The top of the USA Lacrosse Division III Men's Top 20 delivered incredible games last week.
Tufts and Wesleyan played an instant classic at Citrin Field in Connecticut. The defense was sold separately. A goal from Garrett Kelly in overtime gave the Jumbos a 20-19 victory — but it was mayhem at the end of regulation that made sure we got to overtime at all.
Wesleyan had the ball as time ticked down. Jack Raba attacked the goal from behind, diving to the front of the net and scoring with seven seconds to go, giving Wesleyan the lead. Or so the Cardinals thought. As some players on the field celebrated, officials waved the goal off, saying Raba was in the crease. Then Tufts went end to end in six seconds and fired a shot that narrowly missed the top of the goal.
In overtime, Tufts won the opening faceoff. Jack Regnery took the first shot of the period, but it was saved. Tufts controlled the rebound and reset the clock. As the reset neared its expiration, Kelly attacked from behind, inside rolled on goal line extended and scored low to keep the Jumbos perfect.
It wasn’t all bad for Wesleyan this week. The Cardinals beat Amherst in a nail-biter on Wednesday, and at the very least, have showed they can hang with anyone.
It was, however, a rough week for Amherst. After losing to Wesleyan, the Mammoths dropped a game to archrival Williams in a contest that had, as classic New England puritanism requires of those who practice it, very little scoring. After a 7-0 start, Amherst has dropped two straight, and its ranking has dropped accordingly. A date with Connecticut College, which took down NESCAC riser Trinity last week, is up next.
The other top game of the weekend was a top-five matchup between Salisbury and Christopher Newport. The Captains came in red hot off a win over Washington and Lee and sporting just one loss, an overtime result against Tufts. Salisbury had yet to drop a game and has rarely even been challenged this year.
The Captains had the run of the game for the first half, taking a three-goal lead into the break. But the Gulls put the clamps on after that. Salisbury held CNU without a goal for the entire second half and held the Captains to just six shots on goal in that time. It was a defensive effort led by John DeFazio, who caused four turnovers and had seven ground balls.
York continues its ascent up the Top 20, notching a signature win against Gettysburg by a stunning 20-11 margin. The Bullets bounced back with a 16-6 victory over Haverford. York is now 8-3 and has won six of its last seven games, and its three losses are to ranked opponents by a combined six goals. This. Is. Sparta[ns].
Next week, Division III heats up even more as bear trap games like St. Lawrence vs. Middlebury, Gettysburg vs. Dickinson, and Washington and Lee vs. Lynchburg all occur before Thursday. It’s going to be a wild middle of the week for the Top 20, with conference play continuing throughout the rest of the next weekend.
Continue below to see the entire Top 20, which is compiled by USA Lacrosse Magazine staff and contributors.
