Limestone Rises Again in USA Lacrosse Division II Women's Top 20

For many years, Limestone loomed as the South Region’s premier program, earning 11 NCAA tournament berths from 2004-21 and serving as the region’s undisputed bellwether. The Saints finished as national runners-up in 2011 and 2013.

But as the lacrosse landscape grew and more varsity programs emerged, the balance of power also shifted, with teams like Florida Southern, Rollins and Tampa grabbing some of the regional and national spotlight once owned by the Saints.

It looks like Limestone is planning on recapturing some of the attention in 2024.

Fueled by a 9-0 start that includes an emphatic 19-9 win on Sunday at Rollins, No. 9 Limestone made the biggest jump in this week’s USA Lacrosse Division II Women's Top 20, rising five spots to claim a top 10 position for the first time this year.

West Chester, which was idle last week, remains in the top spot, followed by No. 2 Pace and No. 3 Maryville. East Stroudsburg and Adelphi each move up one position this week and round out the top five.

With Easter drawing near, perhaps it was only appropriate that most of the headlines this past week were captured by Saints. See below.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION II
WOMEN’S TOP 20

1. West Chester, 4-0 (Prev: 1)
2. Pace, 6-0 (Prev: 2)
3. Maryville, 8-0 (Prev: 3)
4. East Stroudsburg, 4-0 (Prev: 5)
5. Adelphi, 4-1 (Prev: 6)
6. Tampa, 7-2 (Prev: 8)
7. Flagler, 9-1 (Prev: 10)
8. Embry-Riddle, 9-1 (Prev: 11)
9. Limestone, 9-0 (Prev: 14)
10. Grand Valley State, 6-1 (Prev: 9)
11. Regis, 5-1 (Prev: 4)
12. Florida Southern, 7-3 (Prev: 13)
13. UIndy, 5-2 (Prev: 7)
14. Rollins, 9-2 (Prev: 12)
15. Lynn, 7-1 (Prev: 18)
16. Kutztown, 3-1 (Prev: 16)
17. Wingate, 7-3 (Prev: 15)
18. Florida Tech, 6-3 (Prev: NR)
19. Anderson, 8-1 (Prev: NR)
20. Bloomsburg, 4-0 (Prev: NR)

Also considered (alphabetical order): Davis & Elkins, Lock Haven, Missouri Western, Molloy, Saint Leo

HOT

Limestone (+5)

The Saints jumped ahead 7-4 in the opening period against Rollins, then outscored the Tars 10-2 in the second and third quarters to roll to victory. Senior Megan Davis spearheaded Limestone’s big afternoon with a nine-point effort (three goals, six assists), while sophomores Reese Hjertaas and Rylee Johnson added three goals each. Picked third in the South Atlantic Conference’s coaches preseason poll, Limestone brings a 3-0 SAC record into this week’s game at Newberry, one of the two teams picked ahead of them.

Flagler (+3)

There’s another hot Saints team a bit further to the south from Limestone, as No. 7 Flagler extended its winning streak to seven games with a dominating finish against Newberry. With the score tied at 11 late in the third quarter, Flagler scored 11 of the game’s final 12 goals to improve to 9-1 overall. These Saints face a busy week ahead with three home games, beginning Tuesday against Frostburg State.

NOT

Regis (-7)

On paper, it looked to be one of last week’s premier games, a clash of unbeatens with No. 3 Maryville visiting No. 4 Regis. Unfortunately, the game didn’t live up to its billing, as Maryville (also the Saints) took command early with a 7-0 run in the first quarter and never looked back in a dominating 18-6 victory. All-American Sydney Tiemann led the onslaught with 10 points on six goals and four assists, while Jessie Hynes had five goals, including four in the first quarter.

UIndy (-6)

UIndy defeated Tampa each of the past two seasons in games played at neutral sites. Sunday, the Greyhounds hosted Tampa on home turf in this showdown between top 10 teams, and the Spartans walked away with an impressive 13-9 win, their first victory in the series since 2016. 

IN

Florida Tech (No. 18)

The Panthers have won four straight, adding wins over Westminster and Saint Anselm last week, and move into the Top 20 for the first time this season. Tech established a new team single-game record with 23 draw controls in the victory over Saint Anselm.

Anderson (No. 19)

The Trojans are a second-year program that compete in the South Atlantic Conference and are off to an 8-1 start. Anderson was picked to finish seventh in the SAC’s preseason poll but remains unbeaten in league play with a 5-0 record after adding wins over Lincoln Memorial and Tusculum last week.

Bloomsburg (No. 20)

The Huskies improved to 4-0 with a 10-6 win Saturday over Mercy, with junior goalie Lauren Foley anchoring a strong defensive effort with 15 saves. Bloomsburg’s defense registered a season-high 18 caused turnovers in the win.

OUT

Saint Anselm (was No. 17)

The Hawks were off to a 3-0 start before traveling to Florida, where they suffered setbacks against Florida Tech and Embry-Riddle. The road doesn’t get easier this week, as they open NE10 play with a visit to No. 5 Adelphi.

Molloy (was No. 19)

Similar to Saint Anselm, last week’s Florida visit wasn’t kind to Molloy either, which suffered losses at No. 15 Lynn and Saint Leo before ending the trip with a win at Palm Beach Atlantic. The Lions remain on the road this week with a game Wednesday at Bentley.

Bentley (was No. 20)

The Falcons are off to a 1-3 start against a pretty formidable early-season schedule. Two of the losses have been against No. 1 West Chester and No. 12 Florida Southern. Bentley has a chance to flip the script this week with home games against Molloy and No. 5 Adelphi.