The Nike/US Lacrosse preseason rankings had Boston College, Maryland and North Carolina occupying the first three positions, and those three teams ended the year on top, but Maryland claimed the No. 1 position after winning its 14th national championship.

It was a big year overall for the Big Ten, as Northwestern reached the NCAA semifinals for the first time since 2014 and Michigan had a breakthrough season in reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. They joined Maryland in the season-ending Top 10 with Northwestern at No. 4 and Michigan at No. 9.

The ACC continued to flex its might with five of the top 11 spots in the poll, including four of the top six positions. Boston College (2), North Carolina (3), Syracuse (5), Virginia (6) and Notre Dame (11) paved the way in a season that saw seven of the league’s schools ranked at some point.

Other leagues with multiple teams in the final Top 20 were the Ivy League with Princeton (7), Penn (17) and Dartmouth (20); the Big East with Denver (8) and Georgetown (16), the Patriot League with Loyola (10) and Navy (15) and the Pac-12 with USC (18) and Colorado (19).

Nike/US Lacrosse
Division I Women’s Top 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Duke, High Point, Johns Hopkins, Richmond, Stanford, Virginia Tech

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

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

HOT

Denver (+10)

The Pioneers bounced back from its loss to Georgetown in the Big East championship game by reaching the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in school history after beating USC and Michigan in the NCAA tournament. Denver finished the year with the nation’s No. 2 defense (7.3 goals per game).

Stony Brook (+2)

An early 4-4 start to the season, including one-goal losses to Princeton and Florida, pushed Stony Brook down the rankings early in the season, but the Seawolves finished strong. Stony Brook won 12 straight games, including a NCAA tournament win over reigning national champion James Madison, before ending its season with a loss to eventual 2019 champion Maryland.

NOT

Dartmouth (-7)

Dartmouth took another step forward under head coach Danielle Spencer, making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013, but the Big Green ended the season with a pair of losses. Dartmouth fell to Penn in the Ivy League semifinals and were then knocked out of the NCAA tournament by Colorado in the first round.

James Madison (-7)

James Madison followed up its national championship with a strong season that included a 16-4 record and another Colonial Athletic Association championship. A first round loss to Stony Brook in the NCAA tournament sent the Dukes down in the rankings, primarily because of the lack of wins over nationally-ranked teams.

JMU had no bad losses (North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Stony Brook), but its best wins of the season came against Virginia Tech, High Point, Penn State and Hofstra — none of which were ranked at the end of the season.

IN

Georgetown

Georgetown followed up on its surprise Big East championship over Denver with a first round NCAA victory over Penn before bowing out to Syracuse. After losing one-goal games to Johns Hopkins and Penn early in the season, the Hoyas showed resiliency with overtime wins against both Denver and Penn down the homestretch.

Colorado

Colorado’s up-and-down season ended with positive vibes after the Buffs beat Dartmouth in the first round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Boston College in the second round. Only once all season did Colorado string together three wins in a row, but the Buffs had signature moments with wins over Virginia Tech, USC and Stanford.

OUT

High Point

High Point’s 11-game winning streak came to an end with a 16-5 loss to Navy in the NCAA tournament’s first round. The 11-goal loss was the biggest of the season for a team that finished 15-5, played Florida to within a goal and hung with North Carolina for the majority of the game in a 13-9 loss.

Duke

Georgetown and Colorado’s upset wins in the NCAA tournament pushed Duke out of the rankings. The Blue Devils went 11-8, but missed out on an NCAA tournament bid because of some near misses. Duke suffered one-goal losses to Northwestern, Syracuse and Penn during the season.