Northwestern's Turn at No. 1 in Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Women's Top 20

Northwestern has taken over the No. 1 spot in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20.

The Wildcats took care of business Saturday night, downing No. 11 Maryland 13-6 to claim the top seed in the Big Ten championship tournament and the outright regular-season crown. Syracuse is No. 2, losing to Boston College to end its bid for a perfect regular season. The win gives the Eagles a two-spot bump — they’re No. 4 this week.

No. 3 Denver is the only remaining unbeaten team in Division I. The Pios blew by Georgetown 15-2, holding an opponent to single-digit goals for the 16th time in as many games. They can complete a perfect regular season Saturday at Marquette.

Johns Hopkins rises four spots to No. 16 after beating Penn State, and Army is back in the rankings at No. 20 after a one-week absence.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION I WOMEN’S TOP 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Marquette (15-1), Navy (12-4), Richmond (13-3), Rutgers (7-8), Villanova (11-5), Yale (9-5)

UPCOMING GAMES

No. 1 Northwestern 5/4 vs. No. 17 Michigan/No. 18 Penn State
No. 2 Syracuse 4/26 vs. Virginia Tech
No. 3 Denver 4/29 at Marquette
No. 4 Boston College 4/29 vs. Duke
No. 5 James Madison 4/29 at East Carolina

No. 6 North Carolina 4/26 vs. No. 19 Clemson
No. 7 Notre Dame 4/26 vs. No. 13 Virginia
No. 8 Florida 4/26 at Jacksonville
No. 9 Loyola 4/28 at Navy
No. 10 Stony Brook 4/28 vs. Hofstra

No. 11 Maryland 4/29 vs. Ohio State
No. 12 UMass 4/29 vs. George Mason
No. 13 Virginia 4/26 vs. No. 7 Notre Dame
No. 14 Penn 4/29 vs. Dartmouth
No. 15 USC 4/28 at Arizona State

No. 16 Johns Hopkins 4/29 vs. Rutgers
No. 17 Michigan 4/29 vs. No. 18 Penn State
No. 18 Penn State 4/29 at No. 17 Michigan
No. 19 Clemson 4/26 vs. No. 6 North Carolina
No. 20 Army 4/27 at Lafayette

Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings

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

HOT

Boston College (+2)

Boston College is no stranger to playing the role of perfect-season spoiler (ask UNC and Stony Brook — or will it always be too soon?). On Thursday, the Eagles were at it again, rallying from a six-goal deficit to stun Syracuse, handing the Orange its first loss of the season. The Eagles stole not only Syracuse’s bid for an unblemished regular season but also its chance at an outright regular-season championship and No. 1 seed for the ACC championship. It’s a turnaround from March when BC looked lost in a 16-5 loss to UNC and, frankly, didn’t look great in a 13-8 loss to Denver. Why are the Eagles still behind the Orange? There’s a larger body of work this late in the season, and the Orange haven’t given me a reason to think Thursday night was more of a blip than a revelation. 

Northwestern (+1)

The Wildcats not only claimed the regular-season crown but also earned a bye into the semifinal of the conference championship. Northwestern has won 15 straight, its lone loss of the year coming on Feb. 11 by one goal to Syracuse, and heads into the most important time of the year with all the momentum. Izzy Scane now has 73 goals this season. And with a deep run likely coming for the Wildcats, there’s no reason to believe she won’t find herself at the top of the NCAA single-season goals list next month (Abby Hornes scored 103 goals to break Charlotte North’s mark last year). But the play of Molly Laliberty stands out, too. The frontrunner for Big Ten Goalie of the Year stopped eight shots on Saturday night, though anyone watching knows it seemed like more.

Johns Hopkins (+4)

It was a big week for Hopkins. After beating Michigan last Saturday, the Blue Jays nipped Towson 13-12 in overtime on Tuesday courtesy of a game-winner from Ava Angelo, the fifth of the evening from the stellar rookie. In the regular-season finale, the Blue Jays downed Penn State to move ahead of the Nittany Lions in the conference rankings. They’ll be the third seed in the league championship, which starts on April 29. The Blue Jays draw Rutgers in the quarterfinals.

NOT

Syracuse (-1)

Boston College nipped the Orange, and it proved costly. SU now has a tougher road to the ACC championship, having to beat a Virginia Tech team that has challenged the likes of Boston College. UNC likely awaits if Syracuse gets by the Hokies (it almost certainly will).

The optimist in me feels it’s better to lose in April than May and that in a few weeks, we’ll be hearing all about how it was a learning experience during the build-up to the Final Four.

Penn State (-6)

Penn State came back to earth this weekend after stunning Maryland last week. The loss to Hopkins had playoff implications. It bumped the Nittany Lions from third to fifth, putting them on the road for the quarterfinals against a Michigan team that took the regular-season meeting 10-8.

IN

Army (No. 20)

Welcome back to the top 20, Army. After falling out of the rankings because of a 19-5 loss to Loyola last weekend, the Black Knights sang second for the second-straight year against Navy. A seven-goal third quarter fueled Army, who got nine goals on 11 shots and three assists from Allison Reilly.

OUT

Yale (Was No. 19)

The Bulldogs looked like the clear favorite to win the Ivy League last month. But three-straight losses have the Bulldogs in a four-way tie for third in the Ancient Eight — and only four teams make the tournament. The Bulldogs hold the tiebreaker over two of those teams (Princeton and Dartmouth) and draw Columbia, winless in the Ivy League, next weekend. So, they should make the tournament, but Penn will be the No. 1 seed.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• Preseason

• Week 1: Feb. 13, 2023

• Week 2: Feb. 20, 2023

• Week 3: Feb. 27, 2023

• Week 4: March 6, 2023

• Week 5: March 13, 2023

• Week 6: March 20, 2023

• Week 7: March 27, 2023

• Week 8: April 3, 2023

• Week 9: April 10, 2023

• Week 10: April 17, 2023