Tampa, UIndy Moving Up USA Lacrosse Division II Women's Top 20

There are no automatic qualifiers for the NCAA tournament in Division II women’s lacrosse. Winning the regular season is great, but the results in conference tournaments can potentially outweigh the regular season and shape the NCAA postseason selections and seedings, as well as the national rankings.

Two upsets Sunday afternoon in conference tournaments serve as good examples. Both prompted some reshuffling in the top half of this this week's USA Lacrosse Division II Women's Top 20, while also bringing a change among the top three in the ranking for the first time in six weeks.

Undefeated West Chester and Pace still own the top two spots, but Regis has moved up to No. 3 following Maryville's first loss of the season. The Saints were one of the upset victims last week, falling 17-10 to No. 14 UIndy in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship game.

In the Sunshine State championship game, No. 2 seed Tampa beat No. 1 seed Florida Southern 10-9, with Tampa goalie Alex Walling making two big stops in the final 90 seconds to preserve the win. Florida Southern entered last week's SSC tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing 7-0 in league play. Will that still matter to the NCAA selection committee?

In truth, both Tampa and FSC are in position to receive NCAA bids (as are Maryville and UIndy), but the selection committee will have the challenge of deciding which team gets the higher seed. Updated regional rankings will be released by the NCAA this Wednesday.

USA LACROSSE DIVISION II
WOMEN’S TOP 20

1. West Chester, 15-0 (Prev: 1)
2. Pace, 16-0 (Prev: 2)
3. Regis, 16-1 (Prev: 4)
4. Adelphi, 14-2 (Prev: 5)
5. Maryville, 17-1 (Prev: 3)
6. Grand Valley State, 14-1 (Prev: 7)
7. Tampa, 15-3 (Prev: 8)
8. Florida Southern, 15-4 (Prev: 6)
9. Limestone, 17-1 (Prev: 9)
10. Flagler, 17-2 (Prev: 10)
11. Kutztown, 13-2 (Prev: 13)
12. Anderson, 15-3 (Prev: 12)
13. Wingate, 13-5 (Prev: 14)
14. UIndy, 14-5 (Prev: 19)
15. Lynn, 13-5 (Prev: 11)
16. Mount Olive, 16-3 (Prev: 16)
17. East Stroudsburg, 10-5 (Prev: 15)
18. Seton Hill, 11-4 (Prev: NR)
19. Saint Leo, 12-6 (Prev: 17)
20. Embry-Riddle, 12-6 (Prev: 20)

Also considered (alphabetical order): Alabama-Huntsville, Emmanuel, Lock Haven, Northern Michigan, Slippery Rock

HOT

UIndy (+5)

The Greyhounds finally captured the significant victory that had alluded them for most of 2024 season, defeating previously unbeaten Maryville 17-10 in Sunday’s Great Lakes Valley Conference championship game. UIndy had lost all five of its games against ranked teams this season but dominated the middle two quarters Sunday to capture its fourth straight GLVC crown.

Kutztown (+2)

The Golden Bears have won six straight and clinched at least the second seed in the East Division for the PSAC tournament with Saturday’s win over Millersville. Junior midfielder Sam Graf netted six goals in the victory, and with 61 goals in 2024, she has established a new Kutztown record for goals in a season. Graf has 16 goals and 24 points in her last three games. Kutztown’s only two losses have been against No. 1 West Chester and No. 7 Tampa.

Tampa (+1)

The Spartans captured their third Sunshine State Conference championship in four years by rallying to defeat top-seeded Florida Southern 10-9 in Sunday’s title game. Trailing by one after three quarters, Tampa outscored the Mocs 3-0 in the fourth period to capture the title. Goalie Alex Walling made 10 stops, including two huge saves in the final 90 seconds to preserve the win.

Limestone (no change)

The Saints didn’t move up this week, but they certainly solidified their NCAA tournament credentials by capturing their first South Atlantic Conference championship. Limestone defeated No. 13 Wingate 10-9 in Sunday’s SAC final to improve to 17-1. Sunday’s victory avenged Limestone’s only loss of the year, a 12-8 setback at Wingate two weeks ago.

NOT

Florida Southern (-2)

The Mocs were 7-0 during the Sunshine State Conference’s regular season, earning the No. 1 seed and home field for the SSC tournament. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to parlay that advantage into a championship, falling just short in their second meeting of the year against Tampa. With FSC and Tampa both likely to receive bids to the NCAA tournament, it’s conceivable that these two teams could play a rubber match in the NCAA South Regional.

IN

Seton Hill (at No. 18)

The Griffins secured their fourth straight PSAC Western Division title on Saturday with a 15-11 win over Mercyhurst, using a 10-2 second-quarter run to take control. Seton Hill carries a six-game winning streak into Wednesday’s regular-season finale against IUP, then it begins play in the PSAC tournament on May 10.

OUT

Lock Haven (was No. 18)

After winning 11 of their first 12 games, the Bald Eagles have lost two of their last four games, both by 10 goals or more. Lock Haven is still in contention for one of the slots for next week’s PSAC tournament, but it might need to defeat IUP in Saturday’s season finale to secure that spot.