Syracuse Lacrosse: Orange Drop to 5/6 in Latest Polls

The three major polls were released on Monday afternoon. The Syracuse Orange fall several spots in each poll, although the team still is above Hopkins in two of the three major rankings. The Orange are in the midst of its toughest portion of the season. With Duke up next, it is entirely possible SU goes into its game against Notre Dame 5-2. I expect Syracuse to finish the regular season with a 10-3 record.

North Carolina rises after decisive wins over Richmond and Manhattan. Duke destroyed Georgetown last week and doesn't move in any of the polls, but the Blue Devils have a real opportunity this week facing Syracuse. Notre Dame stays steady at the two position, following an overtime win against Virginia. UVA continues to be out of the ranking, but seemed to gain some traction in the "receiving votes" category. UVA faces Hopkins next, and while the Jays are a very good team, I can't count them out of that contest given how the team played against Notre Dame last weekend. If the Cavaliers can beat Hopkins, then go on to take down VMI and Richmond, beat either North Carolina or Duke, and finish off with a win over Georgetown, the Cavs could still get a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

How about that Patriot League? While Boston University fell out of two of the three polls, the league is bolstered by Army, Loyola, and Navy which are all featured in each poll. Army sits at 6-2 and has put together four straight wins following early season losses to Rutgers and Syracuse. The Black Knights have lost its two games by a combined three goals. This is a team that could do some damage in the NCAA Tournament. The Naval Academy is 4-2 on the season, but picked up a huge, one-goal win over Loyola at home. The Greyhounds have now dropped two straight and three of its last four games, but should recover with games versus Georgetown, Bucknell, and Colgate up next.

With the Syracuse Orange losing, college lacrosse now only has three undefeated teams remaining. Denver is 7-0 and should finish the season without a loss, although Villanova could give them some trouble. Yale and Brown are both 6-0. The only big win for Yale was a 8-5, early season victory over Maryland. Brown took down Harvard 11-8 last weekend, for its only signature win on the season. I believe the Ivy League is good, and its certainly hard to argue with an undefeated record, but I don't expect either Brown or Yale to finish the season in the top five.  but I don't think either of these programs is top five worthy.

NIKE/USILA Coaches' Poll

Ranked Teams by Conference: ACC (4/5), Ivy (3/7), Patriot (3/9), Colonial (3/6), Big Ten (2/6), Big East (2/6), America East (2/7), SoCon (1/8), Metro Atlantic (0/7), Independent (0/2), Northeast (0/7)

Biggest Movers:

Navy enters at #16, North Carolina +4

Hofstra -7

Exiting the Poll:

Penn State, Richmond, Boston University, Rutgers

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (10), Army (18), Johns Hopkins (8), Duke (9), Notre Dame (2), UNC (13)

Rank	School	Last Week
1	Denver Pioneers	1
2	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	2
3	Yale Bull Dogs	4
4	Brown Bears	5
5	Syracuse Orange	3
6	Villanova Wildcats	6
7	Maryland Terrapins	7
8	Johns Hopkins Blue Jays	8
9	Duke Blue Devils	9
10	Albany Great Danes	11
11	Towson Tigers	10
12	Stony Brook Seawolves	13
13	North Carolina Tar Heels	17
14	Harvard Crimson	14
15	Loyola Greyhounds	15
16	Navy Midshipmen	N/R
17	UMass Minutemen	N/R
18	Army Black Knights	N/R
19	Hofstra Pride	12
20	Air Force Falcons	N/R

Also Receiving Votes: Richmond Spiders, Boston University Terriers, Virginia Cavaliers, Marquette Golden Eagles, Penn Quakers, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Bucknell Bison, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, High Point Panthers, Cornell Big Red, Cornell Big Red

Cascade/Maverik Media Poll

Ranked Teams by Conference: ACC (4/5), Ivy (3/7), Patriot (3/9), Colonial (3/6), Big East (2/6), America East (2/7), Big Ten (2/6), SoCon (1/8), Metro Atlantic (0/7), Independent (0/2), Northeast (0/7)

Biggest Movers:

Hofstra -7

North Carolina +4

Exiting the Poll:

Penn State, Rutgers, Richmond, Boston University

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (10), Army (16), Johns Hopkins (7), Duke (11), Notre Dame (2), UNC (12)

Rank	School	Last Week
1	Denver Pioneers	1
2	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	2
3	Yale Bull Dogs	4
4	Brown Bears	5
5	Syracuse Orange	3
6	Maryland Terrapins	6
7	Johns Hopkins Blue Jays	8
8	Villanova Wildcats	7
9	Towson Tigers	9
10	Albany Great Danes	10
11	Duke Blue Devils	11
12	North Carolina Tar Heels	17
13	Stony Brook Seawolves	15
14	Navy Midshipmen	N/R
15	Harvard Crimson	14
16	Army Black Knights	N/R
17	Loyola Greyhounds	13
18	UMass Minutemen	N/R
19	Hofstra Pride	12
20	Air Force Falcons	N/R

Also Receiving Votes: Richmond Spiders, Marquette Golden Eagles, Boston University Terriers, Penn Quakers, Bucknell Bison, Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Rutgers Scarlett Knights, Penn State Nittany Lions, Cornell Big Red, Virginia Cavaliers, Providence Friars, Saint Joseph's Hawks

Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Poll

Ranked Teams by Conference: ACC (4/5), Patriot (4/9), Ivy (3/7),  Big Ten (2/6), Big East (2/6), Colonial (2/6), America East (2/7), SoCon (1/8), Metro Atlantic (0/7), Independent (0/2), Northeast (0/7)

Biggest Movers:

Boston University -5

Navy enters at #13, Johns Hopkins +3

Exiting the Poll:

Penn State, High Point, Hofstra

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (11), Johns Hopkins (5), Duke (9), Notre Dame (2), UNC (12)

Rank	School	Last Week
1	Denver Pioneers	1
2	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	2
3	Yale Bull Dogs	4
4	Brown Bears	5
5	Johns Hopkins Blue Jays	8
6	Syracuse Orange	3
7	Maryland Terrapins	6
8	Villanova Wildcats	7
9	Duke Blue Devils	9
10	Towson Tigers	10
11	Albany Great Danes	13
12	North Carolina Tar Heels	14
13	Navy Midshipmen	N/R
14	Loyola Greyhounds	11
15	Stony Brook Seawolves	16
16	Harvard Crimson	17
17	Bucknell Bison	N/R
18	UMass Minutemen	N/R
19	Richmond Spiders	18
20	Boston University Terriers	15

Also Considered (listed alphabetically): Army Black Knights, Air Force Falcons, Cornell Big Red, Hofstra Pride, High Point Panthers, Lehigh Mountain Hawks, Marquette Golden Eagles, Mount St. Mary's, Penn Quakers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Providence Friars, Virginia Cavaliers