Lewis Wins GVLC Title, Soars Up USA Lacrosse Division II Men's Top 20

The Division II men’s conference championship action didn’t have a ton of upsets, but the one that did occur was quite epic.

Lewis, fresh off a 13-9 elimination of UIndy, went for broke against Maryville and pulled off an 11-10 win over the Saints for the team’s first-ever GVLC championship. That result would not have been possible without a furious third-quarter run that saw Lewis rattle off four straight goals to tie it at 7, and then go back and forth with Maryville for the rest of the game — right up until the fourth quarter, when Nolan Dalep put the Flyers up for good with 4:34 left.

On Sunday, Chestnut Hill romped over Wilmington 17-8 to secure the CACC title, avenging a regular-season loss. After starting 0-3, Chestnut Hill now sports an 11-4 record. Sam Slater was on fire in the CACC title game, netting seven goals on 11 shots. Six others found the back of the net for Chestnut Hill. Chase Snyder was a force as well, causing three turnovers and picking up five ground balls.

Mercy cruised to an 18-5 win over Frostburg State to win the ECC, led by an 11-point outing from Greg Gibbons. Mercy’s only loss this year is a one-goal defeat at Adelphi. Speaking of Adelphi, the Panthers secured the NE-10 crown with a nailbiter over Saint Anselm, 10-9.

It’s their fifth title, with the last one coming in 2022. In what can be described as a statistical miracle, Adelphi used five different faceoff players and didn’t win a single draw. Saint Anselm used two, as both Quinn Gannon and Evan Spillane went 100 percent, but Saint Anselm couldn’t turn all that extra possession into goals. 

The conference winners from this weekend join the other teams who have secured their conference titles already: Mount Olive from Conference Carolinas, Colorado Mesa from the RMAC, Tampa from the Sunshine State and Lenoir-Rhyne from the SAC.

This is the final in-season update to the Top 20, with the final ranking coming days after the NCAA championship game.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION II
MEN’S TOP 20

1. Lenoir-Rhyne, 15-1 (Prev: 1)
2. Limestone, 16-1 (Prev: 2)
3. Tampa, 17-1 (Prev: 3)
4. Adelphi, 14-2 (Prev: 4)
5. Mercy, 14-1 (Prev: 5)
6. Pace, 12-3 (Prev: 8)
7. Saint Anselm, 10-4 (Prev: 7)
8. Wingate, 11-5 (Prev: 6)
9. Rollins, 12-4 (Prev: 9)
10. Mercyhurst, 13-4 (Prev: 12)
11. Lewis, 13-4 (Prev: 19)
12. Frostburg State, 13-4 (Prev: 11)
13. Maryville, 13-4 (Prev: 15)
14. Newberry, 12-4 (Prev: 10)
15. Bentley, 9-5 (Prev: 13)
16. Mount Olive, 12-3 (Prev: 17)
17. UIndy, 11-5 (Prev: 16)
18. Florida Southern, 10-7 (Prev: 14)
19. Colorado Mesa, 13-4 (Prev: 20)
20. Chestnut Hill, 11-4 (Prev: NR)

Also considered (alphabetical order): Concordia-Irvine (7-8), Lander (12-4), Saint Leo (9-6), Seton Hill (11-6), Wilmington (11-4)

HOT

Lewis (+8)

For a team that is as old as a second grader, the Flyers really know how to party, avenging regular-season losses to Maryville and UIndy in the GVLC tournament. Evan Clement’s remarkable season continues, as he is up to 70 points following his four-point outing in the GLVC title game. Netminder Rian Rathe has been under 62 percent in net just twice in his last six games and has yet to go below 50 percent this season. He’s logged three games with an 80 percent (or higher) save percentage. With a hot goalie and an offensive dynamo, Lewis is putting it all together at the right time.

NOT

UIndy (-1)

In 2023, UIndy ran all over the GLVC, rolling through conference play undefeated. And then the tournament hit, and things got dicey. UIndy was upset as the No. 1 seed, and Rockhurst won the crown. This year, the gap closed even more. Maryville, Rockhurst, Lewis and Davenport all spent time in, or at least considered for, the Top 20, and UIndy suffered two conference losses before being bounced in the GLVC semifinals again. Despite the rough end to the year, UIndy managed to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament.

IN

Chestnut Hill (No. 20)

A lopsided 17-8 victory over Wilmington gave Chestnut Hill the CACC crown on Sunday. Chestnut Hill had exactly one conference loss in the regular season, and it was to Wilmington, so they avenged that defeat in spectacular fashion. Chestnut Hill started 0-3 against three quality opponents but has gone 11-1 since.

OUT

Seton Hill (was No. 18)

A 12-9 loss to Mercyhurst in the G-MAC title game was a season-ender for Seton Hill. They won three straight coming in by wide margins, but against some of the weaker teams in the conference. There’s no doubt Seton Hill challenged itself with a difficult schedule this year, taking on UIndy, Mercy, Mercyhurst in regular-season play. The trouble is, those were all losses; three of them by two goals or fewer. The schedule was strong, but Seton Hill was on the wrong side of too many close ones.