Whew. Did everyone keep up with that Northwestern offense this weekend?

The Wildcats dropped a combined 54 goals on Detroit Mercy and Duke, naturally earning two wins to begin their season. But did Northwestern rise into the top three? The short answer is: no.

For one, North Carolina, Syracuse and Maryland each came out victorious in their opening games. But 54 goals should trump that, right? Unfortunately for Northwestern, it allowed 20 goals against Duke in a 24-20 win on Sunday. A win’s a win, sure, but improvements on defense need to be made for Northwestern to climb. For now, the ‘Cats are knocking on the door.

There were, however, several movers — for better and for worse — after a fun opening weekend of the women’s lacrosse season.

Nike/US Lacrosse
Division I Women’s Top 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Duke (1-1), Georgetown (1-0), Hofstra (0-1), Jacksonville (0-1), Johns Hopkins (1-0)

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

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

HOT

Virginia, Notre Dame and Denver (+2 each)

Virginia moves into the top five for two reasons. First, Boston College’s loss left a void to fill. Because Princeton was inactive, Virginia jumped two spots to claim No. 5. Secondly, an impressive, overtime win over Navy is a resume-booster. Ashlyn McGovern tied the game with 34 seconds left then won the game just 46 seconds into overtime.

Notre Dame dominated Marquette 18-3. The Irish outshot Marquette 35-17, cleared 23 of 24 tries and turned the ball over just 10 times compared to Marquette’s 21. The Irish also showed off their impressive freshman class, as Kasey Choma, Madison Ahern and Jackie Wolak all scored their first career goals.

Denver, meanwhile, blitzed Stanford in the first half, jumping to a 12-5 lead by the break. That was enough to sustain eight goals from Stanford in the second half for a 17-13 win. Quintin Hoch-Bullen scored five goals.

NOT

Boston College (-9) and James Madison (-4)

We knew Boston College would be different after finishing as national runner-up from 2017-19. With the most talented group in the program’s history gone to graduation, the Eagles reloaded by bringing in Charlotte North from Duke and Rachel Hall from Oregon. North scored three times and Hall made nine saves, but it wasn’t enough to hold off a feisty UMass team, and BC falls considerably as a result.

As for James Madison, it’s not too surprising to have seen the Dukes lose to No. 1 North Carolina. But the 15-7 loss was alarming from a defensive standpoint, an area in which we knew James Madison would have to work out some kinks. Three standout defenders are gone from 2019, and the new unit must come together.

IN

UMass (No. 13)

The Minutewomen had last played in the Atlantic-10 championship game, an overtime loss that returning players could use as motivation in 2020. The new season showed what a team with motivation can do.

UMass upset state rival Boston College (then-No. 5), 15-11. Up 6-4 at halftime and 9-5 in the second half, UMass watched as BC took a 10-9 lead with 12:58 remaining. UMass then scored six straight to keep the Eagles from coming back again.

Dartmouth comes to Amherst on Saturday in a contest that should truly determine if UMass is a flash in the pan or here to stay — at least for now.

OUT

Georgetown (previously No. 19)

Through no fault of its own, Georgetown is a casualty to UMass entering the fray. The Hoyas handled Saint Joseph’s 19-5 but fall out of the top 20 instead of High Point, which earned a 19-11 win over a Mercer team that has more talent than Saint Joseph’s. And even though Colorado lost a nailbiter to Florida, the Buffaloes occupy the No. 19 spot.

Georgetown will certainly be in consideration for re-entry after next Saturday’s tilt with No. 8 Penn, which was inactive but moved up a spot as a result of BC’s loss.