Another week of Division III lacrosse is in the books, and defending NCAA champion Salisbury continues dancing through the raindrops, surviving an 11-10 overtime battle against No. 8 Gettysburg to improve to 4-0. The Sea Gulls have played tough games on each of the past three weekends, besting Lynchburg by one and Montclair State by a pair before the Bullets came to town. Salisbury has won four straight OT games dating back to 2015.
RIT was the only other Top 5 team in action, with the Tigers handling Stevenson by a 16-13 margin.
Last week’s big mover, Washington and Lee, was again on the move, but this time on the downward trajectory. The Generals fell to then-unranked Washington College by two, facilitating the Shoremen’s debut in this week’s Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20.
With the calendar finally flipping to March, we’ll see the remainder of teams in lacrosse’s largest division get underway with their seasons. All seven of the teams in our rankings which have yet to play will get their seasons going with a contest by Saturday afternoon.
Feb 27, 2017 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salisbury | 4-0 | 1 | 3/5 vs. No. 12 Ohio Wesleyan |
| 2 | Ithaca | 0-0 | 2 | 3/1 at Lycoming |
| 3 | Tufts | 0-0 | 3 | 3/4 at Stevens |
| 4 | RIT | 2-0 | 4 | 3/4 vs. Scranton |
| 5 | St. Lawrence | 0-0 | 5 | 3/4 vs. Western New England |
| 6 | York | 4-0 | 6 | 3/4 vs. Lynchburg |
| 7 | Cabrini | 2-0 | 7 | 3/1 at Hampden-Sydney |
| 8 | Gettysburg | 2-1 | 8 | 3/4 vs. No. 17 Stevenson |
| 9 | Bowdoin | 0-0 | 9 | 3/4 at No. 14 Amherst |
| 10 | RPI | 1-0 | 10 | 3/4 at No. 2 Ithaca |
| 11 | Ohio Wesleyan | 2-1 | 12 | 3/1 vs. Illinois Wesleyan |
| 12 | Denison | 1-1 | 13 | 3/4 vs. Albion |
| 13 | Cortland | 0-0 | 14 | 3/1 vs. Scranton |
| 14 | Amherst | 0-0 | 13 | 3/4 vs. No. 9 Bowdoin |
| 15 | Washington College | 2-0 | NR | 3/1 at St. Mary's (Md.) |
| 16 | Washington and Lee | 2-2 | 11 | 3/4 vs. Franklin & Marshall |
| 17 | Stevenson | 0-1 | 16 | 3/4 at No. 8 Gettysburg |
| 18 | Bates | 1-0 | 18 | 3/4 vs. No. 5 St. Lawrence |
| 19 | Wesleyan | 0-0 | 19 | 3/4 at No. 18 Bates |
| 20 | Dickinson | 2-0 | 20 | 3/4 vs. No. 7 Cabrini |
Also considered: Keene State, Lynchburg, Middlebury, Roanoke, Springfield, Ursinus, Western New England
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Cabrini
They didn’t move up any spots this week — in fact, the only teams making forward progress, besides newcomer Washington College, moved more on the basis of a team ahead of them falling than their own merits — but the Cavaliers were impressive in a win over a Lynchburg team which played top-ranked Salisbury close earlier in February. Up by one at the break, Cabrini outscored the Hornets 7-2 in the second half to move to 2-0 on the year, with a test against No. 20 Dickinson looming this weekend.
NOT
Washington and Lee (-5)
A win over Denison shot the Generals up the charts last week, but a loss to then-unranked Washington College burst that bubble just a few days later. It didn’t help W&L’s cause that another ODAC team nearly toppled Denison on Sunday, as Roanoke rallied to send their contest with the Big Red to OT but fell in the extra frame.
NEW
Washington College
In its first win over a ranked team since 2014, WAC jumped out to a 3-0 lead and led by as many as seven before a late rally in an 11-9 victory over Washington and Lee. Casey Grieves had a huge showing with two goals and four assists in the win, which moved Jeff Shirk’s team to 2-0 on the young season and earned it a spot in the rankings.
OUT
Western New England
A flat third quarter doomed the Golden Bears against unranked Keene State in their opener this week, as the Owls went on a 5-0 third quarter run and held on for a 16-13 victory on the road. Plenty of season left to play, but opening with a loss to an unranked squad isn’t a good way to hang onto your spot.