For the first time this season, Northwestern women’s lacrosse has fallen out of the top 10.
Losses to Syracuse and Ohio State have sent the Wildcats’ season spiraling, and at 5-3, the ‘Cats currently sit at No. 11 in the IWLCA coaches poll rankings. Frankly, it’s exceedingly hard to imagine a top 10 talk excluding Northwestern this season, but the 2026 Wildcats have not looked remotely like their dominant selves from years past.
Oh, well. To keep this column site-relevant, I’ll still include Northwestern in the analysis each week regardless of its ranking.
At least this week, top 10 talk is coming with a plus-one.
NOTE: All rankings referenced in this article are from this week’s poll.
1. North Carolina (8-0, 6-0 ACC)
Movement: none
Last Week: 20-3 win over California
This Week: vs. No. 16 Boston College
It was a nice and easy week for UNC, who blew out California on the road behind five goals from Addison Pattillo, a 38-11 shots advantage and an 11-0 lead after the first quarter. Eliza Osburn, Kiley Mottice and Chloe Humphrey all added multiple goals for a North Carolina squad that has torched every opponent on its schedule this season. Unfortunately for lacrosse fans, the Tar Heels’ marquee Tuesday matchup against No. 5 Florida has been postponed due to “weather-related travel issues,” according to UNC’s X account. Instead, fans will have to wait for the Heels to take on Boston College this Saturday at home.
2. Stanford (9-0, 6-0 ACC)
Movement: none
Last Week: 17-11 win over No. 13 Notre Dame
This Week: vs. Arizona State
The Cardinal added another big win to their schedule, taking down Notre Dame with a 17-goal offensive explosion highlighted by four goals apiece from Ava Arceri and Aliya Polisky. Stanford hasn’t looked quite as unbeatable as UNC this year, but it has still gotten the job done in every single contest so far. Next, the Cardinal will have a prime opportunity to keep up their momentum in a bout with unranked Arizona State.
3. Maryland (8-0, 1-0 B1G)
Movement: none
Last Week: 15-7 win over Oregon
This Week: vs. Penn, vs. USC
Maryland handled Oregon in its conference opener, dominating the Ducks despite only outshooting them 27-26 overall. Stellar goalkeeper JJ Suriano saved nine shots while allowing just six goals, continuing to bolster her nation-leading .560 save percentage. The Terps have quietly won every single game by multiple goals this year, and they’ll look to continue winning against a softer two-game unranked stretch leading up to a matchup against Johns Hopkins.
4. Navy (9-0, 1-0 Patriot League)
Movement: up one spot
Last Week: 17-6 win over Bucknell, 11-10 win over Arizona State
This Week: at Holy Cross
Navy picked up a pair of big wins to continue its undefeated season, continuing to maintain its reputation as a legitimate Final Four contender in 2026 after barely surviving an upset push from Arizona State. Navy led the Sun Devils 10-6 with under 10 minutes to go, but Arizona State scored four unanswered goals to knot things up with 4:27 left, leaving Navy’s Ava Yovino to be the hero by adding a late tally with 1:08 remaining. Still, while the Midshipmen are not facing a particularly difficult schedule, earlier wins over No. 5 Florida and No. 19 Virginia should offer more than enough proof that this team is legit. Now, lighter matchups against Holy Cross and Lehigh loom for Navy before its showdown with No. 22 Loyola Maryland.
5. Florida (6-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Movement: up one spot
Last Week: 22-7 win over Kennesaw State
This Week: vs. Dartmouth
The Gators avoided a tough matchup against UNC on Tuesday, allowing them to ensure their three-game winning streak remained intact. Things went as expected against Kennesaw State over the weekend, with four players picking up hat tricks and Florida taking a 17-2 advantage into halftime. Despite some early bumps, the Gators have responded well since star Gianna Monaco’s preseason departure from the program, putting themselves right back into the Final Four conversation.
6. Michigan (6-2, 1-0 B1G)
Movement: up one spot
Last Week: 15-11 win over USC
This Week: at No. 21 Penn State
Despite a slow start that saw the Wolverines tied 6-6 with USC at halftime, Michigan managed to run away from the Trojans, putting up a six-goal third quarter en route to victory. Four goals from Calli Norris and three apiece from Ava Class and Emma Bradbury led the way, and a 22-6 draw control advantage helped the Wolverines tremendously, with midfielder Emma Burke leading the charge by adding 13 in that department. Next, Michigan will seek to remain perfect in Big Ten play as it takes on Penn State on the road.
7. Yale (7-1, 1-0 Ivy League)
Movement: up three spots
Last Week: 17-5 win over UConn, 6-5 loss to No. 10 Syracuse
This Week: vs. Brown
The Bulldogs’ undefeated season is no more. After a hotly contested defensive battle, Yale fell 6-5 to a resurgent Syracuse squad, losing some of the momentum it had accumulated from a big win over the Huskies. The Bulldogs outshot their opponent 19-16 but ultimately could not break through against an unbelievably dominant Orange defense. Yale will look to regain its winning ways in an easier matchup against Brown before ranked bouts against Princeton and Army.
8. Johns Hopkins (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten)
Movement: none
Last Week: 15-12 win over Rutgers
This Week: vs. USC, vs. No. 25 Ohio State
The Blue Jays’ conference opener against Rutgers was a little bit too close for comfort, as they only led 11-10 after three quarters and got outshot 30-28 by the Scarlet Knights overall. Thankfully for Johns Hopkins, it got six goals and two assists from Lacey Downey, a hat trick from Ava Angello and two goals from Paige Willard to boost the team to victory. The Blue Jays should remain favored in their next two Big Ten bouts, but they won’t want to overlook either team, especially the newly ranked Buckeyes who are coming off a huge road victory over Northwestern.
9. Clemson (6-4, 2-3 ACC)
Movement: none
Last Week: 12-10 win over No. 19 Virginia, 16-8 win over Mercer
This Week: at No. 24 Pittsburgh, vs. Wofford
Clemson came up huge against the Cavaliers over the weekend, coming back after an 8-7 deficit at the end of the third quarter to pull away for the win. A 14-8 caused-turnover advantage was a huge factor in the victory, and despite UVA’s persistence, the Tigers managed to hang on for their second ranked win of the year. At last, Clemson’s impossible scheduling stretch has come to an end, as matchups against Pittsburgh and Wofford should present a much easier test for this battered squad.
10. Syracuse (6-3, 3-2 ACC)
Movement: up four spots
Last Week: 9-6 win over No. 11 Northwestern, 6-5 win over No. 7 Yale
This Week: at No. 19 Virginia, at Albany
First-year coach Regy Thorpe has recently recaptured the dominance of past legendary Orange squads, picking up two massive ranked wins over Northwestern and Yale over the past week. Thanks to a stifling zone defense, Syracuse has allowed just 17 goals combined in its last four games, and it held Yale to just two goals in the second half of Tuesday’s contest, doing just enough to win thanks to its defenders and goalkeeper Daniella Guyette, who picked up 10 saves against the Bulldogs. The Orange still haven’t lost to a team outside of the top three in the IWLCA coaches poll, making them ever-so-formidable entering their next matchup against UVA.
11. Northwestern (5-3, 0-1 B1G)
Movement: down seven spots
Last Week: 9-6 loss to No. 10 Syracuse, 16-15 loss to No. 25 Ohio State
This Week: at Oregon
Northwestern is still an elite team, but a start this bad feels almost unheard of for Wildcat coach Kelly Amonte Hiller, an eight-time national champion who has consistently maintained NU’s top 10 ranking for nearly eight full years. Northwestern’s offense got completely shut down by Syracuse, as the Orange executed their zone defense to perfection and completely took Madison Taylor out of the gameplan, holding her to just one late goal and almost no meaningful touches. Then, against OSU, the ‘Cats had the opposite problem, outshooting the Buckeyes 35-22 but succumbing thanks to poor defense and a six-save, 16-goal performance from typically dominant goalkeeper Jenika Cuocco. A game against Oregon this week should allow the Wildcats to get right, but they won’t have long to do so, as a massive road tilt against UNC looms afterward on March 25.
Just missed the cut: Stony Brook (18-8 win over Monmouth, 18-10 win over Villanova), Notre Dame (17-11 loss to No. 2 Stanford)
