Blowouts were the name of the game this weekend in Division I.
There were 11 games over Friday and Saturday involving at least one team in the top 15 of last week’s Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20. The average margin of victory? 11.64 goals. The closest of the bunch? Maryland’s 13-7 triumph at Penn State on Friday in a game the Terrapins had firm control of by the end of the third quarter.
There were romps on the road (Rutgers’ 22-12 defeat of Ohio State) and lopsided games at home (Georgetown’s 19-1 shellacking of St. John’s). There were overwhelming results for schools playing their first games of the season (Notre Dame, a 19-7 winner over Robert Morris) and those playing their sixth (Denver 23-10 against Providence).
And there were football scores. Lots of football scores. Syracuse’s 20-10 drubbing of Virginia. Lehigh’s 24-10 thumping of NJIT. Duke 17-7 over Air Force. North Carolina 27-12 against High Point in a repeat of a much closer game a week-and-a-half earlier.
(There were even a few of those at the edge of the top 20, where things were a little more competitive. Hofstra handled Stony Brook 20-17, and Navy turned back Jacksonville 13-6).
About the only thing mostly missing were riveting finishes, though UMBC provided one by rallying for an 8-7 overtime defeat of Mount St. Mary’s. The Retrievers are among the teams on the cusp of joining a reshuffled top 20, which is bound to produce more down-to-the-wire outcomes this week, if only because it would be hard to have fewer.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division I Men’s Top 20
March 1, 2021 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke | 5-0 | 1 | 3/7 at No. 16 Richmond |
| 2 | Maryland | 2-0 | 2 | 3/6 vs. No. 19 Johns Hopkins |
| 3 | North Carolina | 5-0 | 4 | 3/6 vs. Mercer |
| 4 | Georgetown | 2-0 | 5 | 3/2 at Mount St. Mary's |
| 5 | Rutgers | 2-0 | 8 | 3/6 vs. Michigan |
| 6 | Virginia | 3-1 | 3 | 3/3 vs. High Point |
| 7 | Army | 2-1 | 7 | 3/6 at Boston U. |
| 8 | Syracuse | 1-1 | 12 | 3/6 vs. Vermont |
| 9 | Denver | 4-2 | 9 | 3/6 at St. John's |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 1-0 | 10 | 3/6 vs. Bellarmine |
| 11 | Loyola | 2-1 | 13 | 3/6 at No. 14 Lehigh |
| 12 | Ohio State | 1-1 | 6 | 3/6 at No. 15 Penn State |
| 13 | UMass | 0-0 | 14 | 3/6 at No. 20 Hofstra |
| 14 | Lehigh | 1-0 | 15 | 3/6 vs. No. 11 Loyola |
| 15 | Penn State | 0-2 | 11 | 3/6 vs. No. 12 Ohio State |
| 16 | Richmond | 1-2 | 17 | 3/7 vs. No. 1 Duke |
| 17 | Navy | 2-0 | 18 | 3/20 at Lafayette |
| 18 | Albany | 1-0 | NR | 3/6 at Hartford |
| 19 | Johns Hopkins | 1-1 | 20 | 3/6 at No. 2 Maryland |
| 20 | Hofstra | 2-1 | NR | 3/2 vs. Wagner |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Boston U. (2-0), Bryant (2-1), Bucknell (0-0), High Point (1-2), Stony Brook (2-1), UMBC (1-0), Villanova (1-1)
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Syracuse (+4)
Things went a teensy bit better for the Orange in their second game of the season. A week after getting trounced 18-11 at home by Army, Syracuse clobbered Virginia 20-10 in the most lopsided game in series history.
Midfielder Brendan Curry had three goals and four assists, and freshman Owen Hiltz delivered three goals and two assists in his first career start as the Orange peppered Virginia with 39 shots on goal in the first of the season’s 15 ACC league games.
A quick explanation on the ordering of Virginia, Army and Syracuse, who are 1-1 against each other. Syracuse was the only one of the three to lose at home, and Virginia also has a victory at Loyola to its credit. Whichever way you wish to order those teams, they’re the best of the one-loss programs at this stage.
Rutgers (+3)
It’s premature to name the Scarlet Knights — or anyone — the best team in the country. But the most unrelenting? They have to be in the conversation with North Carolina and perhaps a few others.
Rutgers got five goals from Adam Charalambides, four each from Shane Knobloch and Connor Kirst, and a two-goal, four-assist day from Kieran Mullins. It put together a 6-5-7-4 box score line on its way to a 22-12 drubbing of Ohio State in Columbus, and it forced 11 of the Buckeyes’ 19 turnovers. It was a formidable showing and a fine way to demonstrate its opening defeat of Penn State was not a fluke.
NOT
Ohio State (-6)
The Buckeyes bounced up after opening the season with a triumph at Johns Hopkins, then slid back into double digits with a 22-12 loss at home to Rutgers. A number that stands out: Ohio State took just 31 shots despite a relatively even faceoff split (20-18 in favor of Rutgers). The 19 turnovers didn’t help, but the Buckeyes need to get more shots off against an explosive offense in that sort of game.
Penn State (-4)
The natural reaction to Penn State’s first 0-2 start since 2010 is, “Grant Ament sure was a difference-maker.” And, indeed, the former Nittany Lion was a dynamic presence during his college career. But it’s not a full explanation.
Penn State was without midfielder Jack Traynor and defenseman Brayden Peck in Friday’s 13-7 loss to Maryland, and midfielder Cole Willard left with an injury in the first half. These Nittany Lions aren’t going to be as prodigious as their 2019 edition, but they can become a dangerous bunch at full strength. They weren’t at that point against the Terrapins.
Virginia (-3)
The Cavaliers had the misfortune of catching Syracuse at the wrong time, when the Orange was ultra-cranky coming off a lopsided home loss to Army. Two other things didn’t help matters: A possession disadvantage and an off day from star attackman Matt Moore (no goals and one assist on 10 shots).
The 20-10 loss at the Dome had more to do with Syracuse than Virginia, though, and Virginia will need to get its offense back in sync in time to welcome High Point to Charlottesville on Wednesday.
IN
Albany (No. 18)
The Dane Train got rolling for the first time this season on Saturday as Jakob Patterson collected four goals and four assists in a 15-9 victory over Colgate. Albany dominated ground balls (37-23) and offered a hint that it could be well-positioned to bounce back after going a combined 7-12 over the last two seasons.
Hofstra (No. 20)
The Pride claimed Long Island bragging rights with a 20-17 defeat of Stony Brook, and it holds the final spot in the top 20 by a nose over the Seawolves. Ryan Tierney has a pair of eight-goal, three-assist efforts for Hofstra, which snapped a two-game skid in its series with Stony Brook.
OUT
Stony Brook (was No. 16)
Give the Seawolves their due: They’re not boring. Stony Brook is averaging 17 goals a game, tied for fifth in Division I, and it hit that number against Hofstra. Maryland transfer Dylan Pallonetti had five goals and three assists in the 20-17 setback, and there’s every reason to think the Seawolves will be a handful for even the best America East defenses. Stony Brook (2-1) has only one game against a non-league opponent remaining — March 12 at Syracuse.
High Point (was No. 19)
The Panthers went 0-for-2 in February at North Carolina. The first regular-season trip to Chapel Hill was a rollicking 17-15 midweek encounter. Things didn’t go quite so well Saturday, as the Tar Heels had no interest in a nerve-wracking fourth quarter and blistered their in-state foe 27-12. That’s enough to nudge the Panthers back outside the top 20, but they have opportunities to move back in with trips to Virginia (Wednesday) and Duke (March 10) looming.