Week 9 of the Division III men’s lacrosse season featured a few top 10 matchups, but there wasn’t much movement in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Men’s Top 20.
A midweek tilt between Union and St. John Fisher set the tone heading into the weekend. Union was able to win its 10th straight game with a 13-12 victory against the Cardinals, but their impressive streak to open the year came to an end against RIT. Last year’s national champion was able to bounce back from its loss to RPI with a win against Union on Saturday.
The Union loss leaves five undefeated teams in the Top 20. Salisbury, Christopher Newport, Dickinson, Bowdoin and MIT are the only teams left with unblemished records.
After dropping two straight, Tufts was able to bounce back with wins against Williams and Connecticut. Middlebury, which beat Tufts last week, dropped two straight before beating Babson on Sunday. The loss knocked Middlebury back to No. 19. Elsewhere in the NESCAC, Bowdoin added two more to its win total, and Wesleyan moved up in the standings with a win against Middlebury.
After knocking off the defending champion, RPI was hit with its second loss, slipping to No. 15. St. John Fisher and Gettysburg also fell after losses this week.
Wins for Salisbury and Christopher Newport have set the stage for a highly anticipated matchup next weekend. Salisbury has a weekday game against St. Mary’s, but the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the country will square off Saturday. The Captains have only beaten Salisbury once in 13 matchups. The lone win was an 8-7 triumph in 2014.
NIKE/USA LACROSSE
DIVISION III MEN’S TOP 20
April 11, 2022 |
W/L |
Prev |
Next |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Salisbury |
12-0 |
1 |
4/11 vs. St. Mary's |
|
2 |
Christopher Newport |
13-0 |
2 |
4/16 vs No. 1 Salisbury |
|
3 |
RIT |
10-1 |
4 |
4/13 at Ithaca |
|
4 |
Union |
10-1 |
3 |
4/16 at No. 15 RPI |
|
5 |
York |
10-2 |
5 |
4/13 at Hood |
|
6 |
Dickinson |
11-0 |
7 |
4/13 at No. 11 Franklin & Marshall |
|
7 |
St. John Fisher |
8-2 |
6 |
4/13 vs. Keuka |
|
8 |
Bowdoin |
11-0 |
10 |
4/13 vs. Colby |
|
9 |
Tufts |
8-2 |
13 |
4/13 vs. Bates |
|
10 |
Cabrini |
9-3 |
10 |
4/13 vs. Marywood |
|
11 |
Franklin & Marshall |
10-2 |
14 |
4/13 vs. No. 6 Dickinson |
|
12 |
Gettysburg |
8-4 |
8 |
4/13 vs. McDaniel |
|
13 |
Lynchburg |
7-4 |
15 |
4/13 vs. Guilford |
|
14 |
St. Lawrence |
8-2 |
16 |
4/13 at No. 19 Middlebury |
|
15 |
RPI |
9-2 |
11 |
4/16 vs. No. 4 Union |
|
16 |
Wesleyan |
8-2 |
18 |
4/13 at Trinity |
|
17 |
Stevenson |
7-4 |
17 |
4/13 vs. Messiah |
|
18 |
MIT |
10-0 |
19 |
4/16 vs. Coast Guard |
|
19 |
Middlebury |
6-5 |
12 |
4/13 vs. No. 14 St. Lawrence |
|
20 |
Washington and Lee |
7-5 |
20 |
4/16 vs. Ferrum |
Also considered (alphabetical order): Amherst (5-5), Catholic (7-3), Grove City (8-4), Denison (7-4), Ithaca (9-2), John Carroll (11-1), Ohio Wesleyan (6-3), Williams (6-4)
Nike/USA Lacrosse Rankings
Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women
HOT
MIT (+1)
MIT is off to a perfect 10-0 start while pouring in nearly 20 goals per game. The Engineers boast one of the highest scoring offenses in the country and are backed by Ryan Gebhardt, who’s scoring over five goals per game. The offense, paired with faceoff man Matthew Sardis (77 percent) has been a deadly combo for MIT’s opponents. Four games away from an undefeated regular season, the Engineers have a non-conference matchup with Williams sandwiched between their three remaining NEWMAC games.
NOT
Middlebury (-7)
A 21-goal performance in a win against Tufts launched Middlebury into the rankings last week, but the Tigers were hit with consecutive losses this week against Hamilton and Wesleyan. They were close to dropping out of the Top 20, but a 15-7 win over Bates kept them just inside at No. 19.