It was touched upon in Friday’s Division I women’s Gameday Guide — which if you aren’t reading, we suggest you make it part of your weekend lacrosse primer.
The top three teams — North Carolina, Syracuse and Northwestern — appear to be separating themselves from the pack. That was after a Thursday that saw Northwestern roll over Penn State and Syracuse win a game against Notre Dame that was not as close as the final score indicated.
Right now, the No. 4 team in the country is Notre Dame, even after back-to-back losses to Syracuse. The Irish played much better Sunday, leading 7-2 before an eight-goal spurt turned the game in the Orange’s favor. Notre Dame hung tough, but Syracuse proved too potent on the draw.
There’s always the chance that any team can beat another on any day — see: Jacksonville’s upset win over Florida on Saturday — but it appears as if North Carolina, Syracuse and Northwestern are the country’s best at this moment.
Nike / US Lacrosse
Division I Women’s Top 20
March 15, 2021 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | 7-0 | 1 | 3/18 at No. 17 Louisville |
| 2 | Syracuse | 5-0 | 2 | 3/27 vs. No. 18 Virginia Tech |
| 3 | Northwestern | 5-0 | 4 | 3/19 at Rutgers |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 2-2 | 3 | 3/19 vs. Liberty |
| 5 | Stony Brook | 5-2 | 7 | 3/20 vs. Albany |
| 6 | Boston College | 4-1 | 11 | 3/17 vs. New Hampshire |
| 7 | Virginia | 5-1 | 5 | 3/17 vs. VCU |
| 8 | Penn State | 2-2 | 8 | 3/19 vs. Michigan |
| 9 | Maryland | 3-1 | 9 | 3/18 vs. Ohio State |
| 10 | Duke | 5-2 | 10 | 3/19 at No. 7 Virginia |
| 11 | Richmond | 4-1 | 12 | 3/26 at George Washington |
| 12 | Loyola | 4-2 | 14 | 3/20 at Bucknell |
| 13 | Jacksonville | 3-0 | NR | 3/20 at No. 18 Virginia Tech |
| 14 | Florida | 3-2 | 6 | 3/19 at Temple |
| 15 | USC | 3-2 | 16 | 3/19 vs. Arizona State |
| 16 | Navy | 3-0 | 17 | 3/20 at American |
| 17 | Louisville | 4-2 | 18 | 3/18 vs. No. 1 North Carolina |
| 18 | Virginia Tech | 2-3 | 15 | 3/17 at Davidson |
| 19 | Drexel | 5-1 | NR | 3/20 vs. La Salle |
| 20 | Towson | 5-2 | 13 | 3/20 at Saint Joseph's |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Denver (2-1), Elon (4-0), James Madison (3-1), Michigan (2-3), Stanford (2-0), Temple (4-1)
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Boston College (+5)
The Eagles followed a loss to top-ranked North Carolina in the best way possible, blitzing another top-five team in Virginia 20-11. Charlotte North was a perfect 7-for-7, and she also controlled 11 draws — firmly putting herself in the Tewaaraton discussion (if she wasn’t there already).
BC appears to be in the driver’s seat for about the next month before four straight games against Notre Dame and Syracuse to close the regular season.
Loyola (+2)
After losing the first two games of the spring, Loyola has put together a quiet four-game winning streak — the most recent being a better-than-people-think 17-12 win over Drexel. As it stands now, the Greyhounds have just five games left on their schedule. The next four shouldn’t represent too much of a test, but an April 24 contest against Navy (which was originally scheduled this past Saturday) is worth monitoring.
NOT
Florida (-8)
Losing to Jacksonville for the first time in program history is enough to necessitate a drop in the rankings, and the Gators’ remaining schedule doesn’t provide much of a path to climbing much higher. Temple (Florida’s next opponent in a Friday-Sunday doubleheader in Philadelphia) is a good team, and one that could even give Florida a run — but beating Temple twice wouldn’t necessarily be a resume booster.
Towson (-7)
The Tigers lost at Temple and narrowly skated past Georgetown this week, but the team that was once 4-0 and taking the women’s lacrosse world by storm is not firing on the same cylinders it was earlier this spring. The Tigers lost the draw battle in both games this week, perhaps exposing one of the few flaws on the team.
IN
Jacksonville (No. 13)
The score was close, but Jacksonville seemingly dominated Florida in a 12-11 win Saturday. The Dolphins held a 19-6 advantage on draws, led by Molly Brock’s 13. After losing each of its first nine tries against Florida, Jacksonville is now in the win column — and in the Top 20.
Drexel (No. 19)
A rare circumstance in which a team enters the Top 20 on a loss. Although Drexel lost to Loyola, Temple’s aforementioned win over Towson makes things interesting. The Dragons beat Temple handily on March 3, and that’s why they got the nod in the rankings over the Owls (and also why they rank one spot ahead of Towson).
OUT
Hofstra (was No. 19)
Hofstra inexplicably fell to Albany 18-7 on Tuesday in its first game since Feb. 20 following a pause. Was there some rust? Possibly. But Albany is not a team on many radars, so this loss hurts for the Pride. Bouncing back to beat Villanova on the back of Alyssa Parrella’s 10 goals is a step in the right direction.
Michigan (was No. 20)
Michigan didn’t play this weekend, but the Wolverines fall out of the Top 20 through no fault of their own. They have a chance to sneak back in with this weekend’s doubleheader against No. 8 Penn State.