Vol. 1: 2023 Season Preview, Sleeper & Final Four Picks
Quick on the Draw is back for its third year, just in time for the start of the 2023 women's lacrosse season. We'll catch you up to speed on the latest around the sport.
North Carolina junior attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger is expected to shine for the defending national champion Tar Heels in 2023. Photo courtesy: UNC Athletics.
INTRODUCTION: Hi there! We’re back. New here?
Quick on the Draw is a weekly newsletter about Division I college women’s lacrosse. We’ll overview the best storylines, stars and plays from the previous week. Analysis will be included, as we track the season’s development, national polls and Tewaaraton candidates. Expect stats, graphics and GIFs. To learn more, click here.
It’s time. The college women’s lacrosse season gets underway Friday, and the sport has never been more popular.
After an offseason full of notable transfers, conference realignment and program additions, North Carolina’s national title defense begins. Can the Tar Heels repeat despite significant roster turnover?
We’ll see.
But, first, here’s a primer of everything you need to know about the 2023 season.
Inside Lacrosse Poll
NOTE: screenshots pulled from insidelacrosse.com.
Top-10 Preview:
NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA (2022: 22-0, 8-0 ACC)
Surprise, surprise, the North Carolina Tar Heels, the defending national champions, come into the season ranked No. 1 in the country. Head coach Jenny Levy’s squad hasn’t lost since the 2021 Final Four, and they’re 49-1 over the last three seasons. Last year, the Tar Heels completed just the fifth undefeated season in the sport since 2000.
There’s no doubt that this year’s UNC will look drastically different than last season’s. Five of the top-six scorers from a year ago—Jamie Ortega (113 points), Scottie Rose Growney (76 points), Sam Geiersbach (64 points), Andie Aldave (63 points) and Ally Mastroianni (57 points)—have graduated. Of the five IWLCA All-Americans on the 2022 team, just one returns this year: senior defender Emily Nails.
Still, the Tar Heels bring back plenty of talent, and they lead the country with seven players named to the 2023 Inside Lacrosse Women’s Preseason All-America Teams. Junior attacker Caitlyn Wurzburger received first-team honors and has the potential to be one of the best scorers in the country. She found the back of the net in UNC’s final seven games of 2022. That included a woman-up goal against Boston College in the second quarter of the national championship.
NO. 2 MARYLAND (2022: 19-2, 6-0 Big Ten)
It was only fitting that, as the world got back to “normal,” so did Maryland. The Terrapins went 10-7 and were bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2021. The year before that, there was no NCAA Tournament, or much of a season for that matter, because of COVID-19. So head coach Cathy Reese started the 2022 campaign having not made the Final Four since she led the program to its 14th national title in 2019. That two-plus-year gap was unusual for the sport’s largest titan.
Reese hit the portal hard. That effort featured the addition of Johns Hopkins transfer Aurora Cordingley, who became a Tewaaraton Award finalist as Maryland paved its path to its 12th Final Four in the last 13 full seasons. Cordingley’s illustrious 118-point season (67 goals, 51 assists) marked the end of her career, though. The Terps’ top-returning scorer is Libby May, a senior attacker who was second on the team with 64 goals last year. Hannah Leubecker—who wasn’t too far behind with 62 goals in 2022—is still in the fold, too. Then there’s Eloise Clevenger, a junior attacker who is great at directing traffic from behind the cage. She’ll likely be the point guard of this Maryland offense, while May and Leubecker will showcase their dodging and cutting ability, respectively.
We’re burying the lede here. The story of this Terps program is defense. In each of Maryland’s first seven seasons in the Big Ten, a Terp has won Big Ten Defender of the Year. Maryland is also responsible for the only goalie to ever win the Tewaaraton: Megan Taylor.
Libby May (left) and Hannah Leubecker (second from left) cellied plenty in 2022. They’ll be two of the senior leaders for the Terps in 2023. Photo courtesy: Maryland Athletics.
That “Defender U” tag line isn’t going away anytime soon. Abby Bosco came over from Penn last year and logged 89 draw controls, 26 caused turnovers and 63 ground balls, en route to being named the league’s top defender. She’ll be joined by another Ivy League transfer—Princeton graduate defender Marge Donovan is in College Park after finishing her five-year Tigers career as the program’s all-time leader in draws (214). Factor in those two, along with Brianna Lamoreux, Aiden Peduzzi and Maddie Sanchez (plus Abany transfer Clancy Rheude), and you have a menacing defense that could one-up a unit that allowed the second-fewest goals per game (7.81) nationally last season.
Of course, this defense isn’t complete without Emily Sterling. The now-senior was the IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year in 2022. She was second nationally in goals against average (7.87) and save percentage (.531). Sterling posted a save percentage above 50% in 12-of-21 games last season.
NO. 3 BOSTON COLLEGE (2022: 19-4, 6-2 ACC)
The Queen of the North is gone, but BC’s national title aspirations aren’t. Even without two-time Tewaaraton Award winner Charlotte North, the Eagles have what it takes to make their sixth straight trip to the National Championship. Belle Smith is at the center of that equation. The junior midfielder was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2021 and an All-ACC first teamer in 2022. She registered 83 points (55 goals, 23 assists) as a sophomore, most notably scoring a career-high seven goals against Loyola. Don’t be surprised if she takes over North’s job in the circle.
Smith’s also a two-way middie (a player type that’s becoming rarer but BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein loves). So is Cassidy Weeks, a graduate student who netted the game-winner in BC’s thrilling comeback win over Maryland in the Final Four. Speaking of midfielders, Kayla Martello knows how to get to the net at will and is coming off a 45-goal sophomore campaign.
Did I mention Jenn Medjid? While Smith might have more star power, Medjid could very well finish atop the goals leaderboard in the ACC, and maybe even the country. After all, she was seventh nationally with 74 goals last year, and that was with North accounting for 92 goals. Expect big things from lefty attacker Mckenna Davis in Year Two as well. In sum, scoring won’t be an issue for a deep BC squad that can turn a game into a blowout in the blink of an eye with transition offense.
The Eagles are stacked defensively, too. They bring everyone back, aside from All-American Courtney Taylor. A back line of Sydney Scales, Hollie Schleicher (Smith’s cousin), Hunter Roman, Melanie Welch and perhaps Sophia Taglich is formidable. If BC can win it all again likely hinges on goalkeeping. Rachel Hall’s fantastic 2021 Final Four was a big reason why the Eagles have a banner, but she struggled last year, ranking 99th nationally in save percentage (.347). What’s interesting is the Eagles got the top goalie in the 2023 class, Shea Dolce from Darien, Connecticut.
NO. 4 NORTHWESTERN (2022: 16-5, 5-1 Big Ten)
The Wildcats come into 2023 locked and loaded, hoping to erase the bitter sting of their 15-14 defeat at the hands of the top-seeded UNC in the Final Four. Northwestern led, 13-5, late in the third quarter of that game, but UNC closed on a 10-1 run. Still, Northwestern finished the season 16-5 and punched its ticket to a third straight national semifinal with a dominant win over No. 4 Syracuse, 15-4.
All three IWLCA All-Americans from last year’s team—attacker Lauren Gilbert, midfielder Jill Girardi and defender Ally Palermo—used their graduate year in 2022. One key player still has a year of eligibility, though, and she didn’t touch the field last season. Izzy Scane is back!
Scane suffered a torn ACL in fall 2021, and so the Wildcats’ top scorer had to miss an entire year to recover. She was first in the nation with 6.12 goals per game two seasons ago, and she was second in goals (98). We can’t wait to see her back in action.
Izzy Scane tosses the twig after scoring against Maryland. In 2021, Scane had 23 goals and three assists in three games versus the Terps. Photo courtesy: Northwestern Athletics.
Also, a side note: Don’t be surprised if Northwestern is hosting the National Championship in the coming years.
NO. 5 SYRACUSE (2022: 15-6, 6-2 ACC)
The first year of the Kayla Treanor experiment was a success. We shouldn’t even really call it an experiment because pretty much everyone in the lacrosse world knew it was going to work.
Kayla Treanor walked so Charlotte North could run. After winning a national title as BC’s associate head coach, the three-time Tewaaraton Award finalist took over for Gary Geit—who replaced John Desko as the men’s coach at Syracuse—and, despite a horde of injuries, led her alma mater to the Sweet Sixteen.
Last year, Syracuse lost attacker Emma Ward for the season to a severe turf toe injury. That was a brutal blow, given that Ward was second on the team as a freshman with 73 points. Ward was one four Orange players who ranked top five on the team in scoring in 2021 but missed significant time in 2022. The others were attacker Megan Carney and middies Emma Tyrrell and Sierra Cockerille, all of whom were sidelined at different points of the back half of the last year’s campaign.
Megan Carney (middle, No. 22) leads the celebration for Syracuse. Carney scored 48 points last year and starts her graduate season this week. Photo courtesy: Syracuse Athletics.
Even so, Syracuse remained competitive, and attacker Meaghan Tyrrell (Emma’s older sister) was a force behind that resilience. Tyrrell is the lone returning Tewaaraton finalist from last year. She has recorded 223 points in the last two seasons combined. The Tyrrell sisters will undoubtedly be critical for Syracuse’s offense this season. The same goes for senior midfielder Katelyn Mashewske, who is coming off a season in which she posted a career-high 178 draws.
Freshmen Superia Clark and Coco Vandiver add speed to an Orange defense that was 38th nationally in goals allowed per game last year (11.67). Syracuse never really figured out its goalie situation last year, splitting time between transfers Kimber Hower (UNC) and Delaney Sweitzer (USC). The Orange finished 111th in save percentage (.348). Freshman Daniella Guyette is in the mix now after notching 130 saves last year as a senior at Newbury Park High School in California.
NO. 6 STONY BROOK (2022: 16-3, 6-0 America East)
Is this the year that head coach Joe Spalina and the Seawolves advance past the NCAA quarterfinal? In four of the last five seasons, they’ve been eliminated one round short of the Final Four. In 2021 and 2022, they fell to No. 1 UNC as the No. 8 seed.
Stony Brook finished last year 16-3, and they went undefeated in America East play for the sixth consecutive season. Its top-three scorers return this year in midfielder Ellie Masera, attacker Kailyn Hart and midfielder Jaden Hampel.
What’s more, the Seawolves defeated four ranked teams in 2022, including then-No. 10 Princeton and then-No. 11 Florida. Their only two losses prior to the NCAA Tournament came by one goal to Syracuse and by four goals to Northwestern.
After earning America East Midfielder of the Year honors, Masera garnered a spot on IWLCA’s preseason First Team All-American list. She led the conference with 87 points a season ago. Reigning America East Defender of the Year Haley Dillon is also back for her graduate season.
NO. 7 FLORIDA (2022: 17-5, 5-0 AAC)
Florida has the makings of one of the best offenses in the country. It’s fueled by the attacking duo of Danielle Pavinelli and Emma LoPinto. Pavinelli stacked 73 goals and 26 assists last season, and LoPinto had an equally impressive season despite her just being freshman. The Manhasset, New York, native recorded a blistering 63 goals and 34 assists while Florida made a run to the Elite Eight before being snuffed out by Maryland on the doorstep of Championship Weekend.
Since making their first-ever Final Four in 2012, the Gators have lost in the Elite Eight four times. Head coach Amanda O’Leary wants to get Florida back over the hump. And she has more than just Pavinelli and LoPinto to help her get there. Former UNC captain and attacker Tayler Warehime—the Tar Heels’ fifth-leading scorer in 2021—is aboard, and so are USC transfer middie Madison Waters and Bryant transfer Emily Diaz (she set the Bryant single-season record with 138 draws last year). Where Florida is unproven is on defense. Goalie Sarah Reznick is among the best, but she needs more help than she got last year.
NO. 8 RUTGERS (2022: 16-5, 4-2 Big Ten)
The Scarlet Knights had their best season in school history in 2022. With a program-record 16 wins, Rutgers finished in the top 10 in the final IWLCA Coaches Poll for the first time ever. Their No. 8 preseason ranking is the highest in school history. Reigning Big Ten and IWLCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year Melissa Lehman now heads into Year Four, hoping to take her team to even greater heights.
Cassidy Spillis shrugs after another goal, unbothered by the rain. The attacker grew up in Tabernacle, New Jersey, just an hour drive from Rutgers. Photo courtesy: Rutgers Athletics.
Rutgers’ senior class is stacked. Senior midfielder Cassidy Spilis had a monstrous 69 goals in 2022, and she’s a preseason first-team All-American. Senior defender Meghan Ball is No. 2 in program history in caused turnovers (94) and draw controls (207). She was first in the Big Ten and sixth in the country with 2.57 caused turnovers per game last season.
NO. 9 DENVER (2022: 18-3, 5-0 Big East)
We have to start with the Denver defense. The Pioneers were fifth nationally last year in scoring defense with 8.38 goals per game allowed. Denver has one of the more promising goalies in the country in sophomore Emelia Bohi and one of the best defenders in the country in senior Sam Thacker. Bohi’s save percentage of .384 doesn’t do her freshman campaign justice. She logged at least five stops in 10 games last season. What did her save percentage in was a zero-save game against BC in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Thacker, on the other hand, led the nation with 3.05 caused turnovers per game.
On the goal scoring front, look for midfielder Lauren Black to step up in place of Bea Behrins. Black was the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2022 and was second on the team with 54 goals and third with 20 assists. Denver has brought back four of its top-five scorers from last season, including Black. We’ll find out a bunch about the Pioneers early, as they’re set to play five of their first six games on the road, including at Maryland on March 5.
NO. 10 LOYOLA (2022: 20-2, 9-0 Patriot League)
Loyola was having as close to a perfect season as it could have imagined last season until it ran into BC, which knocked the Greyhounds out of the Elite Eight with a perfect game. Head coach Jen Adams’ team started 20-1, with its lone loss coming in the Carrier Dome after a potential game-tying goal in the final seconds was called back. Loyola has had to retool after losing key parts from a squad that broke the program’s single-season wins record in 2022.
Attacker Livy Rosenzweig and midfielders Sam Fielder and Elli Kluegel—who combined for 241 points last season—all graduated. So did goalie Kaitlyn Larsson. That means the Greyhounds will have to fill the cleats of a netminder that posted a goals against average of 8.25. That said, Loyola still has stars on both sides of the ball. Sophomore attacker Georgia Latch is due for a breakout year, and Jillian Wilson is back after finishing as the team’s fourth-leading scorer and top draw winner a year ago. All-American Katie Detwiler is the flag bearer for a Loyola defense that allowed the sixth-fewest goals per game in 2022. It’s a unit that’s typically the driving force of the Greyhounds’ long-standing success in the Patriot League.
Top Tewaaraton Candidates:
MEAGHAN TYRRELL (Graduate Student, Attack, Syracuse)
Without the eldest Tyrrell, Syracuse wouldn’t have won 15 games last season. When it looked like injuries were going to derail the Orange’s season, Tyrrell simply took things up a notch. She finished 2022 tied for seventh with 111 points (78 goals, 33 assists).
Tyrrell scored five or more goals eight times and netted seven game-winners, en route to becoming a Tewaaraton finalist. She’s a favorite for the award entering this season. Just because Syracuse is healthier now, don’t expect her stats to take a dip. She also led the team in scoring in 2021 with 112 points.
JENN MEDJID (Graduate Student, Attack, BC)
BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein calls Medjid the “silent assassin.” While all the attention was on Charlotte North the last two seasons, Medjid collected a total of 135 goals. She had a streak of 48 straight games with a goal that dated back to her freshman year—it finally came to an end in a puddle and mud-ridden ACC title game loss to UNC.
But Medjid bounced back with three consecutive hat tricks in the NCAA Tournament. Even though she’s the top-returning goal scorer for the Eagles, Belle Smith could be the one getting faceguarded, so don’t be shocked if Medjid’s numbers go up for the fourth year in a row.
IZZY SCANE (Graduate Student, Attack, Northwestern)
Scane was a Tewaaraton finalist two years ago, and she was widely considered to be a top contender for the award heading into 2022 prior to her ACL tear. Now, she’s back with one more chance to earn the sport’s top individual honor.
Scane had 98 goals and 124 points during her junior season, and she scored a career-high 10 goals against Rutgers. She’s scored five or more goals in a game 18 times in her career. Simply put, she is one of the best scorers in the sport.
ELLIE MASERA (Junior, Midfield, Stony Brook)
Masera can do it all. In her sophomore season, the New York native ranked top five in the America East in goals (first, 67), points (first, 87), shots on goal per game (second, 5.53), draw controls per game (second, 5.16), assists (fourth, 20), and free-position percentage (fifth, 57.7%).
She tallied six points in a close loss to Northwestern and another six in the Seawolves’ opening game of the NCAA Tournament versus Drexel. To win the Tewaaraton in her junior season will be a tall task, but don’t be surprised to hear Masera’s name in the conversation come May.
BELLE SMITH (Junior, Midfield, BC)
There’s no replacing Charlotte North. But Smith is a pretty darn good substitute. She doesn’t have the same sidearm rip as North—well, no one does—but she is a superb cutter, and she is well-equipped to quarterback the offense from X.
As mentioned above, Smith is a two-way middie. In addition to ranking third on the team in scoring last season, the Westhampton Beach, New York, native was tied for third with 24 caused turnovers. Plus, she scooped up 21 ground balls, good for seventh among all Eagles in 2022. Add in her likely taking over the draw, and you have an impressive, do-it-all resume for the sport’s most prestigious award.
Transfers to Know:
LAUREN FIGURA (ST. JOSEPH’S —> UNC)
The rich get richer. One year after adding high-level transfers in Olivia Dirks (Penn State), Sam Geiersbach (Richmond) and Andie Aldave (Notre Dame), UNC continues the trend by welcoming graduate attacker Lauren Figura from St. Joseph’s.
Figura’s 2022 season was remarkable. She led the Hawks to their first-ever NCAA Tournament, as St. Joseph’s defeated UMass, 15-11, in the Atlantic 10 Championship. Figura scored five goals in that game, and her 72 goals on the year were good for a single-season program record.
Lauren Figura makes a move outside the arc, where she piloted the St. Joseph’s offense. She’s tallied 182 points in her career. Photo courtesy: St. Joe’s Athletics/Sideline Photos, LLC.
Figura was named Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 tournament, A-10 Offensive Player of the Year, and earned an All-American honorable mention nod from Inside Lacrosse.
HAILEY RHATIGAN (MERCER —> NORTHWESTERN)
Watch out, Hailey Rhatigan has been one of the most potent offensive threats in the game since her arrival in 2019. Last year, she led the nation in shots on goal per game (8.11) and scored 93 goals, the second most in the country.
In four seasons with the Bears, Rhatigan scored 228 goals and had 298 points, both of which rank first in Mercer history. Like her new teammate Izzy Scane, Rhatigan has a rocket of a shot and is lethal on free positions (1.16 free-position goals per game in 2022). We’re pumped to see what this new and improved Wildcats offense looks like. They’ll be tough to stop.
MARGE DONOVAN (PRINCETON —> MARYLAND)
After captaining the Princeton Tigers during head coach Chris Sailer’s final season, Marge Donovan takes her talents back to her home state. A Catonsville, Maryland, native and McDonogh graduate, Donovan is the reigning Ivy League Defender of the Year and was a IWLCA third-team All-American last year.
Her 112 draw controls in 2022 set a Princeton record, and she was first in the Ivy League with 1.68 caused turnovers per game. She had four ground balls, five caused turnovers and four draw controls in the Tigers’ second-round loss to Syracuse.
Maryland had a similar addition last year. Defender Abby Bosco, a Penn transfer, joined the Terrapins in 2022 and went on to be named the Big Ten Defender of the Year.
TAYLER WAREHIME (UNC —> FLORIDA)
Florida got a national champion and team captain all in one with the pickup of fifth-year attacker Tayler Warehime. The Hampstead, Maryland, native started 42 games in her four years at UNC. Warehime didn’t play as big of a role on last year’s title team as she did in her previous seasons with the Tar Heels. In fact, Warehime notched just one goal in her final six games and didn’t appear in Championship Weekend.
Tayler Warehime points skyward in jubilation, joined by Sam Forrest (left). We’ll have to get used to seeing Warehime in Florida colors. Photo courtesy: UNC Athletics.
Warehime showcased her potential in 2021, though, when she started all 21 games and rounded out the year fifth on the team in scoring with 46 points (38 goals, 8 assists). She scored in all but three contests that season and was third among all Tar Heels in shot percentage (56.7%).
EMILY LAMPARTER (MARYLAND —> CLEMSON)
With reigning IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year Emily Sterling ahead of her on the depth chart, Emily Lamparter transferred from Maryland to the newest team in the ACC, Clemson. Sterling is one of the Tigers’ 19 transfer additions, and she might be the most important of the bunch.
Lamparter was the No. 1 goalie in the 2021 class, according to Inside Lacrosse. She appeared in four games for the Terps as a freshman last year, registering a .571 save percentage with eight saves to only six goals allowed.
ABIGAIL LAGOS (UINDY —> SYRACUSE)
This was arguably the coolest portal move of the offseason. Abigail Lagos was a late summer addition for Syracuse, and she’s set for her seventh year of college lacrosse (redshirted 2017, received a medical redshirt in 2019 and then, of course, got the extra COVID-19 year of eligibility). Lagos is the all-time leading scorer for Division II University of Indianapolis, or UIndy.
Abigail Lagos rips a shot in the D-II National Championship versus East Stroudsburg. The Greyhounds won, 11-9, and Lagos logged a hat trick. Photo courtesy: Jacob Walton/UIndy Athletics.
The Windham, New Hampshire, native was the D-II Player of the Year in 2022, as she piloted her team to a national championship with 118 points (93 goals, 25 assists). Lagos found the back of the net 228 times in her UIndy career.
Offseason Storylines:
DECORATED GREATS CORDINGLEY, MCCOOL, PINZONE JOIN COACHING RANKS
A two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist, a Big Ten Attacker of the Year and a first-team All-Pac 12 midfielder walk into a bar...
Well, maybe not into a bar, but UNC midfielder Marie McCool, Johns Hopkins/Maryland midfielder Aurora Cordingley and Northwestern/Arizona State midfielder Taylor Pinzone walk into the 2023 season as D-I assistant coaches.
Taylor Pinzone was dodging and scoring for Arizona State less than a year ago. Now, she’s taking on a role with the Cornell coaching staff. Photo courtesy: ASU Athletics.
McCool joins Jenny Levy's staff after a stellar career in which she was one of just 13 UNC players to be an All-American three or more times. She was ACC Midfielder of the Year in 2017 and 2018 as well the IWLCA National Midfielder of the Year in 2018. She holds the UNC record for single-season draw controls with 165 in her senior year. McCool was a Tewaaraton finalist in 2017 and 2018.
Aurora Cordingley was dominant with the Terrapins last season, and this year she joins UMass as an assistant for first-year head coach Jana Drummond. Cordingley finished fourth in the nation in points (118) and assists (51) and was named Big Ten Attacker of the Year en route to the Final Four in 2022. She was also a Tewaaraton Award finalist last season.
Taylor Pinzone—who went to two Final Fours with Northwestern and spent her graduate season at Arizona State in 2022—begins her coaching career as an assistant for the Cornell Big Red and head coach Jenny Graap. The middie had 41 goals and 54 points last year with the Sun Devils, and she played in 50 games across four seasons at Northwestern.
SEVEN NEW PROGRAMS JOIN THE FOLD
Clemson: Hello, ACC. The deepest conference in college women’s lacrosse got even deeper this offseason. A year after Pitt joined the league, Clemson entered the fold. There are now 10 ACC teams. In attempt to compete immediately, the Tigers reeled in 19 transfers. They also have their first Under Armour All-American in freshman defender Paris Masaracchia.
Eastern Michigan: EMU, the seventh MAC school to sponsor women’s lacrosse as a D-I sport, added women’s lacrosse in 2019, but this will be the first season the Eagles get to take the field. Sara Tisdale, who led Central Michigan to a MAC title in 2022, will coach EMU.
Xavier: The Big East got stronger with the addition of Xavier. The conference also includes Butler, Connecticut, Georgetown, Marquette and Villanova, along with affiliate member Denver. Five of Xavier’s first six games will be on the road this season. The Musketeers will face fellow first-year program EMU in their non-conference slate.
Farleigh Dickinson: The Knights announced the addition of women’s lacrosse to their athletic department in 2021. It became the school’s 21st D-I sport. FDU will participate in the NEC. Jessica Pandolf is the program’s first-ever head coach. She spent time on the staffs of Stetson and LIU-Brooklyn, also NEC schools.
Other schools to add D-I programs: Lindenwood, Stonehill, Queens
SIGNIFICANT REALIGNMENT IN THE CAA, AAC
College women’s lacrosse is growing rapidly. With growth comes realignment. It’s also a byproduct of the shifting from above, as the revenue sports, really football, often dictate conference affiliation. Things will get shaken up next year when USC moves to the Big Ten, leaving the Pac-12—where it’s been consistently at or near the top of the league—for a conference that has the two all-time winningest programs in the sport’s history.
But that’s next year. The major changes this time around involve Stony Brook and James Madison. Stony Brook has moved on from the America East, where it won the regular season title and conference tournament title from 2013-21 (aside from the COVID-19 year, of course). The Seawolves are headed to the CAA. Meanwhile, JMU—which won the CAA four times between 2015 and 2019—is leaving the Colonial for the AAC.
Both Stony Brook and JMU weren’t allowed to play in their respective conference tournaments last season because of the impending moves, a decision that caused controversy in the sport. Regardless, the programs earned at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament.
This realignment is advantageous for each squad. Stony Brook finally gets better competition to boost its tournament resume and, in turn, seeding. And JMU will finally give Florida a challenge in the AAC—the Gators have won eight straight league titles, going back to their time in the Big East and American Lacrosse Conference.
ENTER, VIDEO REVIEWS
In July, a NCAA panel approved an experimental rule on video review that will go into effect this season. Each team will have two video review requests, or challenges, per game. If the call on the field stands, the team retains its challenge. Officials can also initiate video reviews.
Video review may be used in the following situations…
-To correct the game or shot clock
-To determine when the release of a shot occurred in relation to the expiration of the game or shot clock (i.e. if the player got the shot off in time)
-To determine whether the ball deflected off a player on the attacking team
-To determine whether the whole ball crossed the goal line
-To determine if a player shooting has stepped on or into the goal circle, and if the act of stepping on or into the goal circle was the result of a foul
While it’s likely there will be some growing pains that come with this rule, it’s important to remember this is an experimental rule. It may not stick for more than this year. If we had to guess, though, this rule will be around in some form or fashion for the extended future. With the development of women’s lacrosse game streams, plenty of schools have multiple camera angles, which officials can use to make sure they get the calls right.
Sleeper Picks:
DAVID’S PICK: Rutgers (16-5, 4-2 Big Ten)
The Scarlet Knights are here to prove that the Big Ten is more than a two-team league. While Maryland and Northwestern are the perennial powers, Rutgers took the conference by storm last year, finishing 16-5 and 4-2 in Big Ten play. With their 13-5 win over No. 4 Northwestern in the conference tournament, head coach Melissa Lehman’s squad got its first-ever win over a top-five team and advanced to the Big Ten Championship for the first time in program history. With attacker Cassady Spilis, defender Meghan Ball and five other seniors on the 2023 roster, Rutgers has a chance to make even more noise this season.
ANDY’S PICK: James Madison (14-5, 6-0 CAA)
JMU has joined the AAC and could make noise right away in its new home. The Dukes open league play against who else but Florida—their best competition in the conference—and that will tell us a lot about head coach Shelley Klaes’ group, which has to replace longtime netminder and 2018 national champion Molly Dougherty. Luckily, fifth-year senior Kat Buchanan has been waiting for this moment her whole career and did make two starts in 2021. Under Klaes, JMU will always be a threat because of its defense, headlined by redshirt senior defenders Mairead Durkin and Rachel Matey. Last year, the Dukes ranked 11th nationally with 9.47 goals per game allowed. The year before that, they were fifth with 8.53 goals per game allowed. Their attack, on the other hand, will be piloted by reigning CAA Player of the Year Isabella Peterson.
Who We Have in the Final Four:
DAVID’S PICK:
Final Four: UNC, Maryland, Northwestern, Stony Brook
National Championship: Maryland beats UNC, 14-10
It’s impossible to pick against UNC and Maryland. Northwestern’s offense, led by Scane and Rhatigan, will be borderline unstoppable. And I think this is the year Stony Brook finally gets a favorable NCAA Tournament draw and advances to the Final Four. I picked the Tar Heels last year, and there’s a strong chance that Jenny Levy’s team could be the third since 2010 to go back-to-back. But given how much talent UNC graduated, combined with Maryland’s addition of Marge Donovan, I think the Terrapins will edge out the Tar Heels in a thriller. Maryland will win its first national championship since before COVID-19.
ANDY’S PICK:
Final Four: Maryland, Northwestern, BC, Florida
National Championship: Northwestern beats Maryland, 13-12
UNC not making the Final Four? *Gasp* Hear me out. It’s happened before. The last time the Tar Heels won the national title in 2016, they failed to make Championship Weekend the following year. This time around, they have even more significant roster turnover. BC finally gets the elusive ACC title that’s escaped the Eagles all these years, but they won't make it back to the National Championship in 2023. Northwestern will take their place. And the Wildcats, who came oh so close last year against UNC in the Final Four, will win their first national title since 2012. A storybook comeback season for Izzy Scane will be completed on the biggest stage against Big Ten rival and fellow powerhouse Maryland. My sneaky Final Four team this year is Florida—defense is a question mark, but, man, that Gators attack is something else.
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