Here’s the boring part of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Men's Top 20: The top three teams remain undefeated and thus stay locked in their positions for another week (although that might change when Le Moyne and Merrimack face off this weekend). Outside of that, it was a rather wild week.
No. 4 NYIT went down to Pace, a loss that shook up the Top 5 and sent Pace surging forward. Overall, half of the top 10 from last week lost in the last few days, prompting a few new teams to rise.
No change at the top, but certainly some movement through the rest of the rankings. Check it out.
March 13, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Moyne | 5-0 | 1 | 3/18 at Merrimack |
| 2 | Limestone | 6-0 | 2 | 3/18 vs. Lake Erie |
| 3 | Merrimack | 3-0 | 3 | 3/18 vs. Le Moyne |
| 4 | Lindenwood | 3-1 | 5 | 3/14 at Alderson Broaddus |
| 5 | Mercyhurst | 4-1 | 8 | 3/18 vs. Walsh |
| 6 | Belmont Abbey | 5-1 | 12 | 3/18 vs. Mount Olive |
| 7 | Pace | 2-0 | 13 | 3/13 vs. American International |
| 8 | NYIT | 4-1 | 4 | 3/18 at Roberts Wesleyan |
| 9 | Adelphi | 4-1 | 11 | 3/15 vs. Saint Anselm |
| 10 | Mount Olive | 5-1 | 6 | 3/18 at Belmont Abbey |
| 11 | Lenoir-Rhyne | 5-1 | 15 | 3/14 at Young Harris |
| 12 | Seton Hill | 2-2 | 7 | 3/18 vs. Lynn |
| 13 | Saint Leo | 5-1 | 16 | 3/14 at Alabama-Huntsville |
| 14 | Tampa | 5-3 | 9 | 3/14 vs. Westminster |
| 15 | Lynn | 3-2 | 10 | 3/18 at Seton Hill |
| 16 | Queens (N.C.) | 4-2 | 20 | 3/15 at Brevard |
| 17 | Mercy | 4-2 | 14 | 3/18 at District of Columbia |
| 18 | Colorado Mesa | 6-1 | N/A | 3/16 at Rollins |
| 19 | Lake Erie | 1-2 | N/A | 3/18 at Limestone |
| 20 | Saint Anselm | 1-1 | N/A | 3/18 vs. Post |
ALSO CONSIDERED: MOLLOY, WINGATE, BENTLEY, ROCKHURST, CHESTNUT HILL, FLORIDA SOUTHERN, LIU POST, ROLLINS, FLORIDA TECH
HOT
Belmont Abbey (+6)
Save for an early loss to Mercyhurst, Belmont Abbey has done everything asked of it so far this season. The Crusaders beat Queens (N.C.) and Lake Erie last month, but got the best win of their season this weekend, when they took down No. 9 Tampa 11-9. It looks like Tampa is down this year, but it’s still an impressive win for a team looking to compete against the best.
Pace (+6)
The Setters are making noise to start their season. Pace came up with the best win of this weekend, taking down No. 4 NYIT 13-7. Six spots is a lot to move, but given that the Nos. 6, 7 , 9 and 10 teams lost, Pace experienced a nice ride right into the thick of the Top 10.
Lenoir-Rhyne (+4)
Lenoir-Rhyne didn’t do anything extra impressive this weekend, but it keeps winning. The Bears lost to Limestone to open the season, and have since won five straight games, including two over borderline Top 20 teams.
NOT
Tampa (-5)
What happened to Tampa? You can forgive an early loss to Limestone, maybe even Lindenwood, but the Spartans had to win a big game at some point to warrant staying in the Top 10. They didn’t this weekend, falling to Belmont Abbey.
Seton Hill (-5)
Starting the season 2-1 with a close loss to Limestone and a win over Mercy looked impressive, but Seton Hill lost to Florida Tech this weekend. Now 2-2, the Griffins will need to prove they belong among Division II’s elite teams. A win over Lynn this weekend could do that.
Lynn (-5)
Speaking of Lynn, it had a rough week. After making it to No. 10 in last week’s rankings, Lynn fell to Wingate and Limestone in a span of four days. The nine-goal loss to Limestone knocked the Fighting Knights back a few more spots, but there’s still time to recover.
NEW
Colorado Mesa
Mesa avenged its earlier loss to Rockhurst by beating its RMAC rival by six goals. At 6-1, the Mavericks back in the Top 20.
Lake Erie
Losses to Belmont Abbey and Florida Southern to start the season moved Lake Erie out of the rankings, but a win over Mount Olive this weekend puts it back in the mix.
Saint Anselm
Like last week, teams on the outside, trying to get into the rankings, didn’t really do themselves any favors. Saint Anselm, by virtue of a one-goal loss to Mercy and a blowout of American International, found itself just a tad more impressive than the others. It might be the small number of games played, but no big blemishes on the record yet.
OUT
LIU Post
The Pioneers have lost three of four games — granted, two of the losses are to Merrimack and Adelphi — and have a losing record seven games into the season.
Rollins
Rollins was just hanging onto a spot in the Top 20 last week after losing to NYIT by a goal, but another one-goal loss, this time to Mount Olive, bumped the Tars. With no signature win to its name, Rollins will need to play well in a tough stretch ahead.
Westminster
After beating Rockhurst to start its season, Westminster had the looks of a team that could win the RMAC. Maybe it still can, but a seven-goal loss to Saint Leo drops the Griffins out of the rankings this week. Westminster will get Tampa this week with a chance to pick up another quality win.