With the regular season in the books, here are the 10 best teams heading into postseason play.
After over two months of work, we’ve finally arrived. One month and one day from today, the 2024 national champion will be crowned. There’s a lot of games before we get there, though: conference tournaments will trim the field before 28 teams are selected for the NCAA Tournament. However, not all 28 of those teams have realistic championship aspirations, but the ones that do have already proven their championship mettle this season. Let’s take a look at the IWLCA Top 10:
No. 1: Northwestern Wildcats (unanimous)
Record: 13-2 (5-1 B1G)
Best Win: 17-9 at No. 2 Maryland on April 6
Most Concerning Loss: 10-14 at No. 8 Notre Dame on February 16
This Wildcats team needs no introduction, especially to loyal readers of this website. Northwestern dropped its second game of the season (the Notre Dame loss), but has since won 12 of 13 and is currently riding a five-game win streak that includes three straight victories. Izzy Scane, Madison Taylor and Erin Coykendall are all Tewaaraton Nominees, and Kendall Halpern, Sammy White and Carleigh Mahoney could all make All-America teams. The unanimous top-ranked team in the land also just clinched its third Big Ten title in the last four seasons. If this team has a weakness, it’s physicality: Notre Dame and Penn State did an excellent job getting physical and refusing to let the Wildcats find their flow.
No. 2: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Record: 14-2 (7-2 ACC)
Best Win: 14-10 vs. No. 1 Northwestern on February 16
Most Concerning Loss: 10-12 vs. No. 13 Virginia on March 9
Much like Northwestern, the Fighting Irish have been on an absolute tear as of late, winning their last nine games. Jackie Wolak, Kasey Choma and Madison Ahern are a three-headed monster on the level of Scane, Taylor and Coykendall, with all three scoring more than 65 points in regular season action. Wolak and Choma both earned spots on the Tewaaraton Nominees list, and Kelly Denes has dominated the draw circle with 118 on the year. The Irish have outshot their opponents 604-330 this season and have won eight games by double digits. If Notre Dame has a weakness, it’s third quarters: ND was outscored by a total of 10-3 in third quarters in losses this season.
No. 3: Boston College Eagles
Record: 13-3 (7-2 ACC)
Best Win: 11-10 vs. No. 2 Syracuse on April 18
Most Concerning Loss: 11-14 vs No. 3 Northwestern on February 29
From the ACC’s second-place team to its third-place team we go. The defending national runner-ups had another brilliant season, winning 12 or more regular season games for the seventh straight time (excluding the shortened 2020 season). Much like their foe in last year’s title game, the Eagles also have a trifecta of Tewaaraton Nominees: Rachel Clark, Sydney Scales and Belle Smith. Clark is a top-10 scorer nationally, Scales is basically a lock for First Team All-America as a defender, and Smith is the ideal do-it-all midfielder. The key to beating the Eagles is beating goalkeeper Shea Dolce: in each of the team’s three losses, her save percentage was .300 or below.
No. 4: Syracuse Orange
Record: 12-4 (8-1 ACC)
Best Win: 16-14 at No. 2 Notre Dame on February 24
Most Concerning Loss: 12-13 F/OT vs. No. 12 Stony Brook on March
Yes, Syracuse did take the ACC regular season crown, and yes, they’re ranked behind two teams that they beat out to do it (to be fair, Boston College beat them head-to-head last week). The offense is frightening: Olivia Adamson and Emma Tyrrell have been spectacular this year, and that’s before you get to Emma Ward, who’s on the cusp of a 30-goal, 30-assist season. The defense is ran by Katie Goodale: 33 ground balls, 35 caused turnovers, and 38 draw controls. Goodale and Tyrrell are both Tewaaraton Nominees and locks for All-America teams, though Tyrrell will almost certainly be the sole first-teamer. The issue with Syracuse comes with goaltending: Delaney Sweitzer has a save percentage of just .419 and is 3-4 on the year when facing more than 25 shots. Also, the Orange are just 1-3 in one-goal games.
No. 5: Michigan Wolverines
Record: 14-2 (4-2 B1G)
Best Win: 13-9 at No. 8 Johns Hopkins on April 14
Most Concerning Loss: 6-8 vs. No. 1 Maryland on March 30
The Wolverines’ loss to Northwestern over the weekend dropped them to fourth in the Big Ten, but this is still a dangerous team that is most certainly a title contender. Aside from Boston College and Northwestern, Michigan is the only team with three Tewaaraton nominees this season, and all three are some of the best at their positions. Erin O’Grady is the best goalkeeper in the nation, Jill Smith has tallied 48 goals and 47 draw controls, and Maddie Burns has been an absolute terror defensively. The Wolverines are spectacular at shutting opponents down, holding eight opponents to five goals or fewer this season. But if Michigan isn’t controlling possession, this team is very vulnerable to giving up big runs.
No. 6: Virginia Cavaliers
Record: 13-3 (6-3 ACC)
Best Win: 13-12 F/OT vs. No. 3 Boston College on April 13
Most Concerning Loss: 10-15 at Duke on March 30
The fourth ACC team on this list is also the team that’s probably the most boom or bust in this top 10. When things are going good, they’re good — the Cavaliers took down Notre Dame, James Madison and Boston College this year. But when things are going poorly, you get results like a 15-10 loss to Duke and a tight win over a Virginia Tech team that went 2-7 in ACC play. Morgan Schwab is a brilliant passer who’s tallied 50 assists on the season, but after her and Katia Carnevale, there are not a lot of big names on this squad. The Cavaliers are great despite having a draw control percentage of just 45.5%, which is No. 88 in the nation. If they get massively outdrawn (like in their losses to Syracuse and North Carolina), the Cavaliers don’t have enough defensive firepower to withstand sustained attacks.
No. 7: Maryland Terrapins
Record: 12-4 (4-2 B1G)
Best Win: 8-6 at No. 2 Michigan on March 30
Most Concerning Loss: 9-17 vs No. 1 Northwestern on April 6
If a team can somehow stumble into a top-10 finish, Maryland has pulled it off to perfection. The Terps are 3-3 in their last six games after opening the season 9-1, and the losses to Penn and Northwestern weren’t particularly close. Much like Michigan, Maryland is fueled by all-world goalkeeping and defense. Meghan Ball is ferocious both in the draw circle and when playing one-on-one defense, and Emily Sterling’s goalkeeping ability is probably only matched by Michigan’s O’Grady. Unfortunately for Maryland, their offensive attack is pretty limited after Eloise Clevenger and Hannah Leubecker, which is why they’ve gone stagnant at times. If the rest of the Terrapin attack doesn’t step up, then Maryland’s late-season habit of the offense collapsing in the second half will continue into the postseason.
No. 8: Yale Bulldogs
Record: 12-2 (6-0 Ivy)
Best Win: 16-8 vs. No. 7 Penn on April 7
Most Concerning Loss: 8-16 at No. 4 Boston College on April 3
I don’t really know what to make of this Bulldogs squad. They cruised through their first nine games, got pounded by BC, then won their next three by massive margins before blowing a 7-4 lead in a loss to Denver. They’re also the first team in the top 10 not from the ACC or Big Ten and have clinched the Ivy League regular season title thanks to a 6-0 conference record (note: they still have one regular season game, taking on Columbia this Saturday). The closest thing to an All-American on this team is probably Fallon Vaughn, who has tallied at least 20 goals, ground balls, caused turnovers and draw controls already this year. The Yale team has one of the five best defenses in the nation, but when it runs into another great defense (like Denver or Boston College), it grinds to a halt.
No. 9: Loyola Greyhounds
Record: 14-2 (8-0 Patriot)
Best Win: 18-10 vs. No. 10 Florida on February 10
Most Concerning Loss: 6-13 at No. 14 Penn on April 17
Much like Yale, the Greyhounds are an East Coast team that has run through a non-power conference but struggled in their non-conference slate. This offense can run with anyone — 15.94 goals per game is eighth nationally, and there are three players on this team with 80 points or more. Chase Boyle (68 goals, 12 assists) and Sydni Black (60 goals, 23 assists) are both Tewaaraton Nominees, and Georgia Latch (50 goals, 33 assists) arguably should have been. The reason for the offensive success is the draw circle: the Greyhounds’ draw control unit, which is No. 3 in the nation, controls nearly 68% of the draws in their games. However, if they can’t control possession — which they haven’t done in their losses — then they could be vulnerable to a shootout loss.
No. 10: Florida Gators
Record: 14-2 (5-0 AAC)
Best Win: 15-7 vs. No. 14 James Madison on April 13
Most Concerning Loss: 10-19 at No. 6 North Carolina on February 17
Yes, Florida is in the AAC for lacrosse, as is Vanderbilt. The regular season conference champions are one of the hottest teams in the nation right now and will be riding a 15-game winning streak into the postseason if they win this Saturday. The Gators boast the top-scoring offense in the nation, thanks to eight players with 20 or more goals. Florida is also fifth in scoring defense, thanks to a fantastic goalkeeper rotation of Georgia Honey and Elyse Finnelle. So what’s the issue with Florida, and why are the Gators down here? Well, they’ve only played one ranked team in the last two calendar months, and the Gators barely looked like a top-25 team against Loyola and North Carolina. There’s a chance those early-season issues have been solved, but Florida will want to avoid teams that dominate the draw circle or turnover battle.