The Sunday Slide: Clemson Has Arrived

What a week for Clemson.

If you were waiting for the sign that Clemson is here and probably even here to stay, then you got it with wins over Notre Dame and Syracuse. The latter is probably enough to get Clemson into or near the top 10 of the USA Lacrosse Top 20.

So, yeah, the Tigers are here.

And it didn’t take long. They were 12-6 in 2023, 11-7 in 2024 and now off to a red-hot 5-0 start.

A matchup next Saturday against Duke suddenly seems like a pivotal ACC affair. And every pair of eyes in the women’s lacrosse world should be focused on March 15’s game against North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

If nothing else, Clemson has proven that immaculate facilities, great weather and a respected coaching staff can work wonders in recruiting. Oh, and next year Alison Kwolek has Inside Lacrosse’s top two recruits (Alexa Spallina and Emma Penczek) coming to town. Not to mention three more five-star prospects and two four stars.

Clemson is here to stay.

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS

Looking for a sleeper team? Maybe it’s Arizona State. The Sun Devils are 4-2 and nearly clipped USC on Monday. Florida still looks like the top team in the Big 12, but ASU can make noise in the new conference. Matchups I’m waiting on: vs. Dartmouth on March 21 in Houston; vs. Maryland on April 3; vs. Colorado on April 6; at Florida on April 26.

Fourth-quarter turnarounds were a theme this week. On Wednesday, Navy scored four fourth-quarter goals and held Virginia scoreless in a 14-12 upset win with major rankings ramifications. On Friday, Youngstown State dropped eight unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to down Butler 15-10. What a comeback. Then on Saturday, Johns Hopkin scored six straight in the fourth quarter, shut out Stony Brook in the period and beat the Seawolves 14-13.