Colgate, Rutgers Enter USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20

Notre Dame still owns Duke — and the No. 1 spot in the USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20.

The Fighting Irish’s 15-12 victory over the host Blue Devils was the program’s fifth in a row in the series, a winning streak that includes last year’s national title game.

Sunday’s stakes weren’t quite so high, though Notre Dame’s chances of locking down the No. 1 seed in next month’s NCAA tournament were enhanced with the high-end victory. More opportunities for quality victories loom, starting with this Sunday’s meeting with Cornell on Long Island.

As for the Blue Devils, they’re 0-2 in the ACC and will need to win at least one of their two remaining regular season games — on Sunday at home against Virginia, then 13 days later at North Carolina — to qualify for their conference tournament. And if they do make it to the May 3-5 event in Charlotte, N.C., it’s quite possible Notre Dame will be waiting for them again.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION I
MEN’S TOP 20

1. Notre Dame, 7-1 (Prev: 1)
2. Virginia, 10-1 (Prev: 2)
3. Johns Hopkins, 8-3 (Prev: 6)
4. Duke, 10-3 (Prev: 4)
5. Georgetown, 8-2 (Prev: 7)
6. Maryland, 7-3 (Prev: 8)
7. Penn State, 7-3 (Prev: 5)
8. Yale, 7-2 (Prev: 10)
9. Denver, 8-2 (Prev: 11)
10. Cornell, 7-3 (Prev: 13)
11. Army, 8-2 (Prev: 3)
12. Syracuse, 9-4 (Prev: 9)
13. Penn, 7-4 (Prev: 12)
14. Princeton, 7-3 (Prev: 14)
15. Boston U, 7-3 (Prev: 16)
16. Colgate, 7-4, (Prev: NR)
17. Richmond, 7-4 (Prev: 17)
18. Harvard, 7-3 (Prev: 18)
19. Towson, 8-3 (Prev: 19)
20. Rutgers, 7-4 (Prev: NR)

Also considered (alphabetical order): Delaware (6-3), High Point (7-5), Michigan (6-5), Navy (7-4), North Carolina (6-5), Ohio State (6-6), Saint Joseph’s (7-3)

HOT

Cornell (+3)

Give the Big Red credit for finding themselves in exciting games, particularly of late. In an eight-day span, Cornell lost in double overtime to Penn, rallied from down 16-10 late in the third quarter to beat Syracuse in double overtime and then got 24 saves in a 14-8 defeat of Brown.

It’s an exaggeration to say the Syracuse victory was a season-saver for the Big Red, which was always going to have a chance to earn a place in the postseason through the Ivy League’s automatic bid. But it was a reminder that it is difficult to completely bury Cornell, which next gets a meeting with Notre Dame this weekend.

Johns Hopkins (+3)

As solid a season as Hopkins is enjoying - from a deep, balanced offense to the addition of goalie Chayse Ierlan paying off to an improved close defensive unit - it might have been a bit unlucky in the first half of the season. The Blue Jays were 0-3 in one-goal games, losing in overtime to Denver and Navy and dropping a 14-13 decision to Syracuse.

Hopkins flipped things Saturday, overcoming Penn State goalie Jack Fracyon’s scorching start and squeezing out an 9-8 defeat of the Nittany Lions on Matt Collison’s winner 81 seconds into overtime. The Blue Jays still own one of the best victories on the board (at Virginia) and can clinch a bye into the Big Ten semifinals by winning either of their next two games.

NOT

Army (-8)

The Black Knights ended up on the wrong end of one of the oddest box scores of the season. Army won 22 of 28 faceoffs, forced 18 of Colgate’s 30 turnovers, scored three extra-man goals … but lost 14-11, as the Raiders shot 45.2 percent when they actually managed to get a shot off. Colgate goalie Matt LaCombe did his part to stifle the Black Knights, stopping 18 shots.

That’s two Patriot League losses in a three-weekend span for Army, which has work to do simply to avoid playing in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. Beating Navy - which makes its way to Michie Stadium on Saturday - would go a long way toward solving that problem.

Syracuse (-3)

The Orange has dropped back-to-back games and was sort of out of sight and out of mind over the weekend after its Tuesday night loss to Cornell. Syracuse has just two regular-season games left, at North Carolina on Saturday and then at home against Virginia on April 20.

The good thing for the Orange is no one is sitting around bewildered at how it has absorbed any of its four losses. It fell to Army, Cornell and Maryland in overtime and by two at Notre Dame.

IN

Colgate (No. 16)

The Raiders have won four of five since the start of March, and they have a victory at Army to pair with their opening week upset of Penn State. Few teams have two road victories as impressive as Colgate’s best triumphs.

The Raiders don’t need much help to claim the top seed in the Patriot League tournament. If they win out (against Lehigh, Holy Cross and Boston University) and Navy loses one of its final three games, they would earn tournament hosting rights for the first time since 2012.

Rutgers (No. 20)

Back into the Top 20 come the Scarlet Knights after redshirt freshman Cardin Stoller tied a career high with 19 saves in Sunday’s 9-7 victory at Michigan.

It’s clear after the last month that Rutgers’ path to victory against quality teams is predicated on playing exceptional defense and trying to scratch out 10 goals if possible. The Scarlet Knights didn’t quite reach double figures, but their stars were stars (Ross Scott had three goals and an assist, while Shane Knobloch had two goals and two assists), and they played from ahead for the final three quarters at a pace to their liking. That was enough to avoid falling to 0-3 in the Big Ten.

OUT

Michigan (was No. 15)

The Wolverines have dropped back-to-back games since toppling Maryland for the third time in two seasons, and an encounter with a hot goalie on Sunday didn’t help. Michigan shot just 15.2 percent against Rutgers, dropping its ninth in a row against the Scarlet Knights.

To stay in contention for a bye into the Big Ten semifinals, Michigan will need to win on the road the next two Saturdays: First at Penn State, then at rival Ohio State.

North Carolina (was No. 20)

The Tar Heels (6-5) have dropped three in a row after a 14-6 trouncing at Virginia, the start of a four-week slog through the ACC. North Carolina welcomes Syracuse to Chapel Hill on Saturday before a trip to Notre Dame and a home game against Duke to complete the regular season.