Syracuse lacrosse: Orange drop in polls after rough weekend

Last weekend was not nice for the Syracuse Orange lacrosse teams.

The women got things started early with their disastrous fourth quarter against Boston College on Thursday night that led to a 17-16 loss, while the men took the field on Saturday and got completely outclassed by Virginia, 19-12.

As a result, both teams dropped in their respective polls this week. The women only dropped one spot to No. 2 in this week’s ILWomen/IWLCA Division I Poll, while the men dropped to No. 15 in the Inside Lacrosse Division I Media Poll and No. 19 in the USILA Coaches Poll.

The women’s loss has put the top of the rankings in flux as four different teams earned first-place votes this week. Northwestern leads the way, coming in with the No. 1 ranking and 14 first-place votes. The Orange are next with seven. Denver, the only remaining unbeaten DI team, comes in at No. 3 with two first-place votes, while Boston College remains behind SU despite the win at No. 4 and one first-place tally. James Madison rounds out the top 5.

The Orange will be back in action tomorrow, Wednesday, April 26 for the ACC Tournament at American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, NC. The No. 2 seed Orange will be playing the No. 7 seed Virginia Tech Hokies at 4 PM on the ACC Network.

With their loss to the Cavaliers, the men dropped down from their highest rankings of the season last week. They fell only three spots in the media poll from 12th to 15th, but fell six places in the coaches poll from 13th to 19th.

The top of the rankings is all ACC these days, as the top three are the same in both major polls. Notre Dame leads the way, followed by Duke at No. 2 and Virginia at No. 3.

The Orange will close out their regular season with what will almost certainly be their last game of 2023 this weekend with a repeat meeting with the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils down in Durham on Saturday, April 29 at 12 PM on ESPNU.