Taylor Cummings is a three-time Tewaaraton Award winner, a member of the U.S. women’s national team, the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse champion and the head coach at McDonogh (Md.). “Taylor’s Takes” is presented by Gait Lacrosse. Be legendary.
We’re officially two months into the 2022 season and have seen a little bit of everything thus far.
Some players have had consistently outstanding performances, while others have come into their own in the past few games. We have teams who have been solid all the way through and other programs that are starting to peak at the right time.
Now with the calendar about to flip to April, the lacrosse world has a much clearer picture of this season’s top conference and national championship contenders, a few dark horses that could stand in their way and potential Tewaaraton Award winners. Good news for us, though, is that there is still much more lacrosse to be played!
This week’s edition of “Taylor’s Takes” will stand as a midseason review and a prediction for conference champions, and next week’s will dive deeper into my predicted NCAA Final Four, dark horse teams and my current Tewaaraton Award top five.
WAY-TOO-EARLY PREDICTIONS
AUTOMATIC BIDS
AAC — Despite solid seasons from Vanderbilt (7-3) and Temple (7-4), I think it will be the Florida Gators (6-4) who come out on top in the AAC. Florida’s four losses came at the hands of top 10 teams, and some were incredibly close. They have some of the nation’s top players, including Sarah Reznick, Emma LoPinto and Danielle Pavinelli leading the way for a young Gators squad. Their high-level game experience, along with their previous dominance in the conference, will be relied upon as they move through conference play in April.
ACC — The ACC is constantly seen as a gauntlet, and this season is no different. Many of us were glued to our TVs as we watched North Carolina (11-0, 4-0) and Boston College (9-1, 3-1) compete a few weekends ago. We’ve also been in awe of the offensive prowess of Duke (12-1, 3-1), the balance of Syracuse (9-2, 4-0), and the resilience of teams like Notre Dame (4-6, 1-3) and Virginia (4-6, 1-3). My gut tells me that with the Tar Heels’ senior leadership and experience, it will be a UNC-v-Syracuse championship game with UNC coming out on top, but this is a conference tournament where literally anything can happen.
America East — Stony Brook (7-2, 1-0) is looking like the top team in the America East once again with midfielder Ellie Masera leading the charge. Unfortunately, the Seawolves’ move from the America East to the CAA will prevent this year’s talented team from participating in the conference tournament, leaving Joe Spallina’s team searching for an at-large bid. If that remains true, my bet is that Albany (3-4, 1-0) will be the team to beat during conference championships. Despite a losing record, the Great Danes have played tight games against storied programs, and that experience will come in handy during the first week of May.
ASUN — Both the Jacksonville men’s and women’s programs have been making splashes this season and continue to get national recognition, but conference foes Kennesaw State (8-4), Liberty (6-4) and Coastal Carolina (4-5) have had success this season, too. Despite other in-conference challengers and a tough loss to Notre Dame in March, Jacksonville (5-3) has been solid all season and is my ASUN pick. The Dolphins’ balance on offense, combined with solid goalie play and defensive work, will make them a challenge for any in-conference teams.
Atlantic 10 — This season’s Atlantic 10 championship may come down to two of the nation’s top contenders in UMass (8-2, 2-0) and Richmond (8-2, 1-0). Both programs have competed against some of the nation’s best teams, but of the two, Richmond has found more success. They secured a big win against Stanford thanks to lockdown defensive play and closely competed against national powerhouses James Madison and Virginia, which will be confidence-builders as the Spiders get deeper into conference play.
Big East — The Big East is one of my favorite conferences to watch this year because there is so much talent across the board. UConn (8-1) has All-American superstar Sydney Watson, Villanova (4-7) took a ranked Michigan team down to the wire and Georgetown (5-5) has competed solidly against some top teams. However, I think it will be Denver (10-1) that takes the trophy and this season’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament. The Pios are talented across the board, but I believe that it’s their defense, led by former McDonogh player Sam Thacker, that will secure the Big East title and take them far into the NCAA tourney.
Big South — High Point (1-7), Furman (0-5) and Winthrop (1-7) have been solid contenders for the Big South title in recent memory, but Mercer (5-2, 1-0) is now bursting onto the scene this season. The Bears have big wins over Kennesaw State and Oregon, and they closely competed with USC. With their confidence growing at the perfect point in time, this may be the Bears’ title to lose.
Big Ten — It seems like the Big Ten gets more competitive with each passing year. There are currently five ranked teams within the conference and so much back and forth between them. After watching many games this season, though, I think it will be another Northwestern (8-2, 2-0)-v-Maryland (8-1, 1-0) matchup at the end of conference play that will determine the NCAA automatic qualifier. Northwestern is led by superstars Lauren Gilbert (attack) and Madison Doucette (goalie), while the Terps have Aurora Cordingley (attack) and Emily Sterling (goalie) leading the way. While Northwestern is extremely talented and will make a deep NCAA run, I think the Terps will win it due to their balance on offense and hunger to get back on top.