Much to the rejoicing of lacrosse fans, the 2020 NCAA women’s lacrosse season kicked-off this past weekend with incredible matchups and jaw-dropping plays.
NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Opening Weekend 2020: Top Moments
Major Matchups
There were some big games this past weekend, to say the least. There weren’t any real surprises on Friday in terms of who won, but Northwestern did put up 30 goals on Detroit Mercy in and then another 24 on Duke on Sunday, so it’s safe to say that offensive production shouldn’t be an issue this year.
Northwestern has been a consistently major player in Women’s Division I, and initial indications suggest that this could be a big year for the Wildcats. After losing Tewaaraton-finalist Selena Lasota, it seems like Northwestern hasn’t missed a beat. Having Duke score 20 goals isn’t what Northwestern probably had planned, but it’s still early in the season and adjustments can be made.
After losing three legitimate potential Tewaaraton winners — and an actual winner in Sam Apuzzo — on offense, Boston College didn’t exactly get the result it wanted in the season-opener against UMass, losing 15-11. With new players having to step-up as starters and being leaders on the team, it’s not unusual to have a transition period while the new players get more experience in important situations. I personally think that Boston College has developed a winning culture over the past few years based on the team’s performance, so hopefully, that will carry over with this year’s squad and future rosters.
Then No. 13 Florida came out on top in a hard-fought over then-ranked No. 18 Colorado, taking the 11-10 win. In other Pac-12 lacrosse news, No. 15 USC got a win over Hofstra, who was sitting just outside the top 20. It’s great to see successful lacrosse out on the West Coast.
Jacksonville has been a team to definitely watch over the last few years, and the unranked Dolphins had a narrow two-goal loss to No. 12 Michigan, which was a rematch of last year’s second-round NCAA playoff matchup.
On Monday, then No. 12 Stony Brook picked up the 17-16 win over then No. 4 Syracuse, which was certainly a strong opening statement by the Seawolves in an exciting overtime win. Despite the loss to Stony Brook, Syracuse remained in the No. 4 spot while Stony Brook only moved up two spots in this week’s poll. There may be circumstances to this that I am unaware of, but I would consider it highly unusual for the only team in this week’s top 10 in the poll to have an 0-1 record and to not drop at least one or more spots. I know some can consider overtime wins to have gone either way and that some wins are a fluke, but I don’t think that having a gritty, overtime win over a quality opponent like Syracuse should be overlooked for a what looks like a good Stony Brook team. The Seawolves may be young and some might consider them to potentially be streaky given that with youth comes inexperience, but at the very least it seems like they have a ton of potential. I would expect them to do really well moving forward. Even if you follow the argument that maybe Syracuse isn’t all it’s cracked up to be this year (just spitballing here) and would thus not give much credit to Stony Brook, then how would there be justification for them to remain in place with everyone around them in the top 10 having perfect weekends? Again, there might be something I’m not taking into consideration, but given what I do know that’s how I see it. Also, I’m obviously not saying that Syracuse isn’t a good team, because they have clearly proven that they are over the years and I don’t expect that they will let this loss derail their season.
Anyways, enough ranting. Let’s see some highlights!
Top Plays From NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Opening Weekend 2020
1. DaDaDa! DaDaDa!
Look who made the @SportsCenter Top 10 in her collegiate debut. Kailyn Hart of @StonyBrookWLAX! pic.twitter.com/xYTUNpV5sB
— Stony Brook WLAX (@StonyBrookWLAX) February 11, 2020
2. Achieving In Style
#NCAAWLAX Plays of the Week 🥍
1️⃣ | HAT TRICK FOR HANNAH!! 🎩🎩🎩 @DU_WLAX’s Hannah Liddy scores a no-look back-✋ goal to land her first hat trick of the season. pic.twitter.com/HBI4jyyKuu— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 11, 2020
3. Where Do You Stand On The Bonus Lacrosse vs. Free Lacrosse Debate?
#NCAAWLAX Plays of the Week 🥍
4️⃣ | The Cavaliers take it in OT‼️ @UVAWomensLax’s overtime game-winning goal scored by Ashlyn McGovern to win at Navy 👏 pic.twitter.com/cjz99NnKhi— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAALAX) February 11, 2020
Either way, game-winning overtime goals are a thing of beauty. Props to Ashlyn McGovern.
4. A Personal Favorite
PULIS ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!#SeawolvesUnited | #NCAAWLAX | #AEWLAX pic.twitter.com/WnAzn2ALut
— Stony Brook WLAX (@StonyBrookWLAX) February 10, 2020
Really loved this play on the dish from Taryn Ohlmiller to Sarah Pulis.
5. When High Quality Meets High Volume
.@NULax are the nets inside of Ryan Fieldhouse okay after this weekend? Asking for a friend.
The Wildcats scored 30(❕) in a win over Detroit Mercy on Friday, then quickly followed that up with 24 in a victory over Duke. 🥵 #SlowMoMonday pic.twitter.com/WGgFwW40Ab
— Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) February 10, 2020
There’s always the argument about whether teams should keep their foot on the gas as they bring in backups or whether they should show restraint. Wherever you stand, you’ve got to respect the ability to completely control a game. The Duke matchup was obviously a shootout that was just high-scoring in nature, but the Wildcats’ win over Detroit Mercy seemed to be handled with ease.
What were your favorite moments from NCAA Women’s Lacrosse opening weekend? Share in the comments or let us know on social media by tagging us using @LaxAllStars.