Unranked Teams Jump into the Spotlight
Since the preseason release of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20, the top seven teams have held strong – No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 USC, No. 4 Stony Brook, No. 5 Florida, No. 6 Syracuse and No. 7 Penn State.
However, in just three weeks, there has already been significant movement in the poll. Six teams have moved up, three teams have moved down and four have dropped out, which means only one thing – four new teams are making a name for themselves.
No. 11 Colorado, No. 15 Denver, No. 18 James Madison and No. 19 Elon each have made waves.
In their season openers, the Buffs upset Northwestern, which made national headlines, and the Dukes fell to reigning national champion North Carolina by just two before winning three straight games. The Pioneers and Phoenix are both off to hot starts, sitting with 4-0 records, highlighted by upsetting former MPSF rival Stanford and Virginia on the road, respectively.
But it was James Madison that got the nod for this week’s NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Team of the Week, as voted by fans on Twitter. The Dukes downed a Virginia Tech program on the rise and then topped UConn in a down-to-the-wire battle in the first college women’s lacrosse game on Tierney Field at the US Lacrosse headquarters.
The win against UConn was the 118th victory for coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe, which tied her for first all-time with Dukes Hall of Famer Dee McDonough.
Not only did James Madison jump into the Nike/US Lacrosse rankings, it also was ranked No. 19 in the IWLCA Division I Coaches Poll and No. 16 in the Inside Lacrosse/Cascade Women’s Division I Media Poll.
Goalie Talk Continues
Last week, goalies were the talk of the town when Colorado, Denver and Elon earned upset wins much in part thanks to the performances of their keepers, all of whom were upperclassmen.
But of the goalies mentioned for a notable performance, though not against a ranked opponent, one was a freshman. Ohio State’s Jill Rizzo recorded 16 saves in the Buckeyes 13-12 win over Jacksonville on Feb. 12 and followed that up with an 11-save performance against Cincinnati on Feb. 19, with seven saves coming in the second half, to lead the Buckeyes to a 3-0 start to 2017.
For the first time in her career, Rizzo was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. As of Feb. 21, when the award was announced, she sat second in the Big Ten and 10th in the NCAA with 30 saves this season. The Dukes’ keeper, senior Emily Poelma, tops the chart with 40 saves in four games.
However, it’s the Ivy League that dominates in goaltending early this season. Brown, Princeton and Penn are the No. 1, 2 and 3 teams for saves percentage, respectively. Individually, Brown’s Mikaela Karlsson ranks first in both save percentage (82.6%) and goals-against average (2.13), while Princeton’s Ellie DeGarmo sits second in the same categories (80.0% and 3.00).
Murphy Plays Through Injury
Stony Brook senior attacker Courtney Murphy is currently tied with junior attacker Kylie Ohlmiller for the most goals in three games this season (12), while the latter is the clear leader in assists with 11.
However, Murphy, who set the NCAA Division I scoring record last year with 100 goals, has been playing injured.
After scoring her sixth goal with 18:27 remaining in the Seawolves’ home-opening 20-5 win over Bryant on Feb. 18, Murphy subbed out to get a break for her left hand, which wore a red cast due to broken metacarpals.
“I wanted to play,” Murphy told The Statesman. “It’s my last year. I definitely wasn’t going to miss a bunch of games, so we figured it out.”
Murphy started again in Stony Brook’s next game against Marist on Feb. 21 – another dominating win, 19-3. Even with broken bones, she led the Seawolves with five goals.
Games to Watch
Here are some key games to keep an eye on this weekend (all times Eastern):
No. 3 USC at No. 5 Florida, Friday, 6:30 p.m.
After topping Northwestern 11-10 in overtime on Feb. 18, the Trojans’ schedule doesn’t get any easier. They head to the swamp to face a Florida squad vying for their first win after falling to North Carolina by three in its season opener.
No. 1 North Carolina at No. 2 Maryland, Saturday, 3 p.m.
Who doesn’t like an NCAA championship rematch? The Terps take the big game to the big stage, playing after the men at Maryland Stadium.
No. 13 Johns Hopkins at No. 9 Penn, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Johns Hopkins’ home opener will be a battle. The Blue Jays take on the highest ranked Ivy League team.
Virginia at No. 10 Princeton, Saturday, 1 p.m.
The Cavaliers dropped out of the Nike/US Lacrosse rankings after falling to then-unranked Elon, but they are still in consideration. A win over Princeton could solidify a spot in the Top 20.
No. 17 Cornell at No. 7 Penn State, Saturday, 1 p.m.
Can Penn State continue to silence their critics? The Nittany Lions will be looking to stay undefeated, but Cornell’s dominating 18-6 performance over Villanova could have them worried.