Most teams in the South and West regions are in full swing as we head into midway point of March.
In the South Region Top 10, the top four teams are a combined 30-0 and have established their positions — led by preseason and still-No. 1 Milton (Ga.) with American Heritage-Delray (Fla.) just behind. Bartram Trail (Fla.) won its first eight games to jump into the Top 10 in the South heading into a huge three-day stretch.
Competition is heating up in California, but some out-of-state competition impacted the first in-season update for the West Region Top 10. La Jolla (Calif.) and Torrey Pines (Calif.) both dropped games to a visiting team from Texas last week, and top-ranked Foothill-Santa Ana (Calif.) downed two ranked opponents to shake things up a bit. Former No. 10 San Ramon Valley dropped out with a loss to unranked St. Ignatius Prep (Calif.), and Cathedral Catholic (Calif.) climbed in on the strength of a 4-0 start.
The Mid-Atlantic region will be updated next week for the first time, and the Northeast and Midwest regions will fill out the first full update on March 29.
Nike/USA Lacrosse High School Rankings
National Boys' Top 25 | National Girls' Top 25
Northeast Boys' Top 10 | Northeast Girls' Top 10
Mid-Atlantic Boys' Top 10 | Mid-Atlantic Girls' Top 10
South Boys' Top 10 | South Girls' Top 10
Midwest Boys' Top 10 | Midwest Girls' Top 10
West Boys' Top 10 | West Girls' Top 10
SOUTH TOP 10
1. Milton (Ga.), 6-0
The Eagles are off to an unbeaten start powered by junior Maeve Simonds, who has verbally committed to Ohio State. She had nine goals, nine caused turnovers and 14 ground balls in a trio of victories last week. Last week, Milton defeated North Atlanta (Ga.) 18-0, Alpharetta (Ga.) 18-2 and Myers Park (N.C.) 15-9. Junior Emily Simkin, a James Madison verbal commit, had a six-goal performance against North Atlanta. Previous: 1
2. American Heritage-Delray (Fla.), 7-0
The Stallions are off to an unbeaten start in 2022, highlighted by a 17-9 win over Pine Crest (Fla.) on March 8. American Heritage-Delray also picked up wins over St. John Paul II Academy (Fla.) and Hagerty (Fla.) last week. Northwestern recruit Carli Fleisher had 11 goals and 11 assists in the last three games, and Caroline Byrd had hat tricks in each of those games. Previous: 2
3. Blessed Trinity (Ga.), 10-0
The Titans started the year 10-0 and are coming off their most impressive win of the year — a 14-3 victory over Charlotte Country Day School (N.C.). Blessed Trinity also picked up an 11-7 victory last week over West Forsyth (Ga.). Blessed Trinity has been led by junior Reagan Hart, a Navy commit, who was among the team’s leaders in goals and ground balls to start the season. Previous: 3
4. Hockaday (Texas), 7-0
The Daisies went 3-0 on their trip to California last week, including wins over a pair of teams ranked in the Top 10 in the West Region, defeating Coronado (Calif.) 19-6, La Jolla 14-11 and Torrey Pines 13-7. Previous: 4
5. Steinbrenner (Fla.), 7-1
The Warriors, coming off a devastating 10-9 loss to Vero Beach (Fla.), recovered with one-goal wins last week over Newsome (Fla.) and Lake Highland Prep (Fla.). Steinbrenner has been led in scoring by junior Taylor LaPointe, who notched a hat trick versus Lake Highland Prep. Previous: 6
6. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), 5-1
After a 5-0 start to the season, the Raiders lost for the first time this year to Pine Crest (Fla.) 7-5. St. Thomas Aquinas had the week off and returns to action Friday against Lake Highland Prep (Fla.). Previous: 7
7. East Chapel Hill (N.C.), 5-0
The Wildcats are off to a 5-0 start, led by an impressive showing by Colorado recruit Molly Reed. Reed scored 12 goals with two assists last week to pace the team. East Chapel Hill defeated Chapel Hill (N.C.) 17-7 and Broughton (N.C.) 20-7. Lehigh commitment Riley Ellis added five goals and six assists last week. Previous: 8
8. Bartram Trail (Fla.), 8-0
The Bears are off to an unbeaten start, outscoring opponents 135-30. Bartram Trail defeated Lambert (Ga.) 20-5 and St. Augustine (Fla.) 13-2 last week. They face a monster week with scheduled games against American Heritage-Delray on March 14, Pine Crest (Fla.) on March 15 and St. Thomas Aquinas on March 16. Previous: NR
9. Vero Beach (Fla.), 6-1
Vero Beach defeated Alpharetta (Ga.) 11-5 on March 11. Vero Beach had games against IMG Academy (Fla.) and Naples (Fla.) canceled due to weather. Vero Beach’s season is highlighted so far with a 10-9 win over Steinbrenner (Fla.). Previous: 9
10. Kinkaid (Texas), 3-0
The Falcons are off to an unbeaten start, coming off wins last week over Memorial (Texas) 12-8 and Klein (Texas) 16-12. Kinkaid does not play this week while on spring break. Previous: 10
— Justin Boggs
WEST TOP 10
1. Foothill-Santa Ana (Calif.), 4-0
The Knights picked up where they left off last year after a perfect season ended with their first CIF Southern Section Division I title. In their first four games of 2022, they already have wins against two ranked opponents, beating Newbury Park (Calif.) 11-5 and Torrey Pines (Calif.) 13-6 before collecting a 20-7 win over Mater Dei (Calif.) in their lone contest last week. Zoey Stephens (six goals), Elena Torres (four goals, one assist) and Taylor Puma (four goals) led the attack against Mater Dei. Previous: 1
2. Colorado Academy (Colo.), 0-0
The Mustangs won their sixth straight title last year, beating Valor Christian 14-3 in the CHSAA Class 5A final, but now they have to replace a senior class that never lost a game in high school, including all four starters on defense. Still, five of the top seven scorers return, and Colorado Academy is especially strong in the midfield with depth and speed. Senior Maya Kendall (Dartmouth), junior Anna Colpack (Stanford) and sophomore Charlotte Corkins lead the way. Senior Emily Silliman leads the rebuild on defense. Previous: 2
3. Scripps Ranch (Calif.), 4-0
The Falcons have won 34 straight games dating back to April 2019, including a pair of victories last week. They beat Carlsbad (Calif.) 20-1 on March 8 and topped Poway 12-6 on Friday. Scripps Ranch, which won its second consecutive CIF San Diego Section Open Division title last year, got multiple goals each from Kayden Williamson, Amanda Grissom, Daylen Vilbrandt and Nora Lutz in the win over Poway, while Kiara Young finished with nine saves. Previous: 3
4. Valor Christian (Colo.), 1-0
Reagan Digby tallied four goals and two assists, Tess Osburn scored five goals and Courtney Kakac registered three goals and five assists, as the Eagles cruised to a 22-2 win over Grandview (Colo.) in their opener. They are now set to face a pair of Florida’s top teams, Vero Beach and Lake Highland Prep, this week in the Sunshine State. Previous: 6
5. La Jolla (Calif.), 1-1
The Vikings opened with a 19-11 win over Mater Dei (Calif.), but then they fell to a strong Hockaday (Texas) team that features four future Division I players. La Jolla was missing three of its starting defenders because of injury (all of them Division I commits), and that might have made a difference in the 14-11 loss. Previous: 4
6. Mercer Island (Wash.), 0-0
Washington canceled playoffs in 2021, and the Islanders didn’t get a full schedule, but they won all of their games for a second straight season, and they come back ready to compete for a state title in a more normal 2022 campaign. Leading scorer Annabelle Gersch graduated along with seven others, but Molly Brodsky returns after scoring 32 goals and is joined by other top contributors like junior midfielders Jamison Drayton and Cora Meredith. Previous: 5
7. Newbury Park (Calif.), 2-1
The Panthers were unable to avenge their CIF Southern Section final loss to Foothill when the teams met at the end of February, but that is their lone blip early in the season. They were off last week. Senior goalkeeper Daniella Guyette had 20 saves in the 11-5 loss to Foothill. Cassie Huber leads the attack with 12 points on 11 goals and one assist through three games, and Reagan Laubner has nine goals and two assists. Previous: 7
8. Park City (Utah), 0-0
The Miners open March 15 at Skyridge (Utah). They have to replace leading scorer Kendall Keblish and five other graduates from their UHSAA/Mountain America championship squad that capped a perfect season, but they were so dominant, it’s hard to imagine they won’t reload. Samantha Riely (UC Davis) scored 50 goals and added 42 assists and leads a team that outscored opponents 381-51 last season. Previous: 9
9. Cathedral Catholic (Calif.), 4-0
The Dons, another strong team in the San Diego area, enter the rankings after outscoring their first four opponents 68-17. That included a notable 15-5 win over La Costa Canyon (Calif.) last week, followed by a 17-3 victory over Santa Fe Christian (Calif.). Sophomore Briley Volpp totaled 11 goals and one assist combined in two games. Previous: NR
10. Torrey Pines (Calif.), 1-2
The Falcons face a tough schedule to begin the season, and their two losses came against top competition. They opened with a 13-6 loss to top-ranked Foothill then rebounded with a notable win over St. John’s (Texas) on Friday before falling to Hockaday 13-7 on Saturday. Torrey Pines was missing their three starting midfielders because of COVID protocols, the SAT test and a soccer showcase in Florida. Kate Campbell had a hat trick against Foothill, Tatum Bryant had three goals against Hockaday and Skye Davis recorded key interceptions, caused turnovers and ground balls in the second half against St. John’s to help spark a comeback. Previous: 8
— Laurel Pfahler