There is a muddled middle to this week’s Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20.
To this point, Maryland is a clear-cut No. 1, the last undefeated team in Division I. The next tier of teams — Georgetown, Princeton, Rutgers and probably Virginia — have accounted for eight losses. Three came against Maryland, and two more came against each other.
And from there? Good luck sorting out the next 10-12 teams, especially after a weekend of romps narrowed the gap.
Brown blasted visiting Yale 20-13. Not great for the Bulldogs, but it could be worse; fellow Ivy League program Cornell got pounded on its own field 17-10 by Army.
Duke finally landed the high-profile victory it was missing, collecting its annual regular-season defeat of Virginia (and by a 17-8 margin, no less). And then there’s a team that fell by a lopsided margin but still impressed: Ohio State, which played Maryland within a goal for three quarters before things went sideways.
It is, in short, a mishmash of teams. Maybe this week, with Brown-Cornell and North Carolina-Notre Dame on the horizon, will help clarify the pecking order.
NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION I MEN’S TOP 20
April 18, 2022 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Maryland |
11-0 |
1 |
4/23 at Johns Hopkins |
|
2 |
Georgetown |
10-1 |
2 |
4/19 vs. Loyola |
|
3 |
Princeton |
9-2 |
3 |
4/23 at No. 17 Harvard |
|
4 |
Rutgers |
11-2 |
5 |
4/23 vs. Penn State |
|
5 |
Virginia |
9-3 |
4 |
4/23 at Syracuse |
|
6 |
Jacksonville |
12-2 |
8 |
4/23 vs. Mercer |
|
7 |
Yale |
7-3 |
7 |
4/24 vs. Albany |
|
8 |
Ohio State |
8-4 |
9 |
4/24 vs. Michigan |
|
9 |
Notre Dame |
5-4 |
10 |
4/21 vs. No. 15 North Carolina |
|
10 |
Penn |
5-4 |
11 |
4/23 at Dartmouth |
|
11 |
Cornell |
10-2 |
6 |
4/23 vs. No. 14 Brown |
|
12 |
Duke |
10-5 |
12 |
5/1 vs. No. 15 North Carolina |
|
13 |
Army |
10-2 |
13 |
4/23 vs. Navy |
|
14 |
Brown |
7-4 |
17 |
4/23 at No. 11 Cornell |
|
15 |
North Carolina |
8-4 |
16 |
4/21 at No. 9 Notre Dame |
|
16 |
Denver |
7-5 |
18 |
4/23 at Providence |
|
17 |
Harvard |
7-3 |
14 |
4/23 vs. No. 3 Princeton |
|
18 |
Richmond |
7-4 |
19 |
4/23 at High Point |
|
19 |
Boston U |
9-3 |
20 |
4/23 at Lehigh |
|
20 |
Saint Joseph's |
10-2 |
NR |
4/23 vs. Sacred Heart |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Bucknell (8-4), High Point (7-5), Lehigh (7-4), Utah (7-3), Vermont (7-6), Villanova (7-4)
Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Brown (+3)
The Bears are suddenly one of the most interesting teams in Division I. At 5-4 two weeks ago, their greatest asset was opportunity; games against Penn, Yale and Cornell provided chances for Mike Daly’s team to distinguish itself.
And that’s exactly what Brown has done, beating Penn 12-10 in Philadelphia and then walloping Yale 20-13. It was the Bears’ most lopsided defeat of the Bulldogs since 2000, and it gives them a couple high-profile victories. Brian Antonelli, Ryan Aughavin and Devon McLane scored four times apiece on Saturday for Brown, which is a step closer to returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016.
NOT
Cornell (-5)
Losing by seven on your home field? It isn’t good. Cornell gets a bit of an adjustment this week in part because of its lopsided loss to Army. Maybe playing for the third time in eight days got to the Big Red, which had last played Monday when it outlasted Syracuse in overtime. The game-week routine goes back to normal this week when Brown visits Ithaca on Saturday.
In any case, one element of Cornell’s overall profile is interesting. It is the only team in this week’s No. 6-14 range without a top-20 RPI victory away from home (Penn checks that box thanks to a neutral-site defeat of Duke).
Harvard (-3)
One bad quarter did in the Crimson at Franklin Field. Penn scored the first five goals of the second half, turning a modest Harvard lead at the break into a four-goal advantage. The Quakers went on to win 11-8.
That’s back-to-back losses for Harvard, though it did see its two most noteworthy victories (Boston University and Brown) grow in value over the weekend.
IN
Saint Joseph’s (No. 20)
After back-to-back victories over their closest competition in the Northeast Conference title race, the Hawks nose into the Top 20 for the first time this season.
Saint Joseph’s has won six in a row and can clinch the top seed in the NEC tournament (along with home-field advantage) with a victory Saturday over Sacred Heart. The Hawks have four 20-goal scorers (led by Matt Bohmer’s 32 goals and 14 assists) and still have an ace at the X in Zach Cole (Division I-leading .730 faceoff percentage).
OUT
Lehigh (was No. 15)
The Mountain Hawks’ 16-game winning streak against Patriot League opponents ended with a 9-8 overtime loss at Colgate, which knocked Lehigh out of a first-place tie in the conference with Boston University.
The good news for the Mountain Hawks? The Terriers come to town on Saturday, and a victory should get Lehigh back into the Top 20 — and put it in position to host the conference tournament. Lehigh requires two victories and no outside help to lock down the top seed in the Patriot for the second year in a row.