Unexpected Developments Shape Patrick Stevens' Men's Top 20

Maybe this is the year of a Syracuse restoration — at least as a Memorial Day weekend factor, perhaps even a national champion.

There’s always a chance Virginia makes its presence felt on the final weekend of the season.

But both ACC programs head into March with multiple losses, arguably the most unexpected development in the first month of the Division I season.

Let’s start with Syracuse, which suffered its first loss on Feb. 15 at Maryland. The Orange weren’t great and have struggled with the Terrapins for a while. But to score the first five goals against Harvard before the Crimson rallied for a 15-14 victory? That’s a bit more concerning.

“You can’t just show up and expect to win,” coach Gary Gait told reporters. “I think that was a valuable lesson today.”

At least it was a competitive loss, which is more than what can be said for Virginia. The Cavaliers never led in a Feb. 15 home loss to Richmond, then gave up six-goal and eight-goal runs in a 14-5 shellacking at Ohio State on Saturday. Virginia scored once in the first 35:50 and once in the last 22:51.

Credit some of that to Ohio State’s defense tightening up since its ugly opener, and some of it to Virginia’s players learning to operate without the graduated Connor Shellenberger.

But whatever the reason, May is getting closer — and Virginia (and to a lesser extent, Syracuse) — can’t wait too much longer to figure things out.

Patrick Stevens is a longtime USA Lacrosse Magazine contributor. This is his weekly submission to the USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20.

PATRICK STEVENS' TOP 20

1. Notre Dame (3-0)

The Irish did their part to set up a 1-v-2 matchup for next Saturday, fending off Georgetown 11-9 behind goalie Thomas Ricciardelli’s 16 saves. Now it’s off to Atlanta to take on Maryland. (Last week: 1)

2. Maryland (4-0)

It wasn’t quite as comfortable as the Terrapins’ two victories over Princeton last season, but they still collected a 13-9 road victory behind five multi-goal efforts and 12 saves from Logan McNaney. With a perfect February in the bank, the Terps get a national title game rematch with Notre Dame at a neutral site. (LW: 2)

3. Cornell (2-0)

The Big Red aced Saturday’s test with a 15-5 pummeling of Denver. CJ Kirst (six goals, two assists) paced an offense that built a 10-1 halftime lead, and Wyatt Knust made 13 saves. Cornell has trips to Hobart (Tuesday) and Richmond (Sunday) in the first of a pair of two-game weeks in the regular season. (LW: 4)

4. North Carolina (3-0)

Dominic Pietramala and Owen Duffy combined for 10 goals as the Tar Heels bagged a 13-12 victory at Homewood Field and dealt Johns Hopkins its first loss of the season. That’s two victories over Big Ten teams for Carolina, which gets a pair of Ivies (Penn and Princeton) in town this week. (LW: 8)

5. Princeton (1-1)

The Tigers have 17 losses since returning from the pandemic in 2022; six have come against Maryland. The demanding non-conference schedule Matt Madalon put together continues with a trip to Duke and North Carolina this week.  (LW: 3)