A couple of weeks ago I was fully prepared to drop all of my focus into the Maryland/Syracuse matchup thinking that the winner would or should have a path to run the table. I had already pinged those two as my major frontrunners to hoist the trophy on Memorial Day weekend. Once Cuse took down Maryland, I was not expecting the shakeup we saw this past weekend. What the last two weeks proved to me was how rare it is to get a 2022 Maryland, a 2006 Virginia, a 2005 Hopkins. The undefeated run the table champions are so rare, a feat so impressive you need to take a look around and pinch yourself when its happening.
The #1, #2 and #3 teams went down this past weekend, something to my knowledge has never happened in the sport. I also cannot point my finger on a date where the #1 and #2 teams lost on the same day. The parity this season is going to be fun. Comparing the transfer portal in lacrosse to what’s going on in college football and college basketball might be taking it a little too far RIGHT NOW. But don’t act all surprised when we have the deepest tournament field seen in quite some time.
A LOT has happened in the past two weeks. Before I unveil my rankings let’s get into some of the implications that the games have had on the changes you’ll see below. The top of the list so far have not had any major blunders, which is why they sit there in the top 4. At this point in the season UNC, Notre Dame, Duke and Richmond have looked the part, handling their business along the way and not making things harder than expected.
The Ivy League cannot start practicing until 2/1, often leading to slow starts and overreactions. We saw Princeton get run off the field at home to Penn State, Cornell escape at Albany, Harvard won a couple easy matchups to start. Boy did they bounce back from that.
Princeton took down #2 Maryland to vault themselves into the top 5 and erase all thoughts after their opening loss. Harvard had a massive crowd on hand to upset the #1 team in the country (Syracuse) for the first time in program history. Yale scored a big win over previously ranked Boston. Cornell rode a big 4th quarter to take down #20 Denver. Penn jumps into the rankings after a close loss to Georgetown followed by wins over Albany and Delaware.
The entire ACC is ranked within the Top 13. They boast the top three teams in the nation, #7 Syracuse and #13 Virginia. Its going to be a gauntlet this spring for the ACC crown. The same could be said of the Big Ten with 5 of 6 teams within the top-20. Maryland is still the favorite in my eyes but does not look as dominant as I expected them to be.
Richmond by virtue of not getting upset early on is up into the top five. They are sneaky dangerous. So is Army, lurking at #10. Championship hopefuls sit watching film and in meeting rooms all throughout the country this afternoon.
Late February Top 20
1. UNC (6)
2. Notre Dame (7)
3. Duke (11)
4. Richmond (9)
5. Princeton (3)
6. Harvard (15)
7. Syracuse (2)
8. Georgetown (5)
9. Maryland (1)
10. Army (10)
11. Cornell (4)
12. Ohio State (8)
13. Virginia (13)
14. Hopkins (14)
15. Rutgers (18)
16. Penn (NR)
17. Penn State (12)
18. St. Joes (NR)
19. Jacksonville (19)
20. Denver (20)
February Storylines
I have UNC as my #1 team this year. Five others were voted #1 in the Inside Lacrosse poll. The Tar Heels just trounced an average Hopkins team and are 4-0. Things will change and the top-4 is tight. Could see UNC winning and moving out of first if others show their dominance.
Conference play is on the horizon. There are just a couple of weeks for teams to notch quality out of conference wins to help their RPI and their conferences RPI. After a quick peek, the Big Ten needs some serious out of conference wins. The Ivy League and ACC have helped themselves out so far. Couple of Patriot Teams lurking around the top.
Is the Big Ten in trouble? Not so fast my friend, but in two weeks my opinion might be different. Ohio State remains the only unbeaten but their schedule includes five cupcakes so far. Not sure the Big Ten has won a single big game so far.
The two newcomers in the poll this week both sit at 2-1 and are winners of two straight (one ranked win). Penn took down Albany on the road to vault their name into discussions. St. Joes had a nice comeback win over Towson on Friday. Keep an eye out this coming weekend for potential upset bids. Penn has UNC and Syracuse coming up, while SJU plays Duke and Drexel.
Michigan and Army played a lone game in Atlanta over the weekend. Awesome opportunity to grow the game in areas that don’t usually have high level D1 lacrosse to watch. Could have been cool to see multiple games (another D1 and maybe a D3) looped in with that. They did this in the past with the Faceoff Classic in Baltimore and NYC, and recently at Audi Field.
Notre Dame and Georgetown was moved inside due to weather, and the two played the first top-10 matchup in my recollection that was not live streamed. The general public couldn’t watch this game and I still have not gotten my hands on any highlights. The Irish generally have an advantage inside the Loftus Center due to the bizarre lighting and the familiarity with the venue. They showed why (according to the box score) on Sunday, winning 15-9.
I don’t really want to delve into a discussion about streaming, but it’s a shame that lacrosse fans weren’t able to watch this one. I understand the need to shift games indoors but to not have streaming capabilities set up is disappointing. ACC Network demands a certain standard that I guess was not able to be met in South Bend on Sunday. I am hoping issues like this don’t rear their ugly head again this season or ever.
Best Weekend Slate Ever?
This upcoming weekend’s slate is unreal. Best set of games I have seen in longer than I can remember. I count nine ranked on ranked matchups. The rankings will look a lot different when I write my next article.
https://x.com/upstreamlax/status/2025969718595645870
Syracuse and UNC are headed up to Philly (Penn) and Princeton for a little round robin action. UNC and Duke have hosted this similar weekend in the past. These games should produce a few awesome contests. Another four games between Ivy League and ACC.
Maryland will look to avoid a 1-3 start against a Notre Dame team that is on the rise. The Irish recently beat up on Georgetown inside Loftus Center. Keep an eye on the goalie situation for Maryland, I think Brian Ruppell is on a short leash and we could see the first of freshman Aidan Seibel.
Ohio State and Georgetown is the Buckeyes first real test of the season, and Georgetown will have their hair on fire after losing to Notre Dame. Interested to see how this one plays out.
If you like goals, tune into Hopkins/Virginia. Both defenses and goalies have been shaky to start the season against talented teams.
The rest of the slate is linked below. https://www.insidelacrosse.com/ncaa/m/1/2026/scores?date=2026-02-28
If you like goals and the fastest pace in lacrosse, tune into the PLL Championship Series on ESPN+. The format that will be played in the Olympics is played by the PLL every winter. Think basketball combined with lacrosse. It’s a new format but its fast and fun.
Enjoy the games this weekend!
Lacrosse Analyst
Sam Kuhn currently is the graduate assistant for the men’s lacrosse program at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio and is working to complete his Masters of Business Administration in 2020. Sam graduated from the College of Wooster in 2018, where he received his Bachelors Degree in English and played lacrosse as well. In his four years, Sam was a two time All-NCAC selection, a first team All-Region selection in 2018, and surpassed 100 goals for his career, one of seven members in program history to do so. Sam has interned with Inside Lacrosse, and wrote for the sports section of The Wooster Voice.