UNC Beats No. 1, Becomes No. 1 in Division I Women's Top 20

April 7, 2025

USA Lacrosse Magazine Staff

Peyton Williams

There is a new No. 1 for the first time in 2025.

North Carolina leaned on its youth to beat defending NCAA champion and previously entrenched No. 1 Boston College on Saturday, meaning the 12-0 Tar Heels are the last undefeated team in the country and the new top team in the USA Lacrosse Division I Women's Top 20.

The loss hardly signals the end for Boston College, which falls back a place to No. 2 in what was the first of possibly multiple meetups with North Carolina before the 2025 seasons comes to a close. Fans are certainly hoping for meetings in the ACC tournament and NCAA tournament after the 12-11 UNC win, one in which first-year players displayed poise beyond their years.

The Heels got four goals combined from Eliza Osburn (two), Kate Levy and Addison Pattillo. If you count Chloe Humphrey, a redshirt freshman playing in her first season, there are another two goals and one assist to be attributed to first-year players. Freshman goalie also made her presence felt, starting and finishing the second half and finishing with four saves.

There is little else to write home about in the Top 20, with teams making marginal moves up or down based on week nine results.

Yale is up just one place in the Top 20 but perhaps feels a lot better about its spring prospects after ending a three-game losing streak with a win over Syracuse and following with a tough win over Dartmouth. Princeton is one spot ahead of Yale at No. 10, and a future meeting between the two Ivy League powers is very much in the cards come conference tournament time.

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

USA LACROSSE DIVISION I
WOMEN'S TOP 20

Rank	Team	W-L	Prev
1	North Carolina	12-0	2
2	Boston College	13-1	1
3	Northwestern	11-2	3
4	Florida	10-2	6
5	Johns Hopkins	9-3	5
6	Syracuse	9-5	4
7	Stanford	11-3	8
8	Virginia	9-4	9
9	Maryland	9-3	7
10	Princeton	9-1	10
11	Yale	9-3	12
12	James Madison	7-4	11
13	Duke	11-3	13
14	Loyola	9-5	15
15	Clemson	11-4	17
16	Michigan	9-4	16
17	Penn	6-4	14
18	Army	9-2	18
19	Brown	8-3	19
20	Notre Dame	6-7	AC
Also considered (alphabetical order)
AC	Colorado	6-5	AC
AC	Denver	8-5	AC
AC	Drexel	9-2	--
AC	Harvard	7-4	--
AC	Navy	9-4	AC
AC	Penn State	6-7	--
AC	Rutgers	8-5	AC
AC	Stony Brook	9-3	AC
AC	USC	8-5	20

Written By

USA Lacrosse Magazine Staff

Since 1978, USA Lacrosse Magazine has inspired generations of lacrosse families to love this great game and leave it better for the next. We harness the power of storytelling to help fuel the sport’s growth and enrich the experience of participants.