The defending NCAA Division III women’s lacrosse champions are heading into the postseason tournament as the top team in the final in-season update to the Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine Division III Women’s Top 20.

Salisbury jumps back to No. 1, as Middlebury slides following its first loss of the season to Tufts in the NESCAC championship game over the weekend. The Sea Gulls had opened the year as the top-ranked team and spent the first five weeks there until Colby upset them.

For the last six weeks, Middlebury held the No. 1 spot.

Now, Salisbury — the C2C Championship winner — again is the favorite to repeat as national champions, but Tufts, back in the top five, will be seeking a return to the final as well, as the NCAA tournament gets underway this week.

Other notable results in conference championships: Washington & Lee won the ODAC title as expected, beating Roanoke in the final; Gettysburg beat Franklin & Marshall to win the Centennial Conference Championship; William Smith topped Ithaca to win the Liberty League; and Cortland is the SUNYAC champion over Geneseo.

*Editor’s Note: The final update to the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Women’s Top 20 will be June 6.

NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION III WOMEN’S TOP 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Amherst, SUNY Brockport, Chicago, FDU-Florham, Haverford, Stevenson

Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings

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

HOT

Tufts (+5)

An opening loss to Colby and a mid-April overtime loss to Amherst had the Jumbos almost out of the top 10, but their upset of undefeated Middlebury launched them to No. 4.

Tufts earned a hard-fought 9-8 win over the Panthers to claim their second straight NESCAC tournament championship and end the Panthers' 42-game winning streak dating back to March 2019. Middlebury, which did not play last season due to COVID-19, had defeated Tufts 14-7 during the regular season and hadn’t been held under 10 goals since 2019.

Senior goalie Molly Laliberty made nine saves, while Madison Lehan caused three turnovers and collected two ground balls to lead the defense. Margie Carden had five goals to lead the attack.

Tufts played the final 1:23 down a player due to a yellow card but clung to its one-goal lead, blocking Middlebury’s Hope Shue on two free-position opportunities in the final minute, including one with eight seconds left.

SUNY Cortland (+2)

The Red Dragons have won 14 straight games since a 1-4 start that included losses to three ranked teams, and they’ll head into the postseason as SUNYAC champions after beating Geneseo 16-14 in the conference tournament final.

Cortland built an eight-goal lead before the midway point of the third quarter and had to hold off a Geneseo rally, as the Knights’ saw a nine-game winning streak snapped. Red Dragons graduate student Hannah Lorenzen was named the tournament MVP after scoring a season-high 10 points on eight goals and two assists.

NOT

Messiah (-4)

The Mustangs’ MAC Commonwealth tournament ended after one game, as they fell 13-8 to unranked Stevenson in the semifinals last week.

Stevenson took an 11-3 lead into the fourth quarter, and Messiah’s offense got going a little too late. Rachel Delate scored a game-high six goals, and Mackenzie O’Haver recorded eight saves and allowed seven goals against in 45-plus minutes of action.

Messiah had won 10 of its last 11 games, including a notable victory over SUNY Cortland on March 16. Its loss in that stretch came against York, and the other defeats this season were against St. Mary’s (Md.) in overtime as well as ranked opponents Franklin & Marshall and Gettysburg.

St. Lawrence (-2)

The Saints had beaten Ithaca in late March but couldn’t repeat that success when they met for a rematch in the Liberty League semifinals Saturday. It wasn’t even close. Ithaca won 18-9.

Jamie Allan scored three goals, and Callie O’Neil and Morgan Arakelian both scored twice but St. Lawrence fell well short, ending a nine-game winning streak.

IN

Stevens (No. 20)

After losing by 10 to FDU-Florham in April, the Ducks won the matchup that mattered most. The Ducks avenged that loss with an 11-10 win to claim their first MAC Freedom title.

With the score tied at 8 in the fourth quarter, Morgan Westerby and Camryn Rogers scored timely goals, and Westerby added another to give Stevens an 11-8 lead with 5:14 left. That last one by Westerby proved to be the game-winner.

The Ducks' defensive efforts held FDU-Florham to its lowest offensive output of the season and forced 18 turnovers.

OUT

Roanoke (was No. 18)

The Maroons lost to Washington and Lee in the ODAC championship game for a second consecutive season, falling 11-5 for their fourth defeat overall.

Roanoke, which also had lost to the Generals in late March, forced 20 turnovers but couldn’t take advantage offensively, going into halftime down 6-3 and unable to mount a comeback.

Lilly Blair scored three goals to lead the Maroons’ attack, and Claire Eisenhart picked up a game-high six ground balls, while Kyleigh Chickering grabbed five ground balls and registered six saves.

PREVIOUS RANKINGS

• Preseason

• Week 1 (Feb. 21)

• Week 2 (Feb. 28)

• Week 3 (March 7)

• Week 4 (March 14)

• Week 5 (March 21)

• Week 6 (March 28)

• Week 7 (April 4)

• Week 8 (April 11)

• Week 9 (April 18)

• Week 10 (April 25)

• Week 11 (May 2)