Frank Barbera has 38 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers this season.

Gettysburg Raises Stock in Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Men's Top 20

April 17, 2023

Dan Arestia and Kyle Devitte

John Strohsacker

This weekend in Division III did not disappoint. Whether you support one of the juggernaut squads or an up-and-coming bubble buster, there were results to please everyone. Well … almost everyone.

The NESCAC has been tumultuous. With midweek upsets and close games stretching over the last few weeks that may not have been expected to be close, one of the most competitive conferences in Division III suddenly looks up for grabs. Tufts re-established its clear dominance and solidified its No. 1 ranking with a thorough beating of Wesleyan, 25-16. The Jumbos raced out to a 9-0 first-quarter lead, and Wesleyan didn’t get on the board until there were two minutes left in the first quarter. It was more of the same in the second, as Tufts led 19-5 at the half and the game never really felt close. The Jumbos remain the team to beat not just in the NESCAC, but in the nation.

Another team that raised its stock in one of — if not the — toughest conferences in Division III was Middlebury. The Panthers chucked three wins into the bank this week, starting with a one-goal win against St. Lawrence last Wednesday. A flurry of goals from Middlebury just before the half — Russell Thornduke, William Ryan and Johnny Kantaros all scored for the Panthers with less than 1:30 left in the second quarter — looked like the beginnings of a Middlebury run that might deliver a knockout punch.

But St Lawrence battled back with a three-goal run in the third to tie it at nine, before William Ryan beat the third-quarter buzzer to give Middlebury a one-goal edge. Six fourth-quarter saves from Michael Marinello, part of a 17-save day for him, kept St. Lawrence within a goal, but ultimately, they just couldn’t manage enough late offensive chances to tie it late.

On Saturday, Middlebury took down Colby 22-12 and came back after being down early to down Babson 18-15. If there is one team that no one wants to face in the NESCAC (other than the Jumbos), it’s Middlebury.

Swarthmore got a midweek scare, needing OT to beat Washington College. Does Cinderella's run end here? Dickinson made a very strong case for yes, yes it does. If you blinked, you missed a few scores in this one, as Dickinson was up 3-0 in the first minute. It was a showcase of individual efforts, as Dickinson ran off a 6-0 run to start the game, and five of those were unassisted. The rout was on from the opening whistle, really, and Dickinson was up 11-1 at halftime. At the end of the third it was 15-3, and Dickinson took its foot off the gas — or this could have been worse. Dickinson outshot Swarthmore 56-34 and went 18-for-24 at the X. Swarthmore was under assault all afternoon after winning eight straight coming in, including a win over Gettysburg. Ursinus is up next for as teams continue to jockey for position in the Centennial.

The top teams are reigning supreme heading into the final weeks of the season. But the rest of the Top 20 is still fighting for every win.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION III MEN’S TOP 20

	April 17, 2023	W/L	Prev	Next
1	Tufts	13-0	1	4/22 vs. Hamilton
2	Salisbury	12-1	2	4/21 vs. No. 16 Cabrini
3	RIT	13-1	3	4/19 at Geneseo
4	Christopher Newport	13-1	4	4/19 vs. Southern Virginia
5	Middlebury	12-1	5	4/22 vs. No. 9 Amherst
6	St. Lawrence	11-2	6	4/19 vs. Clarkson
7	Gettysburg	11-2	11	4/19 vs. No. 11 Dickinson
8	Bowdoin	9-3	7	4/18 vs. Emerson
9	Amherst	9-3	9	4/22 vs. No. 5 Middlebury
10	York	8-5	15	4/19 at Albright
11	Dickinson	10-3	16	4/19 at No. 7 Gettysburg
12	Washington and Lee	9-4	18	4/18 at Roanoke
13	Stevens	12-2	13	4/22 at Lycoming
14	Denison	9-3	17	4/19 at DePauw
15	Swarthmore	10-2	10	4/19 at Ursinus
16	Cabrini	10-3	19	4/21 at No. 2 Salisbury
17	Hampden-Sydney	11-3	20	4/19 at Randolph
18	Lynchburg	9-5	12	4/22 vs. Virginia Wesleyan
19	Union	7-5	14	4/19 vs. St. John Fisher
20	Williams	7-5	NR	4/18 vs. MIT

Also considered (alphabetical order): Kenyon, MIT, RPI, Wesleyan

Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

HOT

RIT (no change)

The Tigers have put up wins week in and week out since their loss to Christopher Newport back in March. With three games left in the regular season, Jake Coon’s squad is gearing up for a playoff run. The Tigers run an efficient offense that excels against teams that try to take away one or two players. On defense, they punish poor decisions with takeaways that lead to easy goals. You have to play all 60 minutes against RIT and execute with all six players in your settled offense to even have a chance. The Tigers may not be the current No. 1 team in the nation, but that’s not their goal. They want to be raising the NCAA title trophy in Philadelphia.

NOT

Union (-5)

A midweek win over Skidmore was thought to put Union back on track, but RPI knocked them right off the rails again. RPI has had an up-and-down season, but it is battle-tested, having played opponents like RIT, Williams, Middlebury and now Union. The wins over Union and Muhlehberg show you RPI can be an excellent team when it can be consistent. RPI may feel fortunate to win this one, as Union went 1-for-7 on extra man, and most statistical categories were just about even otherwise. Union has three winnable games to get its mojo back against St. John Fisher, Ithaca and Vassar before the Liberty League tournament.

IN

Williams (No. 20)

The Ephs are the kind of team that is more than the sum of its record. While they haven't been able to string together a run of consistent victories, they have put in solid performances. One of the main reasons for that is they can play several different styles of lacrosse. In their victory against Amherst, they were equal parts track team and flat track bully. Scoring for fun in transition at times and at others blasting ball carriers into the nether regions of the land beyond the sideline. They have all the components of a solid team — except consistency. However, the win against Amherst put them over .500, and their strength of schedules lands them in the Top 20.

OUT

Wesleyan (was No. 8)

We all knew when the year started that the NESCAC would be, once again, hyper-competitive. In that caliber league, consistently high performance isn’t just nice to have — it’s a must-have. After losing to Bowdoin, Wesleyan looked to have righted the ship with convincing wins over Hamilton and Amherst. But this week, it fell to Middlebury and then dropped a mid-week game with Trinity. It followed with a blowout loss at the hand of Tufts. Once looking like they’d live near the top of the standings, the Cardinals have fallen back with the pack. The Cardinals’ remaining NESCAC opponents are Williams and Connecticut College, both of which took powerhouse Tufts to the final minutes. The Cardinals surrendered an 8-1 second quarter lead to Trinity but otherwise were in control. That’s all it took. Consistency is key.

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Written By

Dan Arestia and Kyle Devitte

Dan Arestia and Kyle Devitte cover Division II and III men's lacrosse for USA Lacrosse Magazine.

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