The start of the D1 Lacrosse season is always filled with excitement, but for some teams, the early weeks can be downright brutal. No one wants to find themselves sitting at 0-3, yet a few squads are already in a hole with no easy way out. Some of these teams have simply run into tough competition, while others might have bigger problems to fix before things spiral out of control. It’s still early, but if these teams don’t turn things around fast, their seasons could be over before they even get started.
Towson (0-3)
Coming off a 13-4 season featuring a CAA Championship, the Towson Tigers have to feel pretty shell-shocked after starting the 2025 season with three consecutive losses and no wins. The road so far has been tough, and there is no questioning that.
Starting your season against the eighth-best team in the country in Johns Hopkins is always going to be a difficult test. A 10-11 loss had Tigers faithful feeling pretty good, as the game truly came down to the wire. Johns Hopkins is no joke, so many fans thought Towson would be able to put up more of a fight the following week against No. 2 Syracuse, but they did not. The Orange established an 8-5 lead at halftime, followed by a 9-2 run in the second half.
At this point, after two consecutive losses to start the year, you begin to figure out who you are as a team and look forward to facing another tough opponent like Navy to steer the ship back in the right direction. A 10-14 loss may have done the opposite, as the Tigers now sit just one loss behind their total from last season.
It is tough to say how Towson will bounce back for the rest of the D1 lacrosse season, as their next few games are a gauntlet, including a matchup against Virginia in early March. I’m sure they will figure it out come CAA play, but there is going to be a lot more in-conference competition than in years past.
Lehigh (0-3)
Lehigh has always been a gritty team that is able to pull out wins when you least expect them. This happened last year with surprise wins against Navy and Boston University, paired with close losses against highly touted teams like Loyola and Princeton. Their 2025 campaign so far has been lackluster, to say the least.
A defensive battle against Rutgers is never going to be the end of the world. However, considering Rutgers also has a loss against Stony Brook and only put up three goals against Army, it hints that Rutgers may be at the bottom of the Big Ten this year.
Following up this home loss against the Scarlet Knights, Lehigh went on the road to take on Fairfield, which resulted in a 7-10 loss. This is a tough look, as Fairfield has always been a middle-of-the-pack team, and I’m sure Lehigh expects more out of themselves and their program as a whole. Their third loss came against the Cornell Big Red at home in a 10-18 snowy defeat. The Ivy League is certainly no joke, especially when talking about Cornell.
I am not entirely out on Lehigh, but the road does not get easier from here. Their next four games are against Richmond, Villanova, Navy, and Army—all four teams that have looked solid to start the year and will certainly give Lehigh a fight in each game. At best, Lehigh splits two of those games in that four-game stretch and sits at 2-5 at the midway point.
Lehigh is very close to slipping down the rabbit hole this D1 lacrosse season if they don’t pull it together.
Loyola (0-3)
Lastly, Loyola sits at the bottom of this list but with the least amount of concern moving forward. They kicked off their year on the road against Georgetown, losing 6-13.
I am always a firm believer that your first game of the year really exposes the things you glanced over schematically in fall practice, and these things can normally get adjusted going into the second week of games. The Greyhounds had a strong lead at home against No. 4 Maryland before letting the game slip away, leading to an overtime disaster. I think many fans were impressed that Loyola was able to keep it this close, especially considering Maryland proceeded to take down Syracuse the next week.
Even with a week’s worth of prep and another home game following the OT loss, Loyola suffered a similar heartbreak against No. 5 Johns Hopkins with another one-goal loss. This game was extremely close, and it never felt like one team was going to run away with it. It would have been a great momentum boost for the Greyhounds if they had come out on top, but it certainly is not the end of the world.
No team ever wants to start their D1 lacrosse season with three consecutive losses, but unlike the other teams on this list, the road ahead looks intriguing. Games against Rutgers, Colgate, Providence, Boston University, Lafayette, Lehigh, Bucknell, Towson, and Holy Cross all favor Loyola.
Being battle-tested early in the season can be extremely beneficial, especially with an engaging schedule moving forward. I see Loyola bouncing back and being a team that competes for the Patriot League title while brushing off these early losses in the season.
