High Stakes for D-II Men's Top 20 Teams in Regular Season's Final Week

With conference play coming to a close and some conferences even beginning their conference playoffs, last week had the potential to come off the rails. But almost every favored team won its matchup, except for just a handful of results. 

As some teams prepare for their long, slow walk through the playoff graveyard, other squads are rising in the USA Lacrosse Division II Men's Top 20 and clawing for that final win or tiebreaker that gets them even the slightest of advantages.

Unfortunately, it was bound to happen — Flagler has fallen. One of the breakout teams in all of NCAA lacrosse this season, the Saints were downed by Lander 14-9 on Saturday. Junior attackman Michael Mattagliano went a perfect 5-for-5 on his shots against Flagler. His lone assist in the third quarter, followed by his fifth goal scored shortly thereafter, put the Bearcats up for good. 

While Flagler has fallen, that only makes the Peach Belt Conference that much more intriguing, as the wild mix of unpredictable teams like Colorado Mesa, Westminster and even CUI will all do battle to earn the automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament alongside Lander and Flagler.

In the NE-10, Saint Anselm remained undefeated with their 11th straight win, downing Pace 15-12. With that victory, the Hawks clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference and concluded their regular-season slate. 

America may run on Dunkin, but St. A’s runs on New Englanders. Six of its leading scorers are from New England, and five are from Massachusetts. In between quoting lines from “The Town,” that sextuplet has amassed 166 points. Still, a rematch with reigning NCAA champion Adelphi in the NE-10 conference playoffs must be on the back of this kettle of Hawks’ minds.

Speaking of conference playoffs, the Sunshine State Conference began its playoffs early because Florida does what it wants. The quarterfinal matchup that caught everyone’s eye was Embry-Riddle’s 14-9 win over Saint Leo. It’s not an entirely unexpected result given the Eagles’ late-season rise, but they did go into this game on a two-game skid. 

The Lions only had one win in their last five games and were slinking toward the conference playoffs like another famous fictional lion, Scar. Like that same feline, Saint Leo has been vanquished, as Embry-Riddle punched its ticket to the semifinals, where it will meet Tampa on Wednesday at 4 p.m. 

Rollins downed Florida Tech 13-8 in the other quarterfinal, so the Tars will head to Boca Raton to take a another crack at Lynn in the other SSC semi.

Next week is the last chance saloon for dozens of Division II teams. The final games in multiple conferences will be played across the country to determine conference playoff positions. Winning your conference tournament finally means something in Division II. That should make for perhaps the most exciting conclusion of a D-II season in the history of the game. 

How’s that for stakes?

Continue below to see the entire Top 20, which is compiled by USA Lacrosse Magazine staff and contributors.

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