It’s almost conference tournament time, and several teams are beginning to make their runs.
Conference tournaments are right around the corner. But that means all the opportunities to make a splash in the regular season are basically dried up. Conference standings have remained relatively clear through this stage of the season, but there’s many teams that could still harbor semi-realistic dreams of a conference title. But to do that, they’ve got to find their groove right now. Let’s dive in to this week’s Top 10 Talk!
1. North Carolina (14-0, 8-0 ACC)
Movement: none
Last Week: W vs. Cal 21-7
This Week: at No. 10 Duke
The Cal stomping is now the sixth game this season in which North Carolina has cracked the 20-goal mark. The Humphrey sisters continued their climb up the national points standings, with Chloe tallying four goals and two assists and Ashley notching two goals and five assists. The Tar Heels are the only squad in the nation with two players top 10 in points per game, and Boston College is the only other team with two in the top 15. Also, North Carolina is first nationally in scoring defense and third nationally in saves percentage. Good luck finding a weakness with this squad.
2. Boston College (14-1, 7-1 ACC)
Movement: none
Last Week: W vs. No. 11 Virginia 24-11
This Week: at No. 14 Syracuse
Talk about a bounce-back performance. A motivated Eagles team is a dangerous Eagles team, and they proved that against a very good Virginia team. Boston College never trailed, scored six of the game’s first seven goals, and closed the game on a 10-2 run. Rachel Clark made a STRONG Tewaaraton statement with seven goals and two assists, and Emma LoPinto had a nine-point performance of her own. McKenna Davis has a career-high nine assists, and four different players had multiple points. It’s safe to say to the top scoring offense in the nation is officially back.
3. Northwestern (12-2, 6-0 B1G)
Movement: none
Last Week: W vs. Oregon 19-10
This Week: vs. No. 13 Michigan, at Ohio State
Speaking of strong Tewaaraton statements…how about seven goals and four assists for Madison Taylor? And oh yeah, all of them came in the first half. Northwestern put up 17 goals in the first half hour of play before the starters were pulled, celebrating Senior Day in the best way possible. Taylor is playing about as well as she ever has, bolstered by the rise of fellow junior Lucy Munro (multiple goals in four straight games). And while the 10 goals allowed may seem concerning, five of those goals came with backups in. The Wildcats are ramping up for the Big Ten tournament, with a clash against Michigan tonight serving as their last real test of the regular season.
4. Florida (13-2, 3-0 Big 12)
Movement: none
Last Week: W at Colorado 15-10, W 20-4 vs. Stetson
This Week: vs. Cincinnati
The Florida offense has officially arrived. The Gators are now eighth nationally in goals per game and on a streak of five consecutive games with at least 15 goals. Against Colorado, Florida clawed back from a 4-1 deficit behind three different players with hat tricks. The spread-out scoring continued against Stetson, with five different players scoring multiple goals. If there’s a concern with the Gators, it might be that the offense is too egalitarian — Gianna Monaco is the only player with at least 40 goals. But Florida has also won 10 in a row, so the offense must be doing something right.
5. Princeton (11-2, 4-1 Ivy)
Movement: up one spot
Last Week: W vs. Columbia 17-6, L at No. 16 Penn 12-15
This Week: vs. No. 18 Brown
Well, the Ivy League just got a LOT more interesting. The Tigers went into halftime trailing Penn by four goals, and while Princeton did tie the game at 12 goals apiece with under nine minutes to go, the Tigers never led in the second half. This loss means Princeton’s game against Brown on Saturday is now officially a decider — the winner takes sole possession of first place in the Ivy League and clinches a share of the conference title. If the Tigers want to claim those spoils for themselves, they’ll need a big game from McKenzie Blake. Penn held Blake to just one goal, tying her season low.
6. Yale (10-3, 3-2 Ivy)
Movement: up two spots
Last Week: W at No. 16 Penn 10-9 F/2OT
This Week: at No. 22 Harvard, vs. Cornell
The Yale defense remains nearly impenetrable. A 7-2 second half deficit is simply no trouble for the Bulldogs, who held Penn scoreless for the final half hour of the game before Jenna Collignon fired home the clinching goal. The goal also sealed Collignon’s fourth straight hat trick. The brief defensive struggles in mid-March appear to be past Yale, which has bounced back from a three-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak. It’ll be tough to catch Princeton for the regular season Ivy League title, but Yale could get a shot at revenge in the conference tournament in May.
7. Maryland (11-4, 6-1 B1G)
Movement: up two spots
Last Week: W vs. Ohio State 8-5, W at Rutgers 8-7
This Week: vs. No. 8 Johns Hopkins
A win is a win, but Maryland has really been playing with fire as of late. The offense has utterly collapsed, with the Terrapins dropping to 50th nationally in goals per game. Against Ohio State, Maryland put up only three goals in the second half (none of which came in the fourth quarter). Then against Rutgers, the Terrapins went down 5-2 early in the third quarter before crawling back ahead with a whopping four goals in the final frame. The lone bright spot has been the defense. After giving up at least 10 goals in five of its first eight games, Maryland’s allowed that total just once in its last four games.
8. Johns Hopkins (11-4, 5-2 B1G)
Movement: down five spots
Last Week: W at Ohio State 16-6, L at No. 17 Michigan 2-13, W vs. No. 25 Penn State 12-11 F/OT
This Week: at No. 7 Maryland
The flashing red light for the Blue Jays right now is the status of Ashley Mackin. The team’s points leader hasn’t played since that Ohio State game, and the offense has struggled mightily without her. Against Michigan, Hopkins put up just 23 total shots and didn’t score in the second half. The Penn State game was a little better, but the Blue Jays won the turnover battle in that one by 10 and still got pushed to overtime. Reagan O’Brien is building a strong candidacy for Defensive Player of the Year, but she’ll likely need another masterclass against Maryland to keep that going.
9. Virginia (11-5, 5-4 ACC)
Movement: up two spots
Last Week: L at No. 2 Boston College 11-24, W 19-9 vs. Virginia Tech
This Week: ACC Tournament Quarterfinals
The Cavaliers have closed the season strong, with victories in three of their last four games. The one loss was to Boston College, and there’s no shame in that, especially considering BC was coming off its first loss this season. Virginia dominated Virginia Tech in the draw circle, and the massive edge in possessions led to three different Cavaliers tallying hat tricks. While Virginia doesn’t have the offense to keep up with the two teams at the top of the ACC, this team is good enough in the draw circle to make some noise in the ACC Tournament.
10. Duke (12-3, 6-2 ACC)
Movement: up two spots
Last Week: W at Louisville 17-7
This Week: vs. No. 1 North Carolina
Don’t look now, but the Blue Devils have won six games in a row. This team perfectly embodies a jack-of-all-trades mentality — Duke isn’t great at anything, but is in the nation’s top 30 in most key stats. The Blue Devils are led by Bella Goodwin and Callie Hem, both of whom have already cracked the 40-goal threshold. Meanwhile, longtime goalkeeper Kennedy Everson is 19th nationally in goals against average. Duke may have a tough battle with North Carolina coming up this evening, but for now, the Blue Devils are tied for third in the ACC. In they first appearance in the top 10, they also earn the honor of my top 10 Team of the Week.
Just missed the cut: Stanford (lost to Denver on Sunday), James Madison (winners of four straight), Michigan (beat Johns Hopkins on Sunday, plays Northwestern this evening)