Entering the week, nine of the top 10 Division III women’s teams were undefeated. That number is down to seven after York and Colby suffered losses to fall further down the list.
Messiah’s win against York caused the biggest movement, aside from No. 10 Wesleyan moving out of the Nike / US Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20 after a second upset loss — a stunning one against unranked Hamilton on Sunday.
Tufts, despite a nice win against Colby, flipped with Washington and Lee from No. 3 to No. 4 after Washington and Lee continued its roll to 9-0.
Nike/US Lacrosse
Division III Women’s Top 20
April 12, 2021 |
W/L |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franklin & Marshall | 2-0 | 1 | 4/17 at Washington (Md.) |
| 2 | Salisbury | 9-0 | 2 | 4/14 at Christopher Newport |
| 3 | Washington and Lee | 9-0 | 4 | 4/17 vs. Virginia Wesleyan |
| 4 | Tufts | 2-0 | 3 | 4/17 vs. Connecticut College |
| 5 | Gettysburg | 4-0 | 5 | 4/24 vs. McDaniel |
| 6 | Ithaca | 7-0 | 7 | 4/16 vs. Rochester |
| 7 | Catholic | 5-0 | 9 | 4/14 vs. Susquehanna |
| 8 | Colby | 1-1 | 8 | 4/17 vs. Bates |
| 9 | Messiah | 11-0 | 12 | 4/17 at Lebanon Valley |
| 10 | Denison | 6-0 | 11 | 4/14 at Butler |
| 11 | York | 7-1 | 6 | 4/14 at Alvernia |
| 12 | Cortland | 5-1 | 14 | 4/12 at Oneonta |
| 13 | Trinity (Conn.) | 2-0 | 15 | 4/18 vs. No. 4 Tufts |
| 14 | St. John Fisher | 8-1 | 16 | 4/13 vs. Alfred |
| 15 | Montclair State | 3-0 | 18 | 4/13 vs. Kean |
| 16 | Geneseo | 2-1 | 13 | 4/12 vs. Oswego |
| 17 | John Carroll | 12-0 | 19 | 4/14 vs. Marietta |
| 18 | TCNJ | 3-2 | NR | 4/13 vs. Stockton |
| 19 | St. Mary's (Md.) | 6-3 | NR | 4/17 vs. No. 2 Salisbury |
| 20 | Brockport | 4-2 | NR | 4/14 vs. No. 16 Geneseo |
Also considered: Bates (1-0), Christopher Newport (8-5), Lynchburg (7-3), Mary Washington (4-4), Meredith (8-2), Roanoke (5-2), Wesleyan (1-2), William Smith (4-3)
Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Messiah (+3)
Messiah continues its climb thanks to an upset win over then-No. 6 York on Wednesday, a 14-8 decision. The Falcons broke a 5-5 tie and took control by rattling off nine of the next 10 goals. Seven players registered two goals, while Makenzie Schnur was the points leader with five assists. Messiah remains undefeated at 11-0 and sits atop the MAC Commonwealth.
The Falcons have just two regular-season games remaining.
St. John Fischer (+2)
The Cardinals have won three straight since dropping a game to SUNY Cortland, and their efforts were rewarded following an 11-10 quadruple-overtime win over then-No. 13 Geneseo on Saturday. Mackenzie Alexander played the hero with the game-winning goal over her shoulder with one second left on the shot clock and 57 seconds left in the fourth overtime period, but it was Logan Chase’s last-second tally at the end of the regulation that extended play.
Geneseo took a 10-6 lead with about five minutes left before St. John Fisher went on a 4-0 run to send the game to overtime.
NOT
York (-5)
The Spartans’ first game against a ranked opponent didn’t go as planned, and they fell from the No. 6 spot with a 14-8 loss to No. 12 Messiah. They went cold in the second half and couldn’t prevent a Messiah surge despite goalkeeper Riley DiFiore establishing a career high with 18 saves. York had just set a program record for its best start to a season at 6-0 and had a nine-game win streak dating back to last season come to a close.
Geneseo (-3)
After 10 days off, the Knights got back on the field and were seconds from victory and what would have been a 3-0 start to the season, but St. John Fisher completed its comeback from a four-goal deficit and sent the game to overtime on a goal with one second left. Geneseo couldn’t find the net in overtime, and St. John Fisher ended it in the fourth extra period for an 11-10 win. Knights goalie Margaret Rosaschi made a career-high 17 saves.
IN
TCNJ (No. 18)
TCNJ had been punished for its slow start but gets back in this week with others falling. The Lions had opened the season 2-2 with a six-goal loss to No. 2 Salisbury, an overtime win against unranked Kean and a 10-9 loss to then-unranked Montclair State. They climb back in following a 22-11 win over Rowan on Saturday.
St. Mary’s (No. 19)
The Seahawks had a busy week with four games in seven days, and the lone blip in that stretch was a triple-overtime loss to Mary Washington. They started the week with an 11-8 win over Christopher Newport and finished with an impressive 15-6 rout of former No. 20 Meredith. Lucy Gussio led St. Mary’s with five goals and three assists for a career-high eight points in that victory Sunday afternoon.
Brockport (No. 20)
Brockport re-enters the top 20 on the momentum of a four-game winning streak, after opening with a pair of losses to ranked Ithaca and Geneseo. The wins have come relatively easy, as Fredonia (twice) and Buffalo State failed to test the Golden Eagles. A rematch against Geneseo will help them see how much they’ve improved.
OUT
Wesleyan (was No. 10)
It was a rough weekend for Wesleyan, which barely escaped with a win over Hamilton 13-12 on Saturday before getting overpowered in the second matchup of the teams Sunday. The Continentals rolled to a 17-9 win. Hamilton closed the game on a 9-1 run. Wesleyan had opened the season on a 10-7 loss to Colby on April 3 and is now 1-2.
Mary Washington (was No. 17)
The Eagles are back to .500 after a four-game winning streak came to end with a 12-8 loss to Christopher Newport on Saturday. They had opened the season with three straight losses and seemed to be back on track with the help of a triple-overtime win against St. Mary’s last week, but after taking a 5-1 lead into halftime against Christopher Newport, they let up in the second half. The Captains outscored Mary Washington 11-3 the rest of the way to avenge an earlier loss to the Eagles.
Meredith (was No. 20)
The Avenging Angels’ stay in the top 20 didn’t last long. They entered following a March 24 win over a Roanoke team that has impressed, but St. Mary’s blew past them Sunday to knock them out of the rankings. Meredith trailed just 6-3 at halftime, but St. Mary’s rolled in the second half for a 15-6 win. Meredith is now 8-2 with an early season loss to Lynchburg.