There’s really only one way to build grit, and that’s to put your team through the wringer.
That’s what’s been done with Syracuse, which has fared decent enough with a 7-4 record through its first 11 games. The Orange have played eight ranked opponents in that stretch, and another (Cornell) is knocking on the door of the Top 20.
Virginia (March 29) and Yale (April 2) are up next, making that 10 of 13 games against ranked opponents.
Syracuse is younger than we’re accustomed to seeing, and we’ve seen the growing pains in real time. The Orange have rostered 10 freshmen and another 10 sophomores, meaning an even 50 percent of the roster is comprised of underclassmen. That’s good for long-term success, of course.
We’re used to seeing veteran-heavy rosters and starting lineups lead the charge across the country. But one of Syracuse’s leading veterans, Olivia Adamson, is out for the season. That’s one less leader to lean on while in a close game.
How this season ends for the Orange is a dart throw. They’ll make the NCAA tournament with a record above .500, and if everything trends in the upward direction, they could be one of the grittiest opponents in the bracket.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS
For as much parity as there is, the NCAA’s elite are still elite. Stanford has been one of the most fun teams to watch so far in 2025, but Boston College handled the Cardinal with ease, 17-9. Emma LoPinto had six goals, Rachel Clark had five goals and Mckenna Davis had seven assists. The Eagles’ defense held the potent Cardinals to just 24 shot attempts.
The most fun conference in the country this year is the Ivy League. There, I said it. That doesn’t mean the overall best teams reside there (Boston College and North Carolina would like a word over in the ACC), but there is so much unpredictability happening with the Ancient Eight.
Until two weeks ago, I would have said Yale was the clear favorite. Now? I’m not so sure. Princeton is quite good. Brown just beat Yale. Cornell beat Brown. Harvard looked good in an 8-6 loss to Notre Dame. Penn hasn’t played since March 12 but is coming off a win over Loyola. Dartmouth doubled up Arizona State on Friday. Take your pick when it comes to this conference.
Let’s talk about Dartmouth some more. The Big Green shook off a three-game losing streak with a 20-10 win over Arizona State and then won against two days later, 11-9 over Colorado. It’s all about shooting efficiency, on both ends, for Dartmouth. The Big Green have been outshot 248-245 but are shooting 48.6 percent compared to their opponents’ 37.9-percent clip.
They’ll need a big win at some point, and the next three games provide chances against Cornell (March 29), Yale (April 6) and Brown (April 12). Don’t forget Princeton on April 26.
Stony Brook’s profile is becoming quite interesting. It’s win early in the week against Denver was big with so few ranked teams on the schedule. But its 7-6 loss to Colorado won’t do it any favors. Are we entering a world in which it’s CAA championship or NCAA tournament bust for the Seawolves? The games to circle on the calendar are April 9 at Princeton and April 18 at home against Drexel.
It has been such a confusing season for Colorado. The Buffs were 0-3 before picking up a nice win over Army. Then they fell to Michigan. They beat up on Marquette and Iona before escaping a tough visitor with a 7-6 win over Stony Brook. Then they lost to Dartmouth on Sunday.
The schedule hardly lightens up. Arizona State, Florida, Denver and Cincinnati remain as contests Colorado can bolster its resume in.
It’s seemed like a spring of “almosts.” USC was almost a big riser in the USA Lacrosse Top 20. It’s win over Ohio State on Sunday is not insignificant. But it coughed up a five-goal fourth quarter against Michigan on Thursday and lost 11-9. That’s the type of game that you look back on and think what you could have done differently. The USC offense scored just twice in the second half while the Wolverines scored seven times.
No overtime needed for Johns Hopkins this week. In fact, this is the first week ALL SEASON that Johns Hopkins hasn’t played a one-goal game. The Blue Jays dominated Rutgers 17-6.
MY PICKS
And just like that, the kid is back.
A 5-0 week — shoutout to the players who actually did the work at Boston College, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Syracuse and USC — has me back over .500 (thank goodness) and squarely in the thick of things at 19-16.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 • Undefeated teams remaining in Division I — Boston College (12-0) and North Carolina (9-0).
3 • Virginia players with three goals in a 14-11 win over James Madison — Addi Foster, Kate Galica and Payton Sfreddo.
5 • Goals and assists by UC Davis’ Alex Agnew in a 24-15 shootout win over San Diego State.
6 • Another day, another six goals for McKenzie Blake. The Princeton dynamo is up to 39 goals (and four assists). Blake has thrown in 25 draw controls for good measure.
9 • Goals from Rachel Clark this week combined between a pair of wins over Brown and Stanford.
40-for-41 • Florida and Clemson put on a clearing masterclass with a combined 40-for-41 showing in the Gators’ 16-10 win. Florida went 22-for-22; Clemson went 18-for-19.
1985 • The last time Maryland struggled against Northwestern like it did Saturday. Northwestern’s 16-4 win kept Maryland to its lowest goals total in the series history against the Wildcats in 40 years.
3,622 • The record crowd on hand to see Syracuse’s tense 12-11 win over Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon.
