Road Warrior Embry-Riddle Up to No. 11 in Division II Women's Top 20

Most of the time, teams based in Florida have no trouble filling their early season schedules with home games, which makes perfect sense. After all, why wouldn’t teams from the North and Midwest be eager to visit the Sunshine State to escape the cold and snow for a few days of warm weather lacrosse?

But that hasn’t been the experience for Daytona Beach-based Embry-Riddle and first-year head coach Christina Nikolai. Due to a combination of circumstances, four home games Nikolai thought she had lined up for the early season fell through, leaving the Eagles with a dearth of spring visitors. In fact, Embry-Riddle has just five home contests overall on this season’s 17-game schedule. No home games, no problem.

Forced to play seven straight road games to start the season, the Eagles are flying high. Embry-Riddle is 4-0 and closes a two-game swing through North Carolina with Monday’s contest at Barton. The fast start has propelled the Eagles to No. 11 in this week’s USA Lacrosse Division II Women’s Top 20.

And to Nikolai’s credit, she has found a way to put a positive spin on the extended travels of her first head coaching campaign.

“What is truly great about this team is that there is a great culture, and traveling can be fun when you are making memories with your favorite people,” she said. 

Not unlike Embry-Riddle, there’s also another Florida-based squad that’s finding early season road success. No. 10 Saint Leo improved to 3-0 with Saturday’s 10-9 victory at then-No. 8 Flagler, securing its third straight road victory and the program’s first-ever win over a top-10 opponent. Picked to finish third in the Sunshine State’s Conference’s preseason coaches’ poll, the Lions have their toughest test of the early season with a visit to No. 2 Florida Southern this week.

Meanwhile, defending champion and top-ranked Tampa keeps rolling, registering a 14-10 win at No. 6 Maryville Saturday. Now sporting a 13-game winning streak that dates to last year, the No.1 Spartans welcome No. 6 Adelphi this week in a rematch of last year’s national championship game.

Continue below to see the entire Top 20, which is compiled by USA Lacrosse Magazine staff and contributors.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION II 
WOMEN’S TOP 20