The ACC seedlings are officially set while most other conferences still need a few more games to take shape. The Patriot League also locked up their seeding, with Navy, Colgate, Bucknell, Loyola, Army, and Lehigh all getting some extra games. If it is anything like last year or any of the games during the season, get in front of a TV on Friday. While most other conferences have a clear favorite, the ACC, and Ivy and Patriots Leagues are still not much better than a coin toss.
Records and scores are including games from April 19.
1 Notre Dame Record: 9-1 InLax Score: 166.23 Previous: 2
I couldn’t take it anymore with Maryland at the number one spot. Notre Dame just went undefeated through ACC play and is now rewarded with a game against Duke to start the conference tournament on Friday.
2 Maryland Record: 12-1 InLax Score: 208.53 Previous: 1
Maryland staged their largest comeback of the year to top Ohio State in overtime. Their defense is losing its early season form, giving up eight or more goals in their last three games. That had only happened twice in their previous 10 games.
3 North Carolina Record: 12-2 InLax Score: 167.39 Previous: 3
Some could argue that UNC was a bad penalty away from a great win in South Bend against Notre Dame. Apparently , a two minute non-releasable penalty in the final 90 seconds against one of the best man-up units in the country is not a good strategy to seal a win. A well-rested Syracuse is up next.
4 Syracuse Record: 9-2 InLax Score: 159.90 Previous: 4
Syracuse blew out Hobart earlier in the week and was idle this weekend. They should be very fresh for the weekend’s ACC tournament.
5 Denver Record: 10-2 InLax Score: 150.00 Previous: 5
Denver took everything that Providence could handle and came away with a four point win. Marquette’s up next.
6 Duke Record: 10-4 InLax Score: 132.25 Previous: 6
Duke had a couple of strong wins over Stony Brook and Marquette to warm up for the ACC tournament. Duke is either hitting their famous late season stride, or they are just not primed for a three-peat and are picking on weaker competition. Only the coming weeks will tell.
7 Albany Record: 11-2 InLax Score: 145.60 Previous: 8
Two wins this week over Bryant and Yale weren’t dominant, but they were enough to keep the Danes in legitimate top ten conversation. It’s hard to believe that early bracket projections have them on the road at Syracuse to open the NCAA tournament. That hardly seems fair to either team’s performance this season.
8 Yale Record: 9-3 InLax Score: 117.00 Previous: 7
A loss to Albany and losses by most teams behind them means that Yale does not tumble in the rankings. They are looking strong for the Ivy bid, but that is in no way a lock.
9 Virginia Record: 9-4 InLax Score: 99.06 Previous: 12
Virginia kept their perfect non-conference record intact by topping Georgetown by three. As the odd team out in conference play, they will face Penn in a consolation game next Saturday. Poor Penn.
10 Stony Brook Record: 11-4 InLax Score: 108.71 Previous: 10
Stony Brook lost to Duke by six, which was their true litmus test. Then they almost lost to Binghamton, but staged a late comeback to win in overtime. They have one game remaining before the conference tournament.
11 Brown Record: 10-3 InLax Score: 108.09 Previous: 17
Brown blew out Cornell and beat their hometown rival Providence by four. This was a good week for the Bears, and they needed it.
12 Ohio State Record: 10-4 InLax Score: 98.36 Previous: 9
Ohio was so close to pulling off what could have been the upset of the year. Instead, Maryland came away with the win as the stadium was filling up to the limits for the Ohio State spring football game. This could make the conference tournament interesting if they see each other again.
13 Navy Record: 8-4 InLax Score: 74.28 Previous: 13
No action this week for Navy, they hover. They also will play host to the conference tournament.
14 Cornell Record: 9-4 InLax Score: 94.52 Previous: 11
Cornell had their worst loss of the season against Brown, giving up one more goal than they did against Syracuse to open the season. This is not a good sign for the Big Red.
15 Richmond Record: 9-4 InLax Score: 102.49 Previous: 16
Richmond won’t wow anybody with marquee wins or a strong conference schedule, but they know how to win games. I don’t think they would press the top teams too much, but they are setting a benchmark for new programs.
16 Georgetown Record: 8-5 InLax Score: 79.78 Previous: 18
Georgetown played Virginia pretty closely and lost, but they still move up a bit. The only reason why is the turmoil around them.
17 Army Record: 8-5 InLax Score: 86.13 Previous: 14
Army fell to Colgate in yet another Patriot League loss. This team is drastically under performing relative to what they’re capable of.
18 Princeton Record: 8-4 InLax Score: 70.46 Previous: 20
Princeton squeezed out a one point win over Harvard which keeps their season afloat for just a little bit longer. It’s strange to see, but they actually have the best Ivy record.
19 Towson Record: 9-4 InLax Score: 76.87 Previous: 15
Towson only managed to score two goals in their loss to Hofstra. I really have no idea what to expect from this team in the post season.
20 Marist Record: 10-3 InLax Score: 98.44 Previous: Unranked
This has to be the quietest 10 win team in the country. Aside from a six point loss to Stony Brook early on in the year, they have only lost by one to Penn State and then had an overtime loss to Brown. If they win their conference, they could cause some opening weekend headaches for someone.
Dropped out: Loyola
Next five in consideration: Marquette, Colgate, Fairfield, St. Joe’s, and Loyola.
