The New England Small College Athletic Conference begins league competition this week, but with the schedule now seemingly finalized, another team drops out of the top 20 — Amherst.

While some teams remain suspended indefinitely, there are others that are finally getting back on the field for the first time in more than a year. A few ranked teams started this week, including Catholic and Geneseo, which both collected wins in their openers.

A handful of top 20 matchups caused a shakeup in the bottom half of the rankings. Otherwise, there wasn’t much movement overall. The teams at the top continue to win games as expected, but with more teams beginning to play, Division III competition should be picking up in the coming weeks.

Nike/US Lacrosse
Division III Women’s Top 20

Also considered: Bates (1-0), Brockport (1-2), Christopher Newport (5-3), Lynchburg (3-3), Mary Washington (2-3), Merchant Marine (0-0), Roanoke (3-1), William Smith (2-1)

HOT

Geneseo (+4) 

The Knights opened with a big win against then-No. 20 Brockport on Wednesday. Senior attacker Nicole Voci scored four goals and assisted three others to lead Geneseo to a 15-12 win at home. The Knights led by as many as five goals early in the second half and never lost control from there.

Geneseo returns each of its seven top point-scorers from the shortened 2020 campaign, including Voci and Preseason All-American Hannah Marafioti, as well as junior goalkeeper Margaret Rosachi and defender Caitlyn Merkel, who was the team’s draw control and caused turnover leader last year.

IN

Trinity (No. 17)

The Bantams opened with a win 12-5 win over Endicott College on Wednesday then added a 19-2 victory at Connecticut College on Saturday to boost themselves into the top 20. Gabriella Young made 14 saves in goal to preserve the win against Endicott, which avenged an 11-10 loss to the Gulls in Trinity’s home opener last year before the season shut down.

Trinity begins NESCAC play this weekend with a pair of home-and-away games against Wesleyan University.

Meredith (No. 19)

The Avenging Angels have rattled off four straight wins since a 17-13 loss to Lynchburg, including a 16-14 win over Roanoke, which was coming off wins over Christopher Newport and Southern Virginia. Christopher Newport was on the national radar after a dominant win over Lynchburg last week but, a third loss (to Mary Washington) kept the Captains from the top 20.

SUNY Cortland (No. 20)

Since opening with a loss to Ithaca, Cortland has strung together a trio of wins and has a chance to face another ranked opponent Wednesday when it hosts St. John Fisher. The Red Dragons were tested in a 12-11 win against Clarkson, which drew within one with 1:02 left and had a chance to tie the score before Amanda Squillini forced a turnover and secured the ground ball. Cortland was able to run out the clock and seal the win.

OUT

Amherst (was No. 6)

Amherst joins the likes of Middlebury and Bowdoin as teams unable to compete because of roster limitations or scheduling problems amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lynchburg (was No. 17)

After a 10-day layoff between games, Lynchburg returned perhaps a little rusty and dropped a pair of games to Christopher Newport and No. 4 Washington and Lee last week. The Hornets fell 17-4 to Christopher Newport on Wednesday before playing a closer battle with one of the top teams in Division III in a 16-8 loss to Washington and Lee.

Lynchburg is now 3-3 with a third loss to No. 16 St. Mary’s (Md.), but the Hornets remain a team to watch with notable wins over Meredith and previously-ranked Mary Washington.

Brockport (was No. 20) 

The Golden Eagles dropped their second straight loss last week when they fell 15-12 to ranked Geneseo. Goalie Morgan Elmer tied her career-high with 16 saves for a second straight contest, but it wasn’t enough to earn a win.

Brockport bounced back with an 18-5 win over Buffalo State on Saturday.