And then there was one.
Four teams entered the week unbeaten. Only Syracuse would avoid a loss. They also showed that they completely deserve that top ranking by routing Duke 19-7. Maryland gave North Carolina their first loss behind a stellar defense once again. Speaking of defense, Notre Dame shut out Ohio State for the second goose egg in Division I this season.
There was a lot of movement in the standings as upsets happened all over the place. I don’t expect next week to be any different.
Records and scores are including games from March 22.
1 Syracuse Record: 7-0 InLax Score: 158.00 Previous: 1
Yeah, that was a pretty good win. This team has shown they can start slow and play sloppy lacrosse. Not this week, though. Definitely not this week. Notre Dame is up next. If you have friends, family, coworkers, pets, acquaintances, or total strangers in your life, tell them to watch Syracuse vs. Notre Dame on ESPNU this Saturday at noon EDT.
2 Maryland Record: 6-1 InLax Score: 118.51 Previous: 3
They faced one of the top offenses in the country and held them to only 8 goals. Not too bad for replacing one of the best goalies in school history and losing a first team all-american longpole before the season began. This team is riding their defense to victory, and it’s working pretty well.
3 Notre Dame Record: 5-1 InLax Score: 86.40 Previous: 5
Denver beat Notre Dame. Ohio State beat Denver. Notre Dame was playing Ohio State. There was no way that this team would take the Buckeyes lightly. Nobody saw a shutout coming, but that was a heck of a statement before bringing Syracuse into town. Speaking of which, shouldn’t you be telling people about this game right now?
4 North Carolina Record: 9-1 InLax Score: 143.50 Previous: 1
It took a while, but UNC finally has a blemish on their record. Things don’t get easier as they only have the ACC left on their schedule. A very angry Duke is up first. Sunday on ESPNU at 1PM EDT. Must see TV.
5 Duke Record: 7-2 InLax Score: 81.00 Previous: 4
Pretty much nothing went right for Duke. Their offense was uncomfortable the entire game, they couldn’t win a faceoff in the first half, saves were non-existent, and they were facing Syracuse’s backup attack in the second quarter. They better get their defense problems solved, because the Tar Heels attack will be relentless.
6 Brown Record: 6-1 InLax Score: 79.33 Previous: 6
Sophomore Dylan Molloy is a one man wrecking crew on offense. A loss and a win this week means they hover. A great battle at Princeton is next up.
7 Denver Record: 6-2 InLax Score: 74.93 Previous: 8
Two good wins for the Pios has them back on track. Their offense is slowing down a little bit from their first two games. Georgetown is going to do everything they can to take advantage of that.
8 Virginia Record: 6-2 InLax Score: 67.81 Previous: 9
It was a great overtime win for the Cavaliers up at Homewood over Johns Hopkins. One of the most entertaining second halves I’ve seen all year. A couple in-state games provide a slight breather before they play the second half of their ACC schedule.
9 Cornell Record: 6-2 InLax Score: 71.21 Previous: 11
Two 10-9 wins this week keep the Big Red moving forward. Dartmouth is up next and this team is looking to be a strong contender for the Ivy title once again.
10 Army Record: 6-3 InLax Score: 74.00 Previous: 10
Army avoided the Patriot League insanity for a week as they beat Lehigh 7-5. Bucknell’s up next, so who knows.
11 Marquette Record: 7-1 InLax Score: 64.84 Previous: 7
Marquette finally lost to a Georgetown team that has been knocking on the door for quite a while. It will be interesting to see how this team responds with a trip to Villanova up next.
12 Princeton Record: 6-1 InLax Score: 65.41 Previous: 13
This team is looking really good after topping Rutgers and Yale. Hosting the explosive Brown offense will be an excellent test and will bring some more clarity to the Ivies.
13 Yale Record: 5-2 InLax Score: 56.87 Previous: 12
Only a one goal loss to Princeton means they don’t drop far. Penn is up next, which should be a good game.
14 Albany Record: 5-1 InLax Score: 60.60 Previous: N/A
I can finally put Albany on the actual list. Their numbers were oddly very low this whole time, mostly due to strength of schedule, which left them off until now. Lyle Thompson is still Lyle Thompson, in case you weren’t keeping track. He’s almost to the point where an eight point game won’t turn heads, which is like crazy and stuff.
15 Navy Record: 6-3 InLax Score: 58.31 Previous: 20
A good win over Colgate with Boston U being the next on the docket (Get it? Docket…dock…Navy…never mind, just go to the next line).
16 Georgetown Record: 6-3 InLax Score: 66.60 Previous: N/A
Three losses to ranked teams by seven total points? Wins over Loyola and unbeaten Marquette? Welcome to the party, Hoyas. Syracuse fans should appreciate Georgetown’s InLax score, by the way.
17 Ohio State Record: 7-3 InLax Score: 70.96 Previous: 16
A great win over Towson was followed up by a zero goal effort against Notre Dame. I’ve dropped teams from the rankings for less. The B1G (except Maryland) still is struggling out of conference.
18 Stony Brook Record: 6-2 InLax Score: 59.87 Previous: N/A
They’re winning the games they should and played Albany very closely. This team has some great potential to push for the conference title in a few weeks.
19 Towson Record: 6-3 InLax Score: 52.97 Previous: 17
A one point loss to Ohio State and a one point win over Binghamton. This team is very inconsistent, but their remaining schedule is manageable, meaning winning out is not off the table. Their season opening win over Hopkins is fading away though.
20 Loyola Record: 5-4 InLax Score: 45.60 Previous: 19
Close loss to Georgetown, big win over Lafayette. Colgate’s up next and the Hounds are falling prey to Patriot League craziness. This was a preseason top 10 team, but they have not been looking like it lately.
Dropped out: Johns Hopkins, Villanova, Harvard
Next five in consideration: Boston University, Richmond, Fairfield, Bucknell, and Marist.
