While the Division III men’s slate wasn’t packed with upsets or wild results, it did feature the debut of the NESCAC. In the immortal words of John McClane, “Welcome to the party, pal.”
With multiple teams ranked in the Top 20 since the preseason, it was time for the so-called “Little Ivies” to show up and show out — and most of them did. Williams was the only team to do battle out of the conference, as the Ephs downed a plucky Babson team 14-13 thanks to eight goals from attackman Calvin Caputo and 17 saves from junior netminder Matt Wetmore.
Elsewhere, Tufts handled Connecticut College 19-9, Bowdoin took over the second half to defeat Trinity 13-6 and Middlebury leaped past Amherst 17-11.
The top three teams of this Top 20 won, although RIT let York get into the Tiger cage in the fourth quarter. A Jake Erickson goal with 2:34 remaining ended up being the winner, but RIT led by as much as five goals early in the third quarter.
It feels like a three-man race at the top, but the most interesting action is taking place in the middle of the Top 20. Undefeated runs from Dickinson, St. Lawrence, RPI and Swarthmore have been more dramatic than the rest of the table — with one exception.
Washington and Lee escorted Denison out of the Top 20 on Sunday with a 13-11 win that was closer than it could have been. The Generals outshot the Big Red 47-37 and didn’t score on either of their man-up chances. Either way, W&L moves up and Denison moves to the outskirts of the Top 20.
USA LACROSSE DIVISION III
MEN’S TOP 20
1. Salisbury, 5-0 (Prev: 1)
2. Christopher Newport, 5-0 (Prev: 2)
3. RIT, 4-0 (Prev: 3)
4. Tufts, 1-0 (Prev: 4)
5. Dickinson, 3-0 (Prev: 6)
6. Gettysburg, 2-1 (Prev: 7)
7. Middlebury, 1-0 (Prev: 8)
8. Bowdoin, 1-0 (Prev: 5)
9. RPI, 5-0 (Prev: 10)
10. Union, 3-0 (Prev: 11)
11. St. Lawrence, 4-0 (Prev: 12)
12. Swarthmore, 4-0 (Prev: 15)
13. Lynchburg, 1-2 (Prev: 9)
14. York, 2-2 (Prev: 13)
15. Wesleyan, 1-0 (Prev: 16)
16. Washington and Lee, 3-1 (Prev: 18)
17. Skidmore, 5-0 (Prev: 20)
18. Amherst, 0-1 (Prev: 14)
19. Williams, 1-0 (Prev: NR)
20. Hampden-Sydney, 4-2 (Prev: 17)
Also considered (alphabetical order): Babson, Denison, Kenyon, Randolph-Macon, Roanoke, Stevens