For the first time all season, someone other than Boston College is at the top of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I women’s rankings.
Maryland, the last unbeaten team in the Division I ranks, moves into the top spot after Boston College fell to North Carolina in yesterday’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
Maryland, which was already No. 1 in the NCAA women’s lacrosse committee rankings released before the ACC tournament, will be the clear No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tournament if it can get through the Big Ten tournament this weekend.
The Terps have a key differentiator that strengthens its status as the favorite entering May — senior goalie Megan Taylor.
A four-year starter in goal, Taylor was the national goalie of the year in 2017 when she helped Maryland win a national championship and earned third team All-America honors last year. This year, Taylor is playing at an elite level again, leading the country with a 57.0 save percentage.
Boston College and North Carolina are certainly in the mix for a national title as well, and have benefitted from strong goaltending play. BC’s Abbey Ngai and North Carolina’s Taylor Moreno, both sophomores, have been outstanding in 2019, ranking among the national leaders in save percentage all season.
However, both Ngai and Moreno were pulled from their team’s respective ACC semifinal games, and then again in the ACC title game. Lauren Daly came on for BC and Elise Hennessey spelled Moreno in both UNC victories.
North Carolina has won a national championship while rotating goalies in the past, but Maryland’s stable situation with one of the best players in the country in Taylor can’t be dismissed.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division I Women’s Top 20
April 29, 2019 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | 17-0 | 2 | 5/3 vs. Penn State |
| 2 | Boston College | 19-1 | 1 | Regular season complete |
| 3 | North Carolina | 15-3 | 3 | Regular season complete |
| 4 | Syracuse | 15-4 | 4 | Regular season complete |
| 5 | Northwestern | 12-4 | 5 | 5/3 vs. No. 6 Michigan |
| 6 | Michigan | 15-2 | 8 | 5/3 vs. No. 5 Northwestern |
| 7 | Virginia | 12-6 | 7 | Regular season complete |
| 8 | James Madison | 14-3 | 9 | 5/3 vs. Elon |
| 9 | Princeton | 12-3 | 10 | 5/3 vs. Cornell |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 13-4 | 6 | Regular season complete |
| 11 | Loyola | 13-4 | 11 | 5/2 vs. Colgate |
| 12 | Dartmouth | 11-4 | 12 | 5/3 vs. No. 14 Penn |
| 13 | Navy | 14-3 | 13 | 5/2 vs. Army |
| 14 | Penn | 11-4 | 14 | 5/3 vs. No. 12 Dartmouth |
| 15 | Denver | 13-2 | 15 | 5/2 vs. Villanova |
| 16 | Florida | 11-6 | 16 | 5/2 at Cincinnati |
| 17 | Stony Brook | 13-4 | 17 | 5/2 vs. UMBC |
| 18 | USC | 16-3 | 18 | Regular season complete |
| 19 | Duke | 10-8 | NR | 5/5 vs. VCU |
| 20 | High Point | 15-4 | NR | Regular season complete |
Also considered: Colorado, Hofstra, Johns Hopkins, Penn State, Stanford, Virginia Tech
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Princeton (+1)
Princeton has now won seven games in a row since suffering back-to-back losses to Brown and Maryland. The winning streak includes three wins over Top 20 teams — Dartmouth, Loyola and Penn — and the Tigers have been deadly on the offensive side of the field.
Princeton is averaging 15.3 goals per game during its winning streak and shot 18 of 30 in an 18-15 win over Cornell to secure a share of its sixth straight Ivy League regular season championship. Princeton’s 50.7 shooting percentage as a team ranks among the best in the country.
North Carolina (+0)
For the second straight year, North Carolina ended Boston College’s unbeaten season in the ACC championship. Moreover, it was UNC’s fourth straight ACC championship, the second-longest streak in conference history (Maryland 2009-2014).
Junior goalie Elise Hennessey was huge for the Tar Heels. Hennessey came on late in the first half of UNC’s semifinal win over Duke. UNC was trailing 7-6 at the time, but Hennessey made nine saves while allowing just four goals as the Tar Heels rallied for a 16-11 victory.
In the championship game, Hennessey came on less than 10 minutes into the game with the Tar Heels down 6-1. Carolina’s defense didn’t allow a shot for nearly 14 minutes after she came into the game, but she saved the first one she did see and played solidly, making seven gaves while allowing seven goals as the Tar Heels again rallied, beating Boston College 15-13.
NOT
Notre Dame (-4)
Ten days before the start of the ACC tournament, Notre Dame scored the first six goals of the game and throttled Duke 15-7 in Durham.
In the ACC opening round, Notre Dame had no answers for Duke stars Oliva Jenner and Charlotte North. The duo combined for 10 goals in a 14-13 Blue Devil victory.
Since opening the season 9-0, the Irish have gone 4-4 over the last eight games.
Boston College (-1)
Boston College pulled out some magic in its semifinal win over Syracuse, scoring four straight goals over the final seven minutes of the game to beat the Orange 14-13.
For a moment, it looked as if the Eagles might do the same against UNC. Back-to-back goals got BC to within a goal of UNC with just under six minutes to play, but North Carolina’s defense tightened up and BC’s undefeated season came to end.
The undefeated season is gone, but the storybook season does not have to end. BC’s focus all along has been May, when it hopes to win its first national title after falling in the championship game the last two seasons.
IN
Duke
With its back against the wall, Duke picked up a huge victory over Notre Dame in the quarterfinal round of the ACC tournament, giving a major boost to its NCAA tournament hopes.
Duke led ACC champion North Carolina by a goal at halftime of their semifinal game and has hung with some of the nation’s best teams all season — losing by a single goal to Northwestern, Penn and Syracuse.
The win over Notre Dame may give Duke the chance to show its worth on the sport’s biggest stage.
High Point
The Panthers beat Winthrop 17-10 to earn their third Big South championship and have now won 11 straight games overall.
Abby Hormes became the first player in school history to top 100 points in a season. The sophomore had a Big South championship game record 10 points in the win over Winthrop and has a school-record 65 goals to go along with 37 assists for 102 points this season.
OUT
Stanford
The Cardinal fell to 1-4 for the season against Pac-12 rivals Colorado and USC when the Buffaloes dominated the second half in a 16-9 victory in the Pac-12 semifinals. Stanford was held to just two goals over the final 30 minutes of the game.
A win over Stony Brook, along with a win over Colorado, has Stanford in the discussion for a chance to return to the NCAA tournament.
Johns Hopkins
A late rally against Penn State on Thursday came up just short and then on Saturday, Maryland sent the Blue Jays to their fourth loss in the last five games.
Those losses knocked Hopkins out a Big Ten tournament berth, and Duke’s win over Notre Dame put Johns Hopkins’ bubble hopes for the NCAA tournament in jeopardy.