Maybe this is the year of a Syracuse restoration — at least as a Memorial Day weekend factor, perhaps even a national champion.
There’s always a chance Virginia makes its presence felt on the final weekend of the season.
But both ACC programs head into March with multiple losses, arguably the most unexpected development in the first month of the Division I season.
Let’s start with Syracuse, which suffered its first loss on Feb. 15 at Maryland. The Orange weren’t great and have struggled with the Terrapins for a while. But to score the first five goals against Harvard before the Crimson rallied for a 15-14 victory? That’s a bit more concerning.
“You can’t just show up and expect to win,” coach Gary Gait told reporters. “I think that was a valuable lesson today.”
At least it was a competitive loss, which is more than what can be said for Virginia. The Cavaliers never led in a Feb. 15 home loss to Richmond, then gave up six-goal and eight-goal runs in a 14-5 shellacking at Ohio State on Saturday. Virginia scored once in the first 35:50 and once in the last 22:51.
Credit some of that to Ohio State’s defense tightening up since its ugly opener, and some of it to Virginia’s players learning to operate without the graduated Connor Shellenberger.
But whatever the reason, May is getting closer — and Virginia (and to a lesser extent, Syracuse) — can’t wait too much longer to figure things out.
Patrick Stevens is a longtime USA Lacrosse Magazine contributor. This is his weekly submission to the USA Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20.
PATRICK STEVENS' TOP 20
1. Notre Dame (3-0)
The Irish did their part to set up a 1-v-2 matchup for next Saturday, fending off Georgetown 11-9 behind goalie Thomas Ricciardelli’s 16 saves. Now it’s off to Atlanta to take on Maryland. (Last week: 1)
2. Maryland (4-0)
It wasn’t quite as comfortable as the Terrapins’ two victories over Princeton last season, but they still collected a 13-9 road victory behind five multi-goal efforts and 12 saves from Logan McNaney. With a perfect February in the bank, the Terps get a national title game rematch with Notre Dame at a neutral site. (LW: 2)
3. Cornell (2-0)
The Big Red aced Saturday’s test with a 15-5 pummeling of Denver. CJ Kirst (six goals, two assists) paced an offense that built a 10-1 halftime lead, and Wyatt Knust made 13 saves. Cornell has trips to Hobart (Tuesday) and Richmond (Sunday) in the first of a pair of two-game weeks in the regular season. (LW: 4)
4. North Carolina (3-0)
Dominic Pietramala and Owen Duffy combined for 10 goals as the Tar Heels bagged a 13-12 victory at Homewood Field and dealt Johns Hopkins its first loss of the season. That’s two victories over Big Ten teams for Carolina, which gets a pair of Ivies (Penn and Princeton) in town this week. (LW: 8)
5. Princeton (1-1)
The Tigers have 17 losses since returning from the pandemic in 2022; six have come against Maryland. The demanding non-conference schedule Matt Madalon put together continues with a trip to Duke and North Carolina this week. (LW: 3)
6. Johns Hopkins (4-1)
Not sure the perception of the Blue Jays changes all that much with their 13-12 loss to North Carolina. Hop checked a bunch of boxes — made a third of its shots, converted two of three extra-man chances, played stout man-down defense, won a hair better than half of the faceoffs and committed 12 turnovers. That’s going to win more games than it will lose. (LW: 6)
7. Duke (4-0)
Andrew McAdorey had a quiet day for 56 minutes, taking four shots without scoring as the Blue Devils’ offense sputtered along. Then he scored twice late in the fourth quarter to force overtime, and then he delivered the game-winner in the extra period as Duke survived Michigan 8-7. It justifies holding the Blue Devils steady heading into a week when Princeton and Penn visit Durham. (LW: 7)
8. Army (4-0)
The Black Knights scored the first seven goals in a 14-3 pummeling of Yale. They had all eight first-half goals in a 17-4 pounding of Mercer. That’s a pair of no-doubt-about-it showings as Army heads into its Patriot League schedule. Lafayette visits West Point on Saturday. (LW: 14)
9. Penn State (3-1)
Defeating Colgate in the opener looks better and better, and impressively stretching out a 13-7 victory over Navy despite contending with a hot goalie (the Midshipmen’s Dan Daly made 19 saves as the Nittany Lions outshot Navy 53-27) was a standout showing. A two-game swing to Ivy League powers (Yale on Saturday, Cornell on March 8) is up next. (LW: 10)
10. Richmond (3-1)
The Spiders scraped out a 9-8 victory at Lehigh, yielding just one goal in the last 21:12. The best reason for nudging Richmond down a spot isn’t a tight victory but how its victory at Virginia a week earlier got devalued when the Cavaliers were blown out at Ohio State. (LW: 9)
11. Georgetown (2-2)
The Hoyas survived an early onslaught from Notre Dame, trading six-goal runs with the Irish in the first half to hang around when things could have gone extremely sideways. Even in an 11-9 loss, there’s a note of encouragement to be found in that. (LW: 12)
12. Penn (2-1)
The Quakers handled a pair of credible contenders to win likely one-bid leagues, defeating UAlbany 14-8 and thumping Delaware 10-2. Penn still belongs below the team it lost to (Georgetown), but the Quakers have a real chance to make an impression this week with a two-game swing to North Carolina and Duke. (LW: 15)
13. Ohio State (5-1)
The Buckeyes had played well since opening with a loss to Utah, but their 14-5 thumping of Virginia demands attention in the way defeats of Detroit Mercy, Cleveland State, Bellarmine and Air Force simply could not. They’ll get Bryant on Saturday in Columbus. (LW: Not ranked)
14. Colgate (3-2)
All hail the road-warrior Raiders, who have yet to play in Hamilton, N.Y. — even though two of their games were originally scheduled for there. The weather had other ideas, but it hasn’t stopped Colgate from averaging 18 goals in victories at UAlbany, Harvard and Villanova in a nine-day span. (LW: Not ranked)
15. Harvard (2-1)
The Crimson snagged their first victory ever over Syracuse, a 15-14 defeat on Saturday that gave Gerry Byrne’s bunch a victory that should (eventually) carry value deep into the season. Look out for the Harvard extra-man unit, which is 7 of 8 after cashing in a pair of opportunities against the Orange. (LW: 19)
16. Syracuse (3-2)
For the third time in four years, the Orange have dropped back-to-back February games. Considering the program’s progression in that time, this feels a bit different. At the very least, Syracuse doesn’t belong ahead of Harvard after losing to the Crimson at home. (LW: 5)
17. Virginia (2-2)
The Cavaliers’ five-goal showing at Ohio State was its worst offensive output since an 11-4 loss to Loyola in its 2016 season opener. The Buckeyes played well, but it’s also not too soon to wonder if Virginia’s ceiling is quite a bit lower than everyone is accustomed to it being. (LW: 11)
18. Denver (2-2)
The Pioneers’ first trip east of the regular season was a rough one. Denver shot 12.5 percent for the game while getting overwhelmed 15-5 at Cornell. A pair of MAAC teams (Marist and Quinnipiac) visit Peter Barton Stadium this week. (LW: 13)
19. Michigan (2-2)
The Wolverines could very well rue letting Saturday’s game at Duke slip away. Michigan led by two with four minutes to go, only to drop an 8-7 decision in overtime. That’s still a quality showing from the Wolverines’ defense, which bodes well for Big Ten play. (LW: 20)
20. Boston U (4-0)
The Terriers haven’t allowed more than seven goals in a game and just completed a week featuring victories over Brown and Air Force. The start of Patriot League play is up next, with a visit to Navy opening things Saturday. (LW: Not ranked)
Also considered (alphabetical order): Delaware (2-1), Fairfield (3-0), Navy (3-1), UMBC (2-0), Villanova (1-2)