Middlebury, St. Lawrence Ride Much-Needed Wins into D-III Men's Top 20

It was a fairly chalky week in the Division III men’s lacrosse world. The calendar featured very few ranked matchups. There was one notable exception to the script-following that ruled the weekend, as Middlebury stunned Wesleyan with a 10-9 win at Youngman Field.

The Panthers started the season 0-3, tumbling from the Top 20 with a trio of tough losses against ranked opponents. Since then, they’ve won five of their last six and three straight. 

The win over Wesleyan had no shortage of drama. Wesleyan had an early 3-0 lead, but a natural hat trick from Logan White tied things at three in the first quarter. From there, neither team ever led by more than one goal. With 1:24 left in the game, Ben Burns scored unassisted to give Wesleyan a 9-8 lead. With just 17 seconds left, Cooper DeMallie fed Russell Thorndike from behind the net, and Thorndike scored from long range to tie it at 9. 

Wesleyan won the following faceoff, but William Munroe forced a turnover, picked up the ball and fed Billy Curtis, who scored with two seconds left to give Middlebury the win. Wesleyan fell to 3-1 in NESCAC play, and Middlebury improved to 3-2. With teams like Trinity climbing the ranking to join mainstays like Tufts, Amherst and Bowdoin, it’s once again looking like anyone’s conference.

Elsewhere, Denison and York did battle in the Not Ranked in the Preseason and Making Us Look Bad for That Bowl. Denison controlled things for most of the game, leading by as many as four after a dominant third quarter. A feverish York comeback effort came up short. The Spartans scored five straight in the fourth, capped by Coleton Mahorney scoring twice just 50 seconds apart, tying the score at 11. But a critical goal from Collin Murphy on a nice find from Tommy Quinson put Denison back in front, and the Big Red held on from there. 

St. Lawrence got a much-needed win over Union to rejoin the Top 20. After hovering around the top 10 early in the year, the Saints dropped three straight and tumbled out into “Also Considered” territory, an unfamiliar place. This win, highlighted by a 16-save effort by Michael Marinello, gets the Saints back to .500.

Haverford’s loss to Ursinus dropped them out of the Top 20, as did Babson’s loss to Bowdoin. They make way for the aforementioned Middlebury and St. Lawrence to join and rejoin the ranking, respectively.

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

USA LACROSSE DIVISION III 
MEN'S TOP 20