The first few weeks of Division II men’s lacrosse have featured plenty of action and upsets and have given us a glimpse at which teams might be ready for a postseason run, and which may need to regroup for the rest of the 2022 season.
Let’s start with Limestone, the perennial power that has missed out of the championship game for the past two seasons. Under new coach Brendan Storrier, the Saints dominated Belmont Abbey and Saint Leo en route to a fast start.
Lewis jumps into this week’s rankings after a 2-0 start that included a major upset of Seton Hill, which we featured last week. Florida Tech also jumps into the rankings with a win over Belmont Abbey, but a loss to Rollins has the Panthers on the edge.
This week will help give us a clearer picture of the Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine Top 20, so stay tuned for more on Feb. 21.
NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION II MEN’S TOP 20
Feb. 14, 2022 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Le Moyne |
0-0 |
1 |
2/20 vs. No. 2 Wingate |
|
2 |
Wingate |
2-0 |
3 |
2/20 vs. Lake Erie |
|
3 |
Tampa |
2-0 |
4 |
2/20 vs. No. 8 Lenoir Rhyne |
|
4 |
Mercy |
0-0 |
5 |
2/19 vs. Saint Rose |
|
5 |
UIndy |
2-0 |
8 |
2/19 at Newberry |
|
6 |
Mount Olive |
2-0 |
10 |
2/19 at No. 17 Queens (N.C.) |
|
7 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
1-1 |
2 |
2/14 vs. No. 19 Florida Tech |
|
8 |
Mercyhurst |
0-1 |
6 |
2/19 vs. No. 14 Lewis |
|
9 |
Saint Anselm |
0-0 |
11 |
2/27 at Chestnut Hill |
|
10 |
Adelphi |
0-0 |
12 |
3/2 vs. Georgian Court |
|
11 |
Limestone |
2-0 |
16 |
2/19 vs. Florida Southern |
|
12 |
Lindenwood |
0-0 |
13 |
2/19 vs. Rockhurst |
|
13 |
Frostburg |
0-0 |
14 |
2/26 vs. Lake Erie |
|
14 |
Lewis |
2-0 |
N/A |
2/19 at No. 8 Mercyhurst |
|
15 |
Pace |
0-0 |
15 |
3/2 vs. Caldwell |
|
16 |
Seton Hill |
1-1 |
7 |
2/19 vs. Chestnut Hill |
|
17 |
Queens (N.C.) |
2-0 |
17 |
2/19 vs. No. 6 Mount Olive |
|
18 |
Rollins |
2-0 |
N/A |
2/19 at Palm Beach Atlantic |
|
19 |
Florida Tech |
1-1 |
N/A |
2/14 vs. No. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne |
|
20 |
Rockhurst |
2-0 |
18 |
2/19 at No. 12 Lindenwood |
Also considered: Bentley, Colorado Mesa, Florida Southern, Lynn, Newberry, Rockhurst
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Limestone (+5)
The Saints are only two games in but are looking like the dominant teams of the mid-2010s. Chris Erneston leads the Limestone offense with seven goals in blowout wins over Belmont Abbey and Saint Leo.
Indianapolis (+3)
UIndy picked up one of the biggest wins in school history on Feb. 6, getting the eventual game-winner from Drew Billig with just over a minute left to down Lenoir-Rhyne. Billig has five goals and seven assists in two games this season.
NOT
Seton Hill (-9)
Seton Hill allowed Lewis to jump out to an early lead and couldn’t come back, suffering an opening-game upset. The Griffins rebounded with an 18-5 victory over Molloy to get the ship back on track.
IN
Rollins (No. 18)
The Tars topped rival Florida Tech on the road with a Marshall Ellison game-winner — a win that gains even more value with Florida Tech’s win over Belmont Abbey. A seven-goal victory over Colorado Mesa further solidifies Rollins’ spot this week.
Florida Tech (No. 19)
It’s been an up-and-down season so far for Florida Tech, which upset Belmont Abbey on Feb. 12, but also dropped a close game to Rollins. The Panthers are sandwiched between Rollins and Belmont Abbey with another week to decipher whether they’ll stay put in the top 20.
OUT
Lynn (was No. 20)
A blowout loss to Tampa and a close loss to Rollins has Lynn on the outside looking in. The Fighting Knights have a chance to redeem themselves against Rollins in two weeks.
Newberry (was No. 19)
Much like Rockhurst this week, Newberry has a tough test ahead after a strong start. With teams outside of the rankings picking up big wins, the Wolves will have their opportunity to move right back into the top 20 this weekend.
Belmont Abbey (was No. 9)
The Crusaders are off to a poor start, with an 11-goal loss to Limestone and another in overtime to Florida Tech. The Belmont Abbey defense is allowing 16.5 goals per game so far, which is 33rd nationally.