The 2020 lacrosse season ended abruptly, and it’s anyone’s guess exactly when the 2021 season will begin. But there’s been plenty of movement in the offseason.

While it’s probably a greater challenge to forecast the upcoming season than in most years, US Lacrosse Magazine will give it a try.

Up today: Nos. 5-1.

Early 2021 Rankings

Division I Men
No. 25 - No. 21
No. 20 - No. 16
No. 15 - No. 11
No. 10 - No. 6
No. 5 - No. 1

Division I Women
No. 25 - No. 21
No. 20 - No. 16
No. 15 - No. 11
No. 10 - No. 6
No. 5 - No. 1

5. STONY BROOK

2020 record: 4-1

Last seen: Bouncing back from a two-goal loss to Florida with home wins over Towson and Princeton.

Initial forecast: Joe Spallina’s Seawolves immediately reminded the nation of their past half-decade of success by topping Syracuse in one-goal thriller in their season opener. Outside of a two-goal hiccup on the road against Florida, Stony Brook was playing like a team ready for another NCAA tournament run. And that window is still open. Likely Tewaaraton finalist Ally Kennedy and integral attacker Taryn Ohlmiller are back for fifth years, and USC midfielder Kaeli Huff transferred to use her fifth year closer to home. Add in a healthy Siobhan Rafferty, who was set to miss all of last year with a leg injury, and the Stony Brook midfield appears to be in good shape. There don’t appear to be any glaring weaknesses on this team, though improving on a defense that ranked 35th nationally last year should be a point of emphasis.

4. SYRACUSE

2020 record: 7-1

Last seen: Toppling ACC foe Virginia Tech 18-8 in the Crown Lacrosse Classic.

Initial forecast: We’ll never know just how good the 2020 Syracuse team could’ve been, as we were robbed of the chance to watch the Orange play consensus top team North Carolina. Big wins against Northwestern and Maryland were nice bouncebacks after falling to Stony Brook, though. Seeing how close they were to an NCAA title run in 2020, an array of student-athletes are back for fifth years — attackers Emily Hawryschuk and Morgan Alexander, midfielders Vanessa Costantino, Cara Quimby and Bella Recchion, defenders Lila Nazarian, Ella Simkins, Kerry Defliese and Morgan Widner and goalkeeper Asa Goldstock. This is one of the most talented teams Gary Gait has had in several years, making a title run very much in the cards.

3. LOYOLA

2020 record: 5-0

Last seen: Beating a third-straight ranked opponent (and fourth in five games) in a 19-15 slugfest against Penn.

Initial forecast: Jen Adams’ Greyhounds were finally putting it together. The offense was blistering. The defense was doing just enough — and in some games, much more than enough. And while it’s unfortunate that 2020 robbed this group of a chance to run the gamut, there are positives ahead in 2021. Only one player graduated, and Amber Bustard, Holly Lloyd and Meaghan Quinn are back as graduate students. An unstoppable offense with five 10-goals scorers — Sam Fiedler (19), Jillian Wilson (17), Elli Kluegel (15), Emily Wills (12) and Livy Rosenzweig (10) — the Greyhounds are going to be a force on that end of the field. In goal, Kaitlyn Larsson stopped 52.5 percent of shots, and her entire starting defense is back in front of her. With Wilson, Rosenzweig and Katie Detwiler all performing well on the draw circle again in 2021, Loyola could continue this dominance.

2. NOTRE DAME

2020 record: 7-0

Last seen: Scoring double-digit goals for the seventh straight game in a 16-6 win over Vanderbilt.

Initial forecast: In years past, there was almost always a game or two that made you scratch your head when it pertained to Notre Dame. Not last year. Granted, the Irish only played seven games, but they handled every opponent — even a blink-and-you-miss-a-goal slugfest against Northwestern. The star players are back. Kelly Donnelly, Jessi Masinko, Kathleen Roe, Savannah Buchanan, Erin McBride and Samantha Lynch will compete as graduate students, anchoring a team that utilized contributions from first-years Kasey Choma and Madison Ahern in 2020. Emma Schettig, a very solid defender with Maryland, transferred in for her sophomore season, too. With Andie Aldave and Maddie Howe entering their senior seasons, this might be the best team Chris Halfpenny has ever had.

1. NORTH CAROLINA

2020 record: 7-0

Last seen: Beating Northwestern 20-18 in one of the most exciting games of the short season.

Initial forecast: The consensus No. 1 again, Jenny Levy’s team is somehow more loaded than it was a year ago. Katie Hoeg, the program’s all-time points leader, is back for her fifth year. She and Jamie Ortega are arguably the nation’s top 1-2 punch. Scottie Rose Growney took a step up in 2020 as a hard-nosed midfielder with an improved scoring touch. The defense ranked 8th nationally by allowing 8.29 goals per game, a number inflated after allowing 18 goals to Northwestern. Both the offense and defense stand to improve with Kerrigan Miller (USC) and Katie Bourque (Dartmouth) transferring in to fortify the midfield. If there’s any question mark for the Tar Heels, it’s that Taylor Moreno saved 47.3 percent of shots faced in 2020, a sharp decrease from her marks of .541 and .532 the previous two seasons. With even more talent in front of her than before, Moreno should bounce back — and the Tar Heels should be well on their way to a Memorial Day Weekend appearance.