For the second straight week, Salisbury, the two-time defending NCAA champion, was slain, this time by Ohio Wesleyan.

The Battling Bishops’ 12-11 overtime win comes on the tail end of a 63-6 stretch for the Sea Gulls, setting a tough course ahead for Jim Berkman, the winningest men’s coach in NCAA history.

Outside of that, the top five stayed the same, as Wesleyan, York, RIT, Denison and Gettysburg all rattled off wins to keep pace atop Division III. In particular, senior attackman Harry Stanton of the No. 1 Cardinals showed why he’s one of the NESCAC’s and country’s top players, as he bagged four goals in a 9-8 win over conference foe Williams.

With a Nor’easter slamming the Northeast last weekend, No. 8 Tufts’ game against No. 7 Cortland was postponed, so fans were denied an elite clash in the season’s early goings. Such an opportunity arose via No. 6 Cabrini, though, as the Cavaliers downed then-No. 10 Dickinson 13-11 behind a career-high 19 saves from junior goalkeeper Riley White.

Looking ahead, Division III fans have a top-five clash to look forward to, as No. 2 York hosts No. 5 Gettysburg on Wednesday.

	Feb. 26, 2018	W/L	Prev	Next
1	Wesleyan	1-0	1	3/7 at Coast Guard
2	York	4-0	2	3/7 vs. No. 5 Gettysburg
3	RIT	2-0	3	3/7 vs. Springfield
4	Denison	3-0	4	3/7 vs. Albion
5	Gettysburg	4-0	5	3/7 at No. 2 York
6	Cabrini	3-0	6	3/7 vs. Hampden-Sydney
7	Cortland	2-0	8	3/9 vs. Ursinus
8	Tufts	1-0	9	3/7 vs. Keene State
9	Amherst	1-0	13	3/6 vs. Western New England
10	Ithaca	1-0	11	3/7 vs. Oswego State
11	Salisbury	3-2	7	3/7 vs. Keene State
12	St. Lawrence	1-0	14	3/7 vs. Geneseo
13	Stevens	3-0	16	3/10 vs. No. 8 Tufts
14	Dickinson	2-1	10	3/7 vs. No. 18 Roanoke
15	Franklin & Marshall	3-1	12	3/10 vs. Messiah
16	Christopher Newport	5-0	20	3/9 vs. Elizabethtown
17	Ohio Wesleyan	4-1	NR	3/8 vs. Alma
18	Roanoke	3-1	18	3/7 at No. 14 Dickinson
19	Middlebury	1-0	NR	3/10 vs. Connecticut College
20	Bates	1-2	15	3/10 at No. 1 Wesleyan

Also considered: Bowdoin, Clark, Coast Guard, Keene State, Mary Washington, Springfield, Stevenson, Union

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

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

Hot

Stevens (+3)

The Ducks knocked off Springfield, arguably the NEWMAC’s top team, 13-12 on Saturday to start their season 3-0 for the third straight year.  To seal the win, Stevens scored the final four goals against the Pride after trailing 12-9 with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Junior midfielder Eric Radbourne and freshman attackman Ryan Gebhardt each scored four goals for the Ducks, while junior goalkeeper Carson White made 16 saves. Further, Stevens went 14-for-16 on clear attempts, making up for Springfield winning 23 of 28 faceoffs in a dominant performance at the X.

Christopher Newport (+4)

The Captains won their fifth straight game Saturday, as they downed previously undefeated Southern Virginia 20-7.

Senior attackman Matthew Crist enjoyed a career day with six goals and three assists to match the highest single-game point total in Christopher Newport history. Another attackmen, Jack Deal, posted five assists to mark the most-ever helpers by a Captain freshman.

CNU doesn’t play Roanoke, Salisbury and York – other ranked foes – until later in the season. But their rapid start is still impressive.

Amherst (+4)

The NESCAC is, more often than not, riddled with close encounters. Amherst bucked that trend on Saturday, though, trampling Colby en route to a 22-7 win, as highlighted by an eight-goal second quarter.

Their star of the day was sophomore attack Colin Minicus, who bagged five goals and four assists, fresh off a freshman year that entailed 73 points (31 goals, 42 assists). Evan Wolf, a junior attackman, chipped in four goals of his own in the rout.

Amherst also won the ground-battle battle 40-22.

Not

Salisbury (-4)

For the first time since early in the 2015 season, Salisbury has lost back-to-back games. The Sea Gulls dropped an 11-10 overtime decision to Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, after falling in double OT to Gettysburg a week prior.

It’s a shocking turn of events for the two-time defending NCAA champions. Sealisbury never quite overcame a 7-3 halftime deficit. Even a five-goal, one-assist showing from senior midfielder Garrett Reynolds wasn’t enough to snag the victory.

Bates (-5)

After finishing the 2017 regular season with a 14-0 record, the Bobcats are off to a 1-2 start, their worst start since the 2015 campaign.

This past week was an up-and-down one for Bates, too, as it beat Babson 18-9 midweek, then dropped its NESCAC opener 11-10 to Middlebury on Saturday. Amidst all that, senior attackman Clarke Jones and sophomore attackman Matt Chlastawa have combined for 26 points.

Next weekend gets even tougher for the Bobcats, as they face top-ranked Wesleyan and could be in an even deeper hole when all is said and done.

Dickinson (-4)

The Red Devils fell 13-11 to No. 6 Cabrini, after largely coasting by in their first two games of 2018 against St. Mary’s and Montclair State In Sunday’s wake-up call, Dickinson failed to score in the fourth quarter despite entering the stanza tied at 11 apiece. It’s not quite a rut for the Red Devils, though, as they’re 3-1 with a test against No. 18 Roanoke coming up.

In

Ohio Wesleyan

The Battling Bishops have bounced back admirably after falling to now-No. 2 RIT in their first game of the year. They’ve rattled off four consecutive wins, with the latest a 12-11 overtime upset of Salisbury.

Junior attackman Steven Hildebrand scored the game-winner against the Sea Gulls with 49 seconds left OT. Junior attackman Jack Jeschke scored four goals and added an assist.

To keep climbing, the Bishops will battle unranked Alma on Thursday, then a matchup with No. 6 Cabrini awaits on March 14.

Middlebury

After hovering around the top 20, Middlebury enters with an 11-10 upset victory over then-No. 15 Bates.

One star performer for the Panthers was senior midfielder Henry Riehl, who scored four goals, including three in the third quarter. Meanwhile, junior goalkeeper Charles Midgley made 16 saves on 26 shots.

Out

Stevenson

The Mustangs fell 7-6 in overtime to Gettysburg on Saturday, marking the latest test in a grueling start to the 2018 season.

At 0-2, Stevenson has clashes against ranked foes Salisbury, Dickinson, York, Tufts and Cabrini ahead. In fact, the Mustangs won’t face an unranked team until March 27 against Alvernia, when Middle Atlantic Conference play gets underway.