There’s a lot of movement in the latter half of the Nike / US Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20, but the top six teams remain fairly unchanged. Although, there is one notable swap, and that’s due to the fact that the NESCAC is back. Mostly.

Tufts proved that its offense is still the most elite fighting force in D-III by dropping a school-record 29 goals against Colby in its opening game of 2021. As you might recall, the Jumbos were 4-0 and averaging 25 goals a game against regionally rigid competition before the 2020 season was canceled.

Though the Jumbos did allow the Mules to get 11 goals of their own, the sheer ease with which they capitalized on their chances was notable. One might even say electric. The addition of Max Waldbaum, who it seems everyone forgot about in the lead up to 2021, had five goals and one assist in his debut and meshed well with Mac Bredahl, the greatest combo lacrosse/golf player walking the planet right now.  

Nike / US Lacrosse
Division III Men’s Top 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Bates, Cortland, Dickinson, Ithaca, Ohio Wesleyan, Stevens Tech, Wesleyan

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

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

Hot

Franklin and Marshall (+3)

There was a time when the Diplomats were constantly warring with their conference brethren in one or two-goal battles with high attrition rates. So far this season, that trend has continued — until this past week when they dropped a 26-spot against McDaniel. Led by a pair of Garden City products in Luke Keating (eight goals, 14 assists) and Christian Sullivan (eight goals, four assists), Franklin and Marshall might be ready to make some moves in the Centennial Conference. 

Not

Ursinus (-5)

A victim of scheduling and protocols — not necessarily their fault at all — the Bears are back in the woods after playing in the top 10 for a long time. How does a one-goal loss result in their expulsion? Well, that loss was their biggest test this season, and they failed to capitalize on it. They have also played just two games, which has to come into play eventually this late in the season. If they don’t get a chance to play the minimum amount of contests, they may exit the top 20 altogether. 

In

Ithaca (No. 20)

Back in March, the Bombers had a rough loss to St. John Fisher that sent them reeling. But since that 17-8 loss to the Cardinals, Ithaca has rebounded. A one-goal win over Clarkson may not look like a huge accomplishment, but it came after weeks of delays forced the team to have internal scrimmages and practices to keep morale high. That delay has been a kiss of, well, misfortune for most squads that have had to deal with it so far this campaign. When your leading scorers are both underclassmen (sophomore Jake Erickson and freshman John Sramac have combined for 45.4 percent of the entire team’s points), the potential to truly break out is always there. 

Out

Wesleyan (was No. 9)

It’s tough to exclude a team after it gets a conference win — especially when that conference is the NESCAC. However, the performance against Hamilton was all but confidence-inspiring for those who watched the game. It took 24 saves from Max Powers to secure the victory, along with a nine-goal run in the middle of the game that looked more like a full field iso drill for Ronan Jacoby (four goals, two assists) and Matt Chase (four goals, one assist) than anything else.

Ben Shapiro was also bested by Hamilton’s Quin Crowley quite decisively, as the latter won 17 of his 23 draws. If Hamilton’s midfielders had been more precise, they may have had a huge upset win. Wesleyan has a real test of depth on their hands when they play Trinity at home next week.