Virginia Reclaims No. 1 in Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20

Everyone in Division I owns a defeat after Virginia dealt Notre Dame its first loss in nearly a year, a change of pace from the last two seasons when Maryland made it to Memorial Day without a setback.

Making sense of things exactly two months before the NCAA semifinals, though, is not an easy task.

Virginia just won 15-10 at Notre Dame, which won in triple-overtime earlier this month at Maryland, which won in overtime at Virginia just nine days ago. What is the best way to sort those teams (including the Terrapins’ early loss at Loyola)? And how do Duke and Cornell fit into things?

There are similarly bewildering strings of results to sort through with multi-loss teams. Just one example: Denver beat Ohio State, which beat Rutgers, which beat Loyola, which beat Johns Hopkins, which beat Georgetown, which beat Princeton, which beat Yale, which beat Denver.

So let’s call it like it is: The stretch from about No. 8 into the 20s is difficult to untangle. And whatever the top tier is, the season to date suggests it includes Duke, Maryland, Notre Dame and Virginia — and probably should have Cornell in the conversation after it dispatched Yale and Penn the last two weekends.

As for who’s No. 1, Virginia controlled things on the road against a Notre Dame bunch that had only been threatened once in its first six games. That counts for quite a bit. At least for now.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION I MEN’S TOP 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Bryant (6-2), Delaware (6-3), Lehigh (5-3), Marquette (5-3), Massachusetts (5-3), Richmond (5-3), Saint Joseph’s (4-4), Syracuse (6-4)

HOT

Ohio State (+4)

The Buckeyes were breathing fire almost from the jump of Sunday’s Big Ten opener against Rutgers, and they won their first weekend game in more than a month with an 11-7 triumph over the Scarlet Knights as Colby Smith scored four goals.

The true stars for the Buckeyes were at the defensive end, as goalie Skylar Wahlund made 17 stops and the entire unit delivered a prove-it performance. Ohio State surrendered 16.5 goals per game in its four losses, and it held attackmen Dante Kulas and Ross Scott (Rutgers’ top two scorers) to one goal on 12 shots. That is a fine step toward competing for a Big Ten title and another NCAA berth.

Virginia (+3)

The Cavaliers got their stars back on track in Saturday’s 15-10 triumph at Notre Dame. Xander Dickson scored six goals after a quiet game in a loss to Maryland, while Connor Shellenberger had two goals and five assists.

But much like Ohio State, the most welcome news came on defense. Goalie Matthew Nunes made 14 saves, and Virginia’s rangy close unit prevented anyone on the Irish’s offense from stitching together a monster day (Pat Kavanagh still got two goals and two assists). That was where the Cavaliers were exploited a bit a week earlier. It didn’t happen again.

NOT

Yale (-6)

Perhaps the most difficult thing about this season to grasp is the Bulldogs have allowed at least 20 goals in back-to-back games — an almost unthinkable prospect for an Andy Shay-coached team. Through two Ivy League games, Yale has a goal differential of minus-23.

The Bulldogs still own victories over Denver and Villanova, and the latter triumph in particular would keep them in the picture for an NCAA tournament at-large berth if the season ended now. But there is clearly a lot of work to do in New Haven as the calendar turns to April.

Rutgers (-5)

Here’s the full list of teams that have kept the Scarlet Knights below 10 goals over the last three seasons: Maryland (2021), Maryland (2022), Maryland (2022 again) and Ohio State (2023). That underscores both how good a night the Buckeyes’ defense had Sunday and how unusual it is for the Rutgers offense to be contained so effectively.

One thing that was probably disappointing for the Scarlet Knights was a 29-23 ground ball deficit that grows to 23-12 when faceoff specialists are removed. Don’t be surprised if a more fervent version of Rutgers shows up Saturday at Johns Hopkins.

IN

Princeton (No. 18)

The Tigers charge back into the Top 20 with one of the more eye-popping box scores of the season. They took 66 shots, put 36 of them on cage, scored their most goals ever against Yale (23), deposited five extra-man chances and got an eight-goal showing from Coulter Mackesy (including five in a row in the first half).

Princeton gets plugged in between Penn (which it lost to in overtime to open Ivy League play) and Yale in its return to the rankings. The Tigers still have plenty of work to do to climb back into the NCAA tournament picture, but at least their four-game skid is in the past.

OUT

Saint Joseph’s (was No. 20)

The Hawks missed out on their last high-profile opportunity to snag a non-conference victory, falling 12-9 to Duke at home Saturday. Now 4-4, the Hawks’ victories have come against teams with a combined record of 7-27. That’s not a recipe for an NCAA tournament at-large berth.

Instead, the path for Saint Joseph’s to return to the postseason lies in the Atlantic 10’s automatic bid. The Hawks’ debut in their new conference is Saturday when Richmond pays a visit to Hawk Hill.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• Preseason

• Week 0: February 6

• Week 1: February 13

• Week 2: February 20

• Week 3: February 27

• Week 4: March 6

• Week 5: March 13

• Week 6: March 20