns about the Nittany Lions’ defense aren’t going away. Penn State surrendered six goals in the fourth quarter of a 12-9 loss to Robert Morris. Jeff Tambroni’s team dominated faceoffs (17-7) but also committed 21 turnovers while falling to 2-2 and losing at home for the second time this season.
Hofstra (previously No. 16)
The good news for the Pride? Their defense has acquitted itself well against a couple capable of offensive teams, giving up just nine goals to Ohio State and seven to Villanova. The bad news? Hofstra has just nine goals in its first 120 minutes of lacrosse this season, including just two in Saturday’s loss to Villanova. Coach Seth Tierney has some work to do at that end of the field.
Colgate (previously No. 19)
After a one-week cameo in the rankings, the Raiders fall back out after a 13-10 loss to Bucknell. Colgate is part of an interesting scrum of Patriot League teams that includes two ranked programs (Loyola and Army), three just on the outside (Bucknell, Colgate and Lehigh) and two more that could find their way into the conversation for the top 20 before long (Boston University and Navy).
Princeton (previously No. 20)
The Tigers turned in a perfectly respectable showing, dropping an 18-15 decision at Virginia in the revival of one of the classic series from the 1990s and the Aughts. They would probably jump back into the top 20 this week with a victory at Johns Hopkins.