Syracuse Lacrosse: Number one with a target on the back

All three major polls gave the nod to the Syracuse Orange this week as the number one team in the nation. That being said, SU did not pick up all of the first place votes. Last week the Orange came into a hostile environment and beat Hobart 17-11, then made the Statesmen clean the egg off of the bus. Syracuse is 8-1 on the year and leads the ACC with a 3-0 conference record.

Take a look below to see how the Media Poll’s number ones have faired this season in the week following the ranking:

Week 1: UNC (lost to Brown)

Week 2: Maryland (beat Yale)

Week 3: Maryland (lost to Notre Dame)

Week 4: Notre Dame (lost to Denver)

Week 5: Denver (lost to Ohio State)

Week 6: Rutgers (lost to Delaware)

Week 7: Notre Dame (lost to SU)

Week 8: Penn State (lost to Maryland)

Week 9: Syracuse (vs. Cornell)

The rest of the ACC began to cannibalize itself this past week with Duke beating a former number one in Notre Dame and Carolina earning its first in conference victory by taking down Virginia and handing the Cavaliers the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament. Last week Carolina was left out of the US Lacrosse top 20 and was at the #20 or #19 spot in the other two polls. Virginia is now 7-5 and 0-3 in the ACC with the biggest win being against the Richmond Spiders. I’m a little surprised the Cavaliers aren’t farther down the polls this week.

Penn State fell to Maryland over the weekend in an 11-15 game. I’m a little annoyed that after a 10-0 start the Media Poll voters gave the Nittany Lions the number one spot and then after its first loss, drop them to seventh. To me that just says that folks voted PSU number one due to the record and didn’t really buy in. It also tells me that if Hofstra picks up a loss we can expect to see the Pride take a tumble too. Early season losses just mean less to voters.

In terms of the voting, how about Army grabbing a first place vote in the Coaches Poll? The Black Knights are having a fantastic year but Navy, Loyola, and Notre Dame are up next. I would expect a 2-1 record out of those three games.

Maverik Men’s Division I Media Poll

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

Biggest Movers:

Maryland +5

Notre Dame, Penn State, Virginia -6

Exiting the Poll:

Villanova

Entering the Poll:

Loyola

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (5), Johns Hopkins (13), Duke (8), Notre Dame (10), UNC (17), Virginia (18), Army (6), Binghamton (20)

Also Receiving Votes: Villanova Wildcats, Providence Friars, Boston University Terriers, Air Force Falcons, Marquette Golden Eagles, Monmouth Hawks

Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20

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

Biggest Movers:

Notre Dame -5

Maryland +4

Exiting the Poll:

Villanova

Michigan

Entering the Poll:

Marquette

North Carolina

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (7), Johns Hopkins (14), Notre Dame (10), Duke (9), Virginia (17), Army (4), North Carolina (16)

Also Considered: Binghamton, Boston University, Brown, Providence, Villanova

USILA/Nike Division I Coaches Poll

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

Biggest Movers:

Virginia, Notre Dame, Penn State -4

North Carolina, Yale, Maryland +3

Exiting the Poll:

N/A

Entering the Poll:

N/A

Syracuse Opponents in the Poll:

Albany (7), Johns Hopkins (11), Notre Dame (3), Duke (10), UNC (20), Virginia (14), Army (8)

Also Considered: Binghamton, Boston University, Marquette, Providence, Brown, Robert Morris