Laura Baine anWesleyan are on fire with the regular season hitting the home stretch.

Red-Hot Wesleyan Enters Top 5 of Nike/USA Lacrosse D-III Women's Top 20

April 17, 2023

Laurel Pfahler

Wesleyan Athletics

Still-unbeaten Middlebury and William Smith continue to stake their claims as the top two teams in Division III women’s lacrosse.

But a couple results in the New England Small College Athletic Conference race behind the No. 1 Panthers led to the most significant shakeups in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20 this week. Wesleyan’s 14-10 win over former No. 4 Tufts, coupled by a victory over also-ranked Trinity (Conn.), catapulted the Cardinals into the top 5, and No. 16 Amherst’s win over No. 14 Williams led those two teams to flip spots.

Otherwise, the better ranked teams won the games they were expected to win, and no new schools entered the mix.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION III WOMEN’S TOP 20

	April 17, 2023	W/L	Prev	Next
1	Middlebury	13-0	1	4/22 vs. No. 14 Amherst
2	William Smith	13-0	2	4/21 at RPI
3	Washington and Lee	12-1	3	4/19 vs. Randolph-Macon
4	Salisbury	9-3	5	4/19 at St. Mary's (Md.)
5	Wesleyan	11-2	8	4/22 at No. 16 Williams
6	Tufts	10-3	4	4/22 at Hamilton
7	Gettysburg	10-3	6	4/19 at No. 9 Franklin & Marshall
8	TCNJ	11-2	7	4/18 at Stockton
9	Franklin & Marshall	10-3	9	4/19 vs. No. 7 Gettysburg
10	York	10-3	10	4/19 vs. Albright
11	Messiah	10-2	11	4/19 at Stevenson
12	Colby	9-4	12	4/22 vs. No. 13 Trinity (Conn.)
13	Trinity (Conn.)	10-3	13	4/22 at No. 12 Colby
14	Amherst	9-3	16	4/22 at No. 1 Middlebury
15	Roanoke	11-2	15	4/18 vs. Averett
16	Williams	10-3	14	4/22 vs. No. 5 Wesleyan
17	St. John Fisher	9-2	17	4/19 vs. Keuka
18	Stevens	12-1	18	4/19 vs. Cabrini
19	Kenyon	12-0	19	4/18 vs. Wooster
20	Chicago	10-2	20	4/19 at Augustana

Also considered (alphabetical order): Cortland, Ithaca, Mary Washington, MIT, Pomona-Pitzer, St. Lawrence, Union

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

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

HOT

Wesleyan (+3)

The Cardinals bounced back from their recent loss to Middlebury with three consecutive wins, beginning with a 20-13 decision against Trinity and most notably followed by a 14-10 victory over Tufts.

Wesleyan had as much as a nine-goal lead and held off a comeback attempt that saw the Jumbos score the final five goals. It was the Cardinals’ first win over Tufts since 2017, and they now assume control of second place in the NESCAC.

Kate Balicki led Wesleyan with four goals and one assist, Olivia Lai added three goals and one assist and Laura Baine chipped in three goals. Goalkeeper Abby Wolk finished with a season-high nine saves.

Amherst (+2)

The Mammoths had lost two straight in NESCAC play, but they responded with wins in both of their games against conference foes and were rewarded in the rankings.

They easily put away Connecticut College, as expected, before edging the higher-ranked Williams 11-10 on Senior Day. Morgan Lebek scored the game winner, and Bridget Finley netted seven goals as Amherst ended the Ephs’ 10-game winning streak.

Amherst still has to face No. 1 Middlebury on Saturday and wraps up the regular season April 26 against Trinity.

NOT

Tufts (-2)

After losing to Wesleyan, the Jumbos nearly faced another setback against Williams on Sunday, eking out a 7-6 win. The Ephs scored four straight to take a 6-5 lead with a little over 10 minutes remaining, but Tufts responded quickly with the tying goal from Margie Carden and eventually the game-winner from Allie Zorn with 2:03 left.

The Jumbos struggled with turnovers against Wesleyan, which caused 10 of their 13 miscues. Although they put together a good run of five straight goals to end the game, it wasn’t enough in the 14-10 loss.

Williams (-2)

The Ephs started the week fending off Hamilton in a 9-8 win, then they dropped back-to-back one-goal losses to Amherst and Tufts. In the 11-10 loss to Amherst, the Mammoths dominated the draws and took advantage just enough to get the win. Williams took a one-goal lead against Tufts early in the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold it in the 7-6 loss Sunday.

Williams has grown accustomed to tight games in NESCAC play. The Ephs opened the season with a one-goal loss to Trinity, then beat Colby 10-8 on March 11 before edging Bowdoin in overtime the next weekend. They will be looking to bounce back from these recent results April 22 against Wesleyan.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

Written By

Sign up for the latest news & updates