There’s a new No. 1 in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20.
Salisbury’s overtime loss to Colby cost it the top spot its held all season, as the defending national champion had remained unbeaten through the first nine games. Still-unbeaten Middlebury climbed to the top as the Sea Gulls, who have six wins against ranked opponents, dropped to No. 2.
With the win, Colby moved into the top five. Tufts also made a big jump after topping former No. 2 Gettysburg and Trinity College last week, stretching its win streak to five games, and Messiah rejoins the Top 20 with Catholic dropping out for now.
NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION III WOMEN’S TOP 20
March 28, 2022 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Middlebury |
7-0 |
3 |
3/29 vs. Plymouth State |
|
2 |
Salisbury |
9-1 |
1 |
3/30 vs. No. 8 Franklin & Marshall |
|
3 |
Tufts |
5-1 |
13 |
3/30 at MIT |
|
4 |
William Smith |
6-1 |
4 |
3/30 vs. St. John Fisher |
|
5 |
Colby |
6-1 |
9 |
4/2 vs. Connecticut College |
|
6 |
Gettysburg |
6-2 |
2 |
3/29 at No. 9 TCNJ |
|
7 |
Washington & Lee |
7-2 |
6 |
3/30 at Roanoke |
|
8 |
Franklin & Marshall |
7-1 |
7 |
3/30 at No. 2 Salisbury |
|
9 |
TCNJ |
6-1 |
8 |
3/29 vs. No. 6 Gettysburg |
|
10 |
St. Lawrence |
7-1 |
16 |
4/2 at Bard |
|
11 |
Ithaca |
6-1 |
5 |
3/30 at Rochester |
|
12 |
Hamilton |
5-1 |
11 |
4/2 at No. 13 Wesleyan |
|
13 |
Wesleyan |
7-1 |
12 |
4/2 vs. No. 12 Hamilton |
|
14 |
SUNY Geneseo |
4-1 |
14 |
3/30 vs. SUNY Buffalo |
|
15 |
York |
4-4 |
10 |
3/30 vs. Alvernia |
|
16 |
SUNY Brockport |
3-2 |
19 |
3/30 vs. RIT |
|
17 |
Bowdoin |
6-3 |
15 |
4/2 at Amherst |
|
18 |
Trinity |
5-3 |
17 |
4/6 vs. Connecticut College |
|
19 |
Pomona-Pitzer |
7-0 |
20 |
4/1 vs. Colorado College |
|
20 |
Messiah |
5-3 |
NR |
3/30 vs. Albright |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Amherst (5-1), Chicago (7-1), Denison (5-3), FDU-Florham (5-1), Haverford (5-3), Roanoke (5-2), Roger Williams (6-1)
Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
Middlebury (+2)
The Panthers seem to be making up for lost time after the COVID-19 pandemic limited them to three games the past two years and prevented them from defending their 2019 national title. They take the top spot in the rankings after adding three more wins last week, including a 13-9 victory over No. 8 TCNJ and an 11-5 decision over No. 10 York.
Middlebury took a 7-4 lead into halftime against TCNJ and handed the Lions their first loss. Jane Earley and Grace Getman each tallied three goals and one assist, while Hope Shue added a hat trick. Annie Enrietto made 10 saves. Shue propelled the Panthers to victory against York, scoring four goals and assisting another.
Tufts (+10)
The Jumbos continue to propel themselves back up the rankings since their setback against Colby in the opener took them outside the top 10 from a No. 2 preseason nod. They’ve won five straight since then and are almost right back where they started thanks to a big week that included a 16-9 win over Gettysburg and 13-5 victory over Trinity (Conn.).
Margie Carden and Claire Wright scored 17 seconds apart late in the first half to spark a 5-0 run that helped Tufts pull away from Gettysburg. Wright and Carolina Conaghan each tallied four goals, and Conaghan added three assists. Molly Laliberty recorded 10 saves in goal.
Against Trinity, the Jumbos took an 8-2 lead into halftime and cruised. Anne Clark and Carden finished with hat tricks, and Laliberty had seven saves.
Colby (+4)
Two days after Eliza Dean scored at the buzzer to lift Colby to a 10-9 win over Hamilton, the Mules won another thriller to knock off top-ranked Salisbury 14-13 in overtime.
This time it was Annie Eddy with the winner, scoring her team-leading fourth goal of the game with 20 seconds left in the first overtime period. Eddy finished with six points. Ally Franz and Gianna Bruno each added three goals and one assist. Emily Podgorni finished with 12 saves, as Colby earned its first big win outside of the NESCAC.
Elizabeth Hennessey led the attack against Hamilton with three goals, and Podgorni had eight saves. The Mules might have climbed higher had it not been for a 13-10 loss to unranked Roger Williams in early March.
St. Lawrence (+6)
The Saints suffered their first loss of the season Saturday against No. 4 William Smith but made a big jump in the rankings thanks to a 17-16 win over No. 5 Ithaca.
Callie O’Neil and Rachel Burke each scored three goals to power a 10-4 run that helped St. Lawrence’s second-half comeback against Ithaca. O’Neill scored the final two, including the winner with 1:19 left. Burke finished with six goals, and O’Neill had five goals and one assist.
The Saints couldn’t keep that momentum going the next day, as William Smith pulled ahead with an eight-goal second half after leading just 5-3 at the break.
NOT
Ithaca (-6)
The Bombers had a 14-9 lead midway through the third quarter, but St. Lawrence scored eight of the final 10 goals and stole the victory.
Ithaca bounced back the next day with an 18-8 win at Clarkson, but the loss to the Saints cost them a big drop in the rankings along with some other shuffling in the top 10. Ithaca also had trouble putting Babson away a couple weeks ago, winning by just two goals on a spring break trip to Massachusetts.
York (-5)
The Spartans have struggled with a tough schedule, including back-to-back losses to top five teams last week. They failed to score on 10 straight possessions to start the second half against Middlebury and ended up falling 11-5. Then, on Saturday against Washington & Lee, they battled back from a three-goal deficit to pull within one with 5:32 left in the third but couldn’t get over the hump and lost 12-7.
York (4-4) also has losses to Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall and just one win over a team ranked in the IWLCA Top 25, No. 24 Haverford College.
IN
Messiah (No. 20)
The Falcons’ 9-7 win over Mary Washington was enough to get them back in the rankings after they had dropped out following an overtime loss to unranked St. Mary’s on March 10. They also had a decent win over Cortland on March 16 but were idle for nine days before meeting Mary Washington on Saturday.
Amanda Wadsworth and Rachel Delate each scored three goals to lead the offense, and Wadsworth also added an assist to earn a team-high four points. Messiah is now 5-3 with its other losses coming to Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall.
OUT
Catholic (No. 18)
The Cardinals’ 15-6 loss to Franklin & Marshall marked their fourth setback in eight games and took them out of the Top 20 for now. They also lost by seven to Bowdoin the week before, with only a one-goal win against Roanoke between that and the F&M game.
Catholic bounced back to beat Susquehanna 17-1 on Saturday but will need to get a good showing against Scranton this weekend and at Mary Washington next week to prove themselves before the schedule lets up with fewer challenges down the stretch.