Major showdowns in the past week resulted in some reshuffling among the elite in this week’s Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Women's Top 20, although No. 1 Lindenwood and No. 2 Adelphi held their positions. Both teams were impressive, with the top-ranked Lions defeating then-No. 7 LIU Post 14-10, on the road, and Adelphi securing the top seed for this week’s NE10 Tournament by taking down previously undefeated Le Moyne 11-8.  

Florida Southern jumped one spot to No. 3 by winning the Sunshine State Conference Tournament for the third straight year. The Mocs blitzed then-No. 8 Rollins 23-6 in the semifinal and beat No. 6 Florida Tech 15-7 in the championship game.  

No. 7 Limestone moved up two spots this week by capturing its 11th Conference Carolinas Tournament title.  The Saints, winners of nine straight games, defeated Belmont Abbey 18-8 in the final.

With several more conference tournaments on this week’s schedule, we should see more clashes between ranked teams. Another showdown looms between No. 2 Adelphi and No. 5 Le Moyne in the NE10, No. 4 West Chester and No. 8 East Stroudsburg in the PSAC, and No. 10 Indianapolis and No. 15 Grand Valley State in the GLIAC.

Also, barring upsets, we’re likely to see No. 12 LIU Post against either No. 13 NYIT or No. 14 Mercy in the ECC final, and No. 1 Lindenwood against No. 9 Regis in the RMAC final. 

The 12-team NCAA tournament field will be announced on Sunday.
 

Also considered: Belmont Abbey, Mercyhurst, Mount Olive, St. Leo

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

HOT

Indianapolis (+4)

The Greyhounds closed the regular season by extending their winning streak to eight games with road victories at Northern Michigan and Concordia-St. Paul. UIndy is the No. 2 seed for the GLIAC tournament and in position to capture its first NCAA tournament berth if it claims the title.

East Stroudsburg (+3)

The Warriors secured the marquee non-conference victory they were lacking on their resume with a 17-7 road win at then-No. 7 LIU Post last week. ESU scored eight of the game’s last nine goals to secure their ninth straight win. The defending PSAC champs finished 11-1 in league play and are the No. 2 seed in the PSAC Tournament.

NOT

LIU Post (-5)

The Pioneers had a two-goal lead midway through the second half at home against No. 1 Lindenwood last week before the Lions rallied for the 14-10 victory. Three days later, they closed the regular season with a 17-7 home loss against East Stroudsburg on Senior Day. LIU Post is the No. 1 seed in the ECC tournament, but needs to recapture the fire that carried it through an 8-0 conference season.

Tampa (-4)

The Spartans made great progress this season, doubling their win total from last year and earning the No. 3 seed in the competitive SSC. Despite a 20-8 loss to No. 6 Florida Tech in the SSC semifinals, the program appears to be headed in the right direction.

NEW

Merrimack

The Warriors have won four straight and 10 of 11 to set a new school record with 13 wins this season. The only loss during that run came at No. 5 Le Moyne. Merrimack is the No. 4 seed in the NE10 tournament and opens play in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round against New Haven.

OUT

Mount Olive (previously No. 19)

An upset loss to unranked Belmont Abbey in the Conference Carolinas semifinal round brought an unexpected end to the season, but the Trojans enjoyed a 14-5 campaign and finished one victory shy of the school record for wins in a season.