Syracuse women’s lacrosse: Orange ranked No. 5 in preseason poll

We are now less than two weeks away from the start of the season for the Syracuse Orange women’s lacrosse team, and Inside Lacrosse has finally spoken in the form of their preseason national rankings.

On Monday, they revealed their preseason ILWomen/IWLCA Division I poll, and the Orange came in at fifth in the country.

The ILWomen/IWLCA poll is voted on by a mixture of coaches throughout the country and members of the media.

North Carolina, coming off their undefeated season, leads the poll with 22 of the 27 first place votes. Maryland follows in second with two first-place votes, while Boston College comes in third with three first-place votes.

Northwestern slots in just ahead of SU, setting up a No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup to start the season on February 11, not unlike the NCAA Tournament last year when the two schools met as the 4th and 5th seeds in the tourney. We’re hoping for better results this time around.

‘Cuse is the third of six ACC teams ranked in this poll. After UNC (1), BC (3), and SU (5) in the Top 5, Duke comes in ranked No. 11, Virginia is No. 13 and Notre Dame is No. 16.

In total, SU’s schedule features nine teams ranked in this poll, including every team in the top six outside of (obviously) themselves. In order of ranking, the Orange will face North Carolina (1), Maryland (2), Boston College (3), Northwestern (4), Stony Brook (6), Loyola (10), Duke (11), Virginia (13), and Notre Dame (16).

We already knew it was a daunting schedule, so no real surprises there.

We’re really starting to close in as the season is now just 11 days away. Keep checking back with us over that time frame for a bunch of season preview articles as we get more and more hyped for what should be an exciting women’s lacrosse season!