The women’s lacrosse world felt a déjà vu moment on Sunday.
Top-seeded Loyola was on track to win the Patriot League title with an unblemished conference record, but in swooped No. 2 seed Navy for back-to-back conference crowns in a stunning 17-10 rout of the Greyhounds.
The victory vaulted Navy into the Top 10 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20, rising four spots from last week.
This week’s rankings are the last for the 2018 regular season until May Madness concludes Memorial Day weekend.
Are the Midshipmen planning another Cinderella run in the 2018 NCAA tournament? Last year, they rode the upset bid to its first final four.
Navy will meet its first test Friday against state rival Johns Hopkins, and could see Loyola again in the second round if the Greyhounds defeat Fairfield.
Stay tuned until May 27 to see which team emerges as the 2018 NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse champion.
Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20
May 7, 2018 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stony Brook | 19-0 | 1 | 5/13 vs. No. 13 Penn/No. 17 Penn State |
| 2 | Maryland | 18-1 | 2 | 5/13 vs. No. 20 Denver/No. 16 High Point |
| 3 | James Madison | 18-1 | 3 | 5/13 vs. No. 11 Stanford/Virginia |
| 4 | North Carolina | 15-3 | 4 | 5/13 vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech/Georgetown |
| 5 | Boston College | 19-1 | 5 | 5/13 vs. No. 9 Princeton/No. 18 Syracuse |
| 6 | Florida | 16-3 | 6 | 5/13 vs. No. 14 Colorado/Jacksonville |
| 7 | Northwestern | 13-5 | 7 | 5/11 vs. Richmond |
| 8 | Towson | 15-4 | 9 | 5/11 vs. Wagner/Mercer |
| 9 | Princeton | 12-5 | 12 | 5/11 vs. No. 18 Syracuse |
| 10 | Navy | 16-3 | 14 | 5/11 vs. No. 19 Johns Hopkins |
| 11 | Stanford | 15-4 | 11 | 5/11 vs. Virginia |
| 12 | Loyola | 15-4 | 8 | 5/11 vs. Fairfield |
| 13 | Penn | 13-4 | 10 | 5/11 vs. No. 17 Penn State |
| 14 | Colorado | 13-5 | 13 | 5/11 vs. Jacksonville |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | 13-6 | 15 | 5/11 vs. Georgetown |
| 16 | High Point | 17-2 | 16 | 5/11 vs. No. 20 Denver |
| 17 | Penn State | 10-9 | 18 | 5/11 vs. No. 13 Penn |
| 18 | Syracuse | 9-9 | 17 | 5/11 vs. No. 9 Princeton |
| 19 | Johns Hopkins | 10-8 | 20 | 5/11 vs. No. 10 Navy |
| 20 | Denver | 12-6 | NR | 5/11 vs. No. 16 High Point |
Also considered: Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Richmond, USC, Virginia
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Navy (+4)
For the second straight season, Navy upended Loyola for the Patriot League crown and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. With a 9-5 lead at halftime, the Mids cruised to a 17-10 victory, never trailing in the second period. Julia Collins, the Patriot League MVP, scored six goals on 10 shots, tying the conference tournament record in goals (11) and points (13) in their two games, the first being a 20-5 rout of Lehigh.
Princeton (+3)
Top-seeded Princeton cruised to the Ivy League final with a dominant 17-7 win over Columbia. Then the Tigers downed Penn, a higher nationally ranked team, 13-10 for the conference title. The championship game saw seven ties. Knotted at 10 with 12:57 to play, Tess D’Orsi scored back-to-back goals to take the Tigers up two before Kathryn Hallett sealed the deal with one more insurance tally. Princeton has won more Ivy League crowns than any other team.
Penn State (+1)
Despite falling to Maryland 21-12 in the Big Ten championship, Penn State’s path to the final earned it a slight bump in the rankings – the third-seeded Nittany Lions upset No. 2 seed Northwestern handedly, 21-16. Madison Carter led the way with six goals for Penn State, which snapped a four-game losing streak to avoid losing five straight for the first time since 1969.
NOT
Loyola (-4)
The Greyhounds couldn’t escape the upset bug. After an undefeated conference record during the regular season, then a 15-6 rout of Boston University in the Patriot League semifinals, Loyola stumbled at the hands of Navy in the conference championship for the second straight year. If Loyola defeats Fairfield in the first round of the NCAA tournament, it will need to reevaluate its game plan before facing the winner of Navy-Johns Hopkins, both of which already beat the Greyhounds. Johns Hopkins topped the Greyhounds 14-11 in their season opener and Navy recently stumped them in a 17-10 loss in the Patriot League final.
Penn (-3)
For the second time this season, Penn couldn’t solve Princeton. The Quakers fell to the Tigers 21-8 on April 25 and again 13-10 in the Ivy League championship. Despite tightening the scoring margin, they never held a lead and were outshot and outhustled on ground balls by Princeton.
IN
Denver
Top-seeded Florida handed No. 3 seed Denver an 18-6 loss in the Big East final, but the Pioneers got there with a 12-7 upset of No. 2 seed Georgetown. The victory jumped Denver into the Top 20 at No. 20, while bumping the Hoyas out of the national rankings. With a 12-6 overall record, including a win over Colorado and recent triumph over Georgetown, Denver earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
OUT
Georgetown
The Hoyas dropped out of this week’s rankings after falling to the lower-seeded Pioneers. Denver outshot and outhustled Georgetown in ground balls, but perhaps the biggest pitfall was the Hoyas’s 18 turnovers, compared to just nine for the Pioneers. Georgetown was riding one-goal wins over Johns Hopkins and Denver to earn a first-round matchup against Virginia Tech in the NCAA tournament.