There’s a new No. 1 team atop the Nike/US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20.
Salisbury, winner of 12 NCAA championships, has vaulted into the top spot with six consecutive wins. The underlying cause, though, is Bates’ 15-12 victory over defending NCAA champion and previous No. 1 Wesleyan.
We’d be remiss not to mention what’s ahead, as Stevenson hosts the annual Mustang Classic this coming weekend. Ten of the country’s top Division III programs will convene on Owings Mills, Md., for some can’t-miss lacrosse.
Those games will surely have an impact on the national top 20, but until then, here’s where things stand.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division III Men’s Top 20
March 11, 2019 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salisbury | 6-0 | 2 | 3/15 vs. Illinois Wesleyan |
| 2 | Amherst | 3-0 | 3 | 3/15 vs. No. 15 Franklin & Marshall |
| 3 | Tufts | 4-0 | 4 | 3/12 vs. Endicott |
| 4 | RIT | 4-0 | 5 | 3/15 vs. No. 5 York |
| 5 | York | 6-0 | 6 | 3/15 vs. No. 4 RIT |
| 6 | Cabrini | 6-0 | 7 | 3/13 vs. Ohio Wesleyan |
| 7 | Bates | 3-1 | NR | 3/12 vs. Western New England |
| 8 | Wesleyan | 2-1 | 1 | 3/13 vs. Clark |
| 9 | Dickinson | 4-1 | 9 | 3/15 vs. No. 12 Denison |
| 10 | Gettysburg | 4-2 | 8 | 3/13 vs. No. 14 Washington and Lee |
| 11 | Ursinus | 4-0 | 10 | 3/13 vs. Eastern |
| 12 | Denison | 3-1 | 12 | 3/15 vs. No. 9 Dickinson |
| 13 | Christopher Newport | 4-2 | 13 | 3/13 vs. Washington College |
| 14 | Washington and Lee | 4-3 | 15 | 3/13 at No. 10 Gettysburg |
| 15 | Franklin & Marshall | 4-1 | 16 | 3/15 vs. No. 2 Amherst |
| 16 | Stevens | 3-2 | 11 | 3/13 at Widener |
| 17 | Lynchburg | 3-3 | 17 | 3/15 at No. 19 Stevenson |
| 18 | RPI | 4-0 | 19 | 3/13 vs. Plattsburgh State |
| 19 | Stevenson | 1-3 | 18 | 3/15 vs. No. 17 Lynchburg |
| 20 | Ithaca | 2-1 | 14 | 3/14 vs. Skidmore |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Coast Guard, Cortland, DeSales, Hampden-Sydney, Ohio Wesleyan, Springfield, St. Lawrence, Swarthmore, Union, Williams
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
Hot
Washington and Lee (+1)
After flip-flopping with wins and losses to start the season, the Generals had a two-win week, striking down Mary Washington 22-3 and Randolph-Macon 14-6. A big part of the ODAC program’s success was the return of senior attackman A.J. Witherell from injury. The two-time All-American had 10 points (four goals, six assists) across the two contests. He leads the team in points (17), despite missing two games.
RPI (+1)
Somewhat under-the-radar, the Engineers have stormed out to a 4-0 start and seem the likeliest of candidates to challenge RIT for pole position in the Liberty League. The latest accomplishment was a 14-8 win over Babson on Saturday in which Owen Putman, Lucas Bastarache and Cooper Urban. All had at least four points. RIT has accomplished this despite operating at a 47-percent success rate from the faceoff X and narrowly winning the ground-ball battle (138-131).
Franklin and Marshall (+1)
The Diplomats have rattled off four straight wins after opening the season with an 11-8 loss to Lynchburg. On Saturday, that meant beating Messiah, 21-16, though stats were not immediately available from the neutral-site clash in New Rochelle, N.Y. Either way, the Centennial Conference program is heating up.
Not
Wesleyan (-7)
It was always a tough ask for the defending national champions to go undefeated, as they were blitzed in a 15-12 loss at Bates over the weekend. The Cardinals scored the game’s first goal, then couldn’t pull of a fourth-quarter rally when trailing 15-8. It’s now back to the drawing board for head coach John Raba’s team. After a very-winnable midweek game vs. Clark, Mustang Classic games vs. Middlebury and Lynchburg lie ahead. The former is a NESCAC matchup.
Ithaca (-6)
A drop of six slots might be harsh on Ithaca, though they got blown out of the water in last weekend’s 17-5 loss at Cabrini. It was the Bombers’ first test against a top-20 team and they weren’t up to snuff. They can right the ship, though, when facing Skidmore on Thursday to begin Liberty League play. Ithaca has won just 42.9 percent of faceoffs this year.
Stevens (-5)
The past week wasn’t kind to this Empire 8 program, as it lost back-to-back games to Roanoke and Tufts, each by two goals. The 12-10 defeat can be chalked up to first-team All-American goalie Ian Davies standing on his head to make 22 saves. As for losing 19-17 to Tufts, allowing five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter sealed the deal. That negated a combined 13 points for attackmen Ryan Gebhardt and Max Bailey.
In
Bates
Welcome back to the national spotlight, Bates. The Bobcats rode five goals and five assists from All-American attackman Matt Chlastawa to upset Wesleyan at home on Saturday, while Brendan Mullally had four goals and an assist. Two years ago, Bates was No. 1 for much of the season after going 14-0 through the regular season and scoring 17.17 goals per game. The Bobcats ultimately lost to Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinals and then Wesleyan in the NCAA tournament. Could another national run be brewing?
Out
Coast Guard
The Bears convincingly beat New England College 13-5 over the weekend, so it’s not like they’re slumping. Rather, with several teams on the upswing, they narrowly drop out of the national top 20. The service academy faces Maritime (N.Y.) and the Merchant Marine Academy this week, so pride will be on the line.