NE-10's Top Teams Keep Rolling in D-II Men's Top 20

It was an unpredictably predictable week in Division II. 

There was an upset Wednesday when Rollins rose up and downed Saint Leo 15-9, but that win didn’t really set a consistent tune for other underdogs to dance to last week.

Saint Leo fell again Saturday, this time to Sunshine State foe Palm Beach Atlantic, 10-8. Those two straight losses drop Saint Leo from the Top 20 for now. Molloy returns to the Top 20 after its fourth straight win, a 10-7 takedown of Roberts Wesleyan.

For the rest of the weekend, things went to plan for nearly every Top 20 team. With conference play in full swing, the rising tide lifted most boats. Tampa, Saint Anselm, Adelphi, Limestone, Seton Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne all won their conference tilts, but an upset in the SAC upset the natural order of the rest of the top 10.

On Saturday, Anderson took down last week’s No. 10, Wingate, 15-13. It was a game built from constant Trojan attrition that resulted in a clawing comeback that fell just short. A six-goal explosion in the second quarter pushed the Trojans ahead by as many as six when Max Calabrese’s effort with less than five minutes left in the quarter made it 8-2. Kyle Spence notched two quick goals in the dying minutes of the first half to make it 8-4, giving Wingate a fighting chance. 

Anderson still outscored the Bulldogs 3-2 in the third, which teed up an insane seven-goal fourth quarter from the Bulldog attack. It just wasn’t enough, as Matt Rogers iced the game with 1:10 left, putting the Trojans up for good.

The premier D-II lacrosse league in the midwest, the Great Lakes Valley Conference, had a notable result. Lewis, fresh off its defeat to conference foe Maryville last week, took down UIndy 9-5. Unbelievably, that is Lewis’ second win in the league despite being 10-3 overall. It puts the Flyers just above the Greyhounds in the GLVC standings at 2-1. 

Maryville is atop the conference with a 5-0 record thanks to its 16-5 feast against Quincy. Lewis and Maryville both made the NCAA playoffs last season, but that scenario seems increasingly unlikely even if the top teams win out.

In the NE-10, the top teams stuffed more wins into their pockets, with the most impactful result being Pace’s 12-7 win over Bentley. All four of the Falcons’ losses have come against NE-10 opponents, putting them in an uncomfortable limbo in which they are in a fight with Assumption — which is 4-3 in the NE-10 — for the No. 4 seed in the NE-10 tournament.

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

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