Maryville Rides Historic Start to No. 12 in Nike/USA Lacrosse D-II Women's Top 20

March 20, 2023

Paul Ohanian

Maryville Athletics

Solidified by its best win of the season, West Chester remains in the top spot of the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division II Women’s Top 20 for the third straight week, but as anticipated following a busy week with many marquee matchups, there is significant reshuffling throughout the rest of the pack.

As we move into the back half of March and the full extent of league play, we know that the glut of non-conference and intersectional games is now mostly behind us. Accordingly, we had some of the best matchups of the season in the past week, with West Chester beating Le Moyne, No. 6 Pace downing No. 10 Tampa and No. 2 Regis putting an end to UIndy’s 25-game winning streak with a 14-12 victory.

We’re also taking notice of a few teams that escaped our preseason attention, most notably Pace, Lynn, Flagler and Maryville, which have a combined record of 30-3. All four were among the teams that climbed in this week’s ranking.

Who is Maryville, you ask? The Saints are a fifth-year program located in St. Louis, and they enjoyed perhaps the best week that any team has had this season. Read more below.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION II WOMEN’S TOP 20

	March 20	W/L	Prev	Next
1	West Chester	6-0	1	3/21 vs. No. 8 East Stroudsburg
2	Regis	6-0	5	3/24 vs, Colo-Colorado Sprgs.
3	UIndy	8-1	2	3/24 vs. N. Michigan
4	Rollins	9-0	6	3/23 vs. Colorado Mesa
5	Florida Southern	8-1	3	3/25 vs. Colorado Mesa
6	Pace	4-1	7	3/21 at S. Connecticut St.
7	Le Moyne	4-1	4	3/21 vs. Franklin Pierce
8	East Stroudsburg	5-1	8	3/21 at No. 1 West Chester
9	Lynn	9-1	15	3/29 vs. No. 14 Flagler
10	Tampa	7-2	9	3/21 vs. Frostburg St.
11	Adelphi	3-2	10	3/25 vs. Assumption
12	Maryville	10-0	18	3/25 at Rockhurst
13	Embry-Riddle	8-1	17	3/29 vs. Montevallo
14	Flagler	7-1	16	3/21 vs. Palm Beach Atlantic
15	Wingate	7-2	13	3/22 vs. Newberry
16	Bentley	5-1	NR	3/22 vs. Assumption
17	Grand Valley State	4-4	11	3/24 at Concordia-SP
18	Mercy	3-4	14	3/25 vs. Roberts Wesleyan
19	St. Leo	6-2	12	3/21 vs. Colorado Mesa
20	St. Anselm	6-0	19	3/24 vs. American Int’l

Also considered (alphabetical order): Colorado Mesa, Kutztown, Florida Tech, Limestone, St. Rose

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

HOT

Maryville (+6)

The Saints enjoyed the best week in their program’s history, playing four games in six days, all on the road, and winning all four. Now 10-0 overall, Maryville has easily smashed the program record for longest winning streak. In fact, the 10 wins match the total number of victories the Saints amassed through their first four seasons combined. Maryville also recorded another program milestone, claiming its first-ever win over a Top 20 opponent by beating then-No. 11 Grand Valley State 15-12. All this under the direction of first-year head coach Melissa Gyllenborg, who spent the last eight seasons at McKendree. Senior attacker Sydney Tiemann, who followed Gyllenborg from McKendree to Maryville this season, has scored 67 goals through 10 games, including seven goals in last week’s upset over GVSU.

Lynn (+6)

The Fighting Knights have won seven straight games since their only loss, a four-goal setback against Regis in mid-February. Senior Isabella Clark scored three goals to lead Lynn in its latest victory over previously unbeaten Kutztown. The Knights take a midseason break this week before returning to action against No. 14 Flagler on March 29 and then embarking on league play in the competitive SSC.

Regis (+3)

The Rangers posted a statement win by upending No. 2 UIndy on Sunday, outscoring the defending champions 6-1 in the fourth-quarter for the comeback victory. “We did a great job making little adjustments throughout the game, and we did a much better job transitioning from the defensive to offensive side of the field in the second half,” Regis head coach Sarah Kellner said. Senior midfielder Bailey Truex tallied a career-high six goals along with five draw controls.

NOT

Saint Leo (-7)

After a 6-0 start in 2023, the Lions suffered back-to-back losses last week, falling in overtime to No. 16 Bentley before losing 18-11 at No. 14 Flagler. Saint Leo will try to recapture its momentum as Colorado Mesa and Frostburg State come to town this week.

Grand Valley State (-6)

GVSU has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation, with six of its eight games against Top 20 foes. The four losses have come against Rollins, Regis, UIndy and Maryville, all ranked among the top 12 in the country this week. GLIAC play begins this week, and the Lakers are still the favorites to win the league title.

IN

Bentley (No. 16)

The Falcons move into the ranking for the first time in 2023 fresh off their 17-16 win at last week’s No. 2-ranked Florida Southern. Senior Kenzie Lupton scored 43 seconds into overtime, and goalie Ashlee Wargo had 14 saves to secure the upset over the Mocs and send Bentley back home following a 2-0 swing through Florida.

OUT

Seton Hill (was No. 20)

The benefit of playing a brutal early schedule, as the Griffins have done, is that it can prepare you for the challenges of the conference season. Picked as the preseason favorite in the PSAC West coaches poll, Seton Hill could still meet that expectation and find its way back into the ranking.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

Written By

Paul Ohanian

Paul Ohanian has worked at USA Lacrosse since 2006 and is currently the senior manager of program content. Prior to joining USA Lacrosse, he served as SID at a Division III school with a strong lacrosse tradition and learned to appreciate the commitment and passion that athletes at all levels bring to the game.

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