Some weeks, you learn something about teams in how they win.
Thursday, Saturday and Sunday might have revealed something about teams even as they lost.
Start with Syracuse, which dealt with faceoff woes in the first half against Duke and found itself with a seven-goal deficit. But the Orange methodically chipped away at the Blue Devils and briefly held a lead before falling 15-14.
Still, Syracuse was one fantastic Mike Adler save at the buzzer away from heading to overtime in Durham, and its resilience has to be a welcome sign — even if the outcome snapped a four-game winning streak.
Then there was Notre Dame, something of a mystery team after breezing through a manageable non-conference schedule. In their biggest test yet, the Fighting Irish were nearly the equal of Virginia, which snagged a 12-11 road victory on Dox Aitken’s go-ahead goal with 2:28 left on Saturday.
To close out the weekend, Rutgers got its second shot at Maryland in three games and actually held a three-goal lead over the Terrapins in the early stages. In the end, Maryland had Jared Bernhardt and Rutgers didn’t in the 13-9 victory; the attackman had 10 goals and three assists in the regular-season sweep of the Scarlet Knights. Still, Rutgers hung around longer the second time around, and a possible third meeting looms in the Big Ten tournament.
Neither Syracuse nor Notre Dame dropped in this week’s US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 (though one of them likely will after their game at the Carrier Dome). Rutgers fell only one spot in the wake of its loss. And all three have something to build from despite not snagging the resume-building victory each was looking for coming into the week.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division I Men’s Top 20
March 29, 2021 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke | 9-0 | 1 | 4/1 vs. No. 3 North Carolina |
| 2 | Maryland | 6-0 | 2 | 4/3 vs. Penn State |
| 3 | North Carolina | 8-0 | 3 | 4/1 at No. 1 Duke |
| 4 | Army | 4-1 | 4 | 4/3 at No. 11 Lehigh |
| 5 | Syracuse | 4-2 | 5 | 4/3 vs. No. 9 Notre Dame |
| 6 | Virginia | 7-2 | 7 | 4/3 vs. No. 12 Richmond |
| 7 | Rutgers | 4-2 | 6 | 4/3 vs. No. 17 Ohio State |
| 8 | Denver | 7-2 | 8 | 4/3 vs. Marquette |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 4-1 | 9 | 4/3 at No. 5 Syracuse |
| 10 | Georgetown | 6-1 | 10 | 4/3 at St. John's |
| 11 | Lehigh | 4-0 | 11 | 4/3 vs. No. 4 Army |
| 12 | Richmond | 4-3 | 14 | 4/3 at No. 6 Virginia |
| 13 | Hofstra | 4-1 | 16 | 3/30 vs. No. 16 UMass |
| 14 | Navy | 3-0 | 15 | 4/3 vs. No. 15 Loyola |
| 15 | Loyola | 4-3 | 13 | 4/3 at No. 14 Navy |
| 16 | UMass | 2-1 | 12 | 3/30 at No. 13 Hofstra |
| 17 | Ohio State | 3-3 | 17 | 4/3 at No. 7 Rutgers |
| 18 | Delaware | 6-1 | 19 | 4/2 vs. Fairfield |
| 19 | Bryant | 5-1 | 20 | 4/3 vs. Hobart |
| 20 | Vermont | 4-2 | NR | 4/3 at UMBC |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Albany (4-2), Boston University (5-1), Johns Hopkins (2-4), Penn State (2-4), Stony Brook (5-3), Villanova (3-2)
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Hofstra (+3)
The Pride returned from a virus pause Friday, and in their first game in more than three weeks … managed one goal in the first quarter against the Stags. That’s rust (both from a lack of practice and games), plain and simple. In the end, Ryan Tierney did Ryan Tierney things, collecting five goals and an assist, and Hofstra opened CAA play with a 15-7 victory.
Things are about to get interesting in a hurry. Hofstra hosts UMass (Tuesday) and Towson (Saturday) this week, then visits UMass and Towson in another five-day stretch early next month. Toss in a date with Delaware, and the Pride plays five games against CAA contenders in a 19-day stretch.
Richmond (+2)
The Spiders brushed aside High Point 17-10 on Friday in a game that figured to go a long way in sorting out the Southern Conference regular-season race. Dalton Young had six goals and two assists, and Ryan Lanchbury added three goals and four assists as Richmond nosed above .500 for the first time all season.
While the Spiders are averaging 19 goals during their three-game winning streak, they also impressed by limiting the Panthers to just 34 shots. Next up for Dan Chemotti’s team is a trip to Virginia and the last of its three chances to knock off an ACC team in the regular season; Duke and North Carolina dealt Richmond two of its three losses to date.
NOT
UMass (-4)
It’s been a little harder to gauge the Minutemen than most teams, largely because of an extended pause at the start of the season. In its first trip from campus, UMass tripped up 13-12 at Albany. But there are immediate chances to bounce back, with visits to Hofstra (Tuesday) and Drexel (Saturday) this week as CAA play resumes.
Loyola (-2)
There’s no nice way to put it: The Greyhounds did not look like themselves in a 7-6 overtime loss to Towson. A week after dropping 24 goals on Bucknell, Loyola had more shot clock violations (seven) than goals and never established its preferred tempo. Credit Towson with some of that, but the Greyhounds need to regroup as they head into Saturday’s trip to undefeated Navy.
IN
Vermont (No. 20)
Enter the Catamounts, who handled Hartford 14-9 on Saturday as Tommy Burke won 19 of 26 faceoffs and Michael McCormack scored five goals.
Vermont (4-2, 4-0 America East) has won three in a row since an entertaining 17-13 loss at Syracuse on March 6 and will look to extend the best start to conference play in program history when it visits defense-minded UMBC on Saturday.
OUT
Johns Hopkins (was No. 18)
It’s hard to justify keeping a sub-.500 team in the top 20 with the calendar about to turn to April, and the Blue Jays (2-4) fall out of the rankings for the first time this season after Sunday’s 11-8 loss at Penn State. The Nittany Lions snagged a season split with Hopkins in large part due to a strong faceoff advantage (18-5) and excellent goalie play (Colby Kneese made 15 saves).
With both Rutgers and Maryland still looming a second time (not to mention Ohio State), the road back to .500 will not be easy for Hopkins. But, as coaches often say, one step at a time; the Blue Jays welcome Michigan to Homewood Field on Sunday.