Last week was certainly interesting to say the least. We are starting to get a sense of where teams stand in the national rankings, but there is still some uncertainty teams outside the top five. Florida State looks to be a serious contender with multiple ranked wins over quality programs. Liberty sits comfortably towards the top of the MCLA lacrosse pack due to recent big wins. Boston College could potentially win out the rest of the season with momentum. There are still many storylines and things to look out for in the MCLA.
Division I
1. Virginia Tech
Lost to Georgia Tech last week, but beat Liberty earlier in the season, who just beat Georgia Tech this past weekend. Virginia Tech gets the #1 seed over the other two because their win over Liberty was on the road.
2. Liberty
Beat then #1 Georgia Tech, however their loss to Virginia Tech at home makes them second to the Hokies. They play #8 BYU and #11 Utah Valley this weekend in Utah.
3. Georgia Tech
They have a win over Virginia Tech at home, and a loss to Liberty at a neutral site, so I put them at #3, but you could make a case for them at #2 and #1.
4. Florida State
The highest ranked undefeated team, with wins over #5 BC, #21 Colorado State, and #24 Tennessee. Put them at #4 because they beat Colorado State by less than Liberty and Virginia Tech did. They play #18 Pitt and #14 Georgia this weekend.
5. Boston College
Just completed a huge road trip beating #16 UCSB, #11 Chapman, and a very good unranked Southern California. Their only loss is to #4 FSU, and they also have a win over #6 Florida.
6. Florida
Got their second ranked win this weekend after beating #21 Colorado State, they have #17 Colorado and #4 FSU remaining for ranked games.
7. Concordia
Their loss to #19 Cal is looking a little worse after Cal dropped some games recently, but they still have wins over #8 BYU and #16 UCSB. They’ll play a very good unranked GCU team this weekend.
8. BYU
The Cougars are 7-1 with they’re only loss being to #7 CUI. They only have one ranked win (#15 Boise State) but a couple of those teams could be ranked soon. They host #2 Liberty this weekend.
9. Utah Valley
The highest ranked undefeated team after FSU. None of the seven teams they beat are ranked anymore, but they have a chance to prove they belong this weekend against Liberty.
10. San Diego State
5-0 with one ranked win over #16 UCSB, they play Washington this weekend, before ending the season with five straight SLC DI games.
11. Chapman
Lost to #5 BC this past week, but beat South Carolina and #23 Cal Poly. Their win over #12 Northeastern is looking better their loss to #19 Cal is starting to look a little bit with Cal’s recent losses.
12. Northeastern
Ended their AZ roadtrip with an OT loss to a very good unranked GCU. They don’t start CLC play until April and have three out-of-conference games coming up including one against #3 GT on 4/2.
13. Arizona
The Wildcats have one ranked win over #19 Cal and one ranked loss to #12 Northeastern at home.
14. Georgia
The highest ranked team with no ranked wins, they have a chance to change that this weekend when they play #4 FSU and #18 Pitt.
15. Boise State
The next highest ranked team with zero ranked wins, they play two pretty good unranked teams in Oregon State and Sonoma State this weekend.
16. UC Santa Barbara
Ended their losing streak with a commanding win over Santa Clara. They still have a ranked win over #19 Cal and all three of their losses are to ranked teams (BC, CUI, SDSU).
17. Colorado
They have losses to #1 and #2, and no ranked wins. They’ll play a solid UNH team this week, but don’t get into their RMLC schedule until April.
18. Pitt
Undefeated and now with a ranked win over #24 Tennessee, they have a huge test this weekend when they head to Athens to play #4 FSU and #14 UGA.
19. Cal
The Bears are 3-5, which does not look to good at the surface, but they still have wins over #7 CUI, and #11 Chapman which is keeping them ranked. Their losses are to #1, #3, #13, #16, and #24 SMU. Their five remaining games are all against WCLL opponents.
20. Simon Fraser
Have only played three games, all three wins over unranked, but very good teams. Their biggest game of the year is in two weeks against #8 BYU.
21. Colorado State
They now have four losses, all to ranked teams (#1, #2, #4, and #6), and just two DI wins (Nebraska and Texas A&M). They have chance to bounce back this week when they host UNH.
22. Southern Methodist
They got their first ranked win on the road, when they beat #19 Cal, but couldn’t keep the momentum going the next day when they lost to Santa Clara. They’re 7-2 with another unranked loss to Temple.
23. Cal Poly
None of their wins are over ranked teams anymore, but they have a chance to change that this weekend when they play #19 Cal. Their three losses are to an unranked USC, #7 CUI, and #11 Chapman.
24. Tennessee
The Vols are 6-3, with one ranked win over #25 West Virginia and losses to Clemson, #4 FSU by one, and #18 Pitt by two.
25. West Virginia
Started the season with a loss to #24 Tennessee, but followed it up with five straight wins over Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, James Madison, and NC State. They play #2 Liberty in two weekends.
Division II
1. Rhode Island
Undefeated with ranked wins over #9 Kennesaw State, #13 Grand Valley State, and #18 Miami. The rest of their season consists of five straight CLC DII games, and one CLC DI game. None of those teams are ranked so it might be tough to keep them #1 even if they go undefeated depending on how many ranked wins the teams behind them can rack up.
2. St. Thomas
The Tommies have a win over #3 Montana State and a loss to #4 Montana. They don’t play a game until 4/1 so there shouldn’t be much movement in this part of the rankings.
3. Montana State
They have a win over #4 Montana and a loss to #2 St. Thomas, no other ranked wins, but all other wins are against solid teams, and they won by a decent amount each game.
4. Montana
A loss to Montana State keeps them ranked under them, however they do have ranked wins over #2 St. Thomas and #21 Western Washington. They’re taking a trip to CA to play #6 San Marcos, #11 UCSD, and Loyola.
5. Missouri State
The Bears are 3-0 with wins over #12 Dayton, #16 FAU, and NDSU. They get a chance to meet ranked teams again in three weekends when they play #2 St. Thomas and #13 GVSU.
6. San Marcos
They have a ranked win over #15 Air Force, and two big conference wins over San Diego and Long Beach State. Their upcoming games are against #17 NAU, which could end up being an SLC DII finals game, Loyola, and #4 Montana.
7. Charlotte
Moved them below CSUSM and MSU just because those two teams have ranked wins and they do not, however they have a chance to earn one at the end of the month against #10 FGCU.
8. Utah State
The Aggies have two ranked wins over #22 Saint John’s and #20 College of Idaho. They still have 4 ranked DII games left, as well as two DI games in BYU and Utah.
9. Kennesaw State
They lost by one to #1 URI earlier in the year, and have a huge ranked win over #23 Georgia Southern. This weekend they have a ranked SELC DII game against #24 Coastal Carolina.
10. Florida Gulf Coast
They’ve only played on DII game against #18 Miami, which they won by eight. They play a solid unranked team in Duluth this weekend, but don’t finish SELC DII play until April.
11. UC San Diego
Started the season with a ranked in over #20 College of Idaho, and followed it up with five straight 20+ point SLC DII wins. This Thursday they play #17 NAU in what could be a SLC DII finals matchup.
12. Dayton
They have a ranked win over #16 FAU and a close loss to #5 Missouri State. They started conference play in two weeks against #13 GVSU and NDSU.
13. Grand Valley State
Started their season with wins over solid Bridgewater State and Central Connecticut State teams, but lost to #1 URI by six. They’ll try and bounce back this week against Butler and Louisville.
14. Wake Forest
Undefeated with a ranked win over #16 FAU, they’ll play another team undefeated in DII in Baylor this weekend.
15. Air Force
They lost to #6 San Marcos earlier in the year, but besides that they have five wins in which they scored 19 or more points. Their remaining three games are all against unranked RMLC DII teams.
16. Florida Atlantic
They have the most losses out of any ranked DII team, but they were all by two goals or less to #5, #12, and #14. Their remaining games are Duluth, #18 Miami, and #10 FGCU.
17. Northern Arizona
They’re 3-0 and will play #6 San Marcos and #11 UCSD this week for their first ranked games.
18. Miami
They have a ranked win over #23 Georgia Southern, and ranked losses to #1 URI and #10 FGCU. Their only remaining games are against Duluth and #16 FAU.
19. UC Davis
They are the only ranked WCLL team and have only played three DII games, all wins over unranked teams, so it is hard to judge how good they really are. They play Northwest Nazarene and #4 Montana at the end of the month.
20. College of Idaho
Have unfortunately had to cancel some games, so they’ve only played three DII games, a win over Claremont and two one goal losses to #7 Utah State and #11 UCSD.
21. Western Washington
No ranked wins, but a DI win over Washington State and a close ranked loss to #4 Montana. They could end up being a sleeper team in the PNCLL DII come April.
22. Saint John’s
No ranked wins, but two over two solid DII teams in Colorado Mines and Northwest Nazarene. They play Minnesota Duluth next.
23. Georgia Southern
Two ranked losses to #18 Miami and #9 Kennesaw State keep them ranked this low, but a ranked win over #24 Coastal Carolina keeps them ranked. Their remaining schedule includes, a DI team, an NAIA team, and a ranked DI team in FGCU.
24. Coastal Carolina
5-1 with the only loss being to #24 Georgia Southern. They dominated in all five wins, however the five teams they beat have three DII wins between them, all three wins are one of the five teams beating another. Their next three games against #9 Kennesaw State, #14 Wake Forest, and #7 UNCC should give a better look at where the Chants belong.
25. Tulane
They are undefeated against DII teams, and just beat DI Illinois the day after the Illini took down then #18 LSU.
