Lacrosse season is back, folks. After a busy first few days of the season, not much has shifted in the rankings yet, although that will certainly change in a hurry given certain developments in Evanston on Monday night. For now, let’s take a look at where things stand in the first in-season IWLCA Coaches Poll, which was released after Sunday’s contests.
1. North Carolina (1-0, 0-0 ACC)
Movement:
noneLast Week: 19-11 win at No. 21 James Madison
This Week: at No. 13 Syracuse
The reigning national champions are back, and they look as
scary as ever. The loss of Ashley Humphrey will certainly dampen the Tar Heels’ prospects this season, but they can take solace in the fact that reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Chloe Humphrey has plenty of time remaining in Chapel Hill. The younger Humphrey had seven points in the season opener against JMU, and UNC cruised to a victory, leading 16-6 after three quarters of play.
2. Northwestern (1-1, 0-0 B1G)
Movement: none
Last Week: 20-12 win at No. 3 Boston College, 10-9 loss vs. Colorado
This Week: vs. No. 20 Army, vs. Central Michigan
Well, that was quite the two-game stretch to open the Wildcats’ season. NU began by looking every bit like its national-championship contending self in its season opener, blowing out Boston College on the road behind huge offensive performances from Madison Taylor, Aditi Foster and others. Then, the ‘Cats mystifyingly lost their home opener to unranked Colorado, committing a whopping 18 turnovers and simply playing out of sync despite the incredible offensive talent they possess. Lots of blame can go around for a shocking upset defeat, but most of all, reigning Tewaaraton finalist Maddie Epke really struggled on Monday, committing four turnovers and failing to record a single shot. Epke is extremely talented and certainly has better days in front of her, but regardless, the Wildcats’ loss will hurt their Week Two ranking, serving as a wake-up call for this squad going forward.
3. Boston College (0-1, 0-0 ACC)
Movement: none
Last Week: 20-12 loss vs. No. 2 Northwestern
This Week: vs. No. 16 Notre Dame
After the losses of Rachel Clark and others, the Eagles have had to retool quickly, and they weren’t able to find their footing against an elite Wildcat squad in their season opener. BC couldn’t contain the multi-pronged Northwestern attack, suffering a tough loss to begin its season against the same NU team that ended its 2025 year with a dramatic Final Four comeback win. Boston College will certainly remain as a top contender this season, but improvement in its next contest against a ranked Notre Dame squad is paramount.
4. Stanford (1-0, 0-0 ACC)
Movement: up one spot
Last Week: 23-7 win at UC Davis
This Week: at No. 9 Clemson, at Vanderbilt
The Cardinal managed to leapfrog Florida in the latest edition of the IWLCA coaches poll, making a statement with a blowout victory over UC Davis on Saturday. Stanford had a whopping four players put up hat tricks, showcasing its depth against an Aggies team that let up 10 goals in the second quarter alone. The Cardinal are looking dangerous, and if they can manage to take down Clemson this week, they should be well-positioned as the biggest threat among teams that did not qualify for the Final Four a year ago.
5. Florida (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Movement: down one spot
Last Week: none
This Week: vs. No. 17 Michigan, at No. 19 Loyola Maryland
Florida got docked through no fault of its own in the coaches poll after Stanford’s blowout victory over UC Davis, as the Gators’ expected season opener against Loyola Maryland was postponed until Feb. 17. Now, Florida has a tough week ahead, facing off against two ranked teams. The Gators will certainly enter 2026 with a vengeance after 2025’s blowout 20-4 Final Four loss at the hands of the Tar Heels.
6. Maryland (1-0, 0-0 B1G)
Movement: up one spot
Last Week: 9-5 win at No. 13 Syracuse
This Week: vs. No. 12 Virginia
The Terrapins won in a dogfight at the JMA Wireless Dome on Friday, holding onto a 6-1 halftime advantage to come through with a massive road win. Five goals from junior attacker Lauren LaPointe proved huge, but junior goalkeeper JJ Suriano was the MVP of Maryland’s season-opening victory. Suriano dominated to the tune of a whopping 16 saves, putting up a stellar .762 save percentage against a ranked foe. UVA poses another tough ACC test for the Terps, who will look to get some more offensive variety going to reduce their reliance on LaPointe and stellar goalie play.
7. Princeton (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League)
Movement: down one spot
Last Week: none
This Week: none
Similarly to Florida, Princeton dropped a spot in the rankings through no fault of its own, as the Tigers did not play a game in the season’s opening days. Unlike the Gators, Princeton doesn’t have a game this week either, as its season opener doesn’t come until a matchup against Loyola Maryland on Feb. 21. The Tigers will look to build on an impressive Ivy League championship and Elite Eight run from a season ago.
8. Johns Hopkins (1-0, 0-0 B1G)
Movement: none
Last Week: 17-7 win at Liberty
This Week: at No. 19 Loyola Maryland, at No. 14 Duke
The Blue Jays took care of business in their season opener behind eight goals from Ava Angello, who tied her best career single-game scoring mark and single-handedly outscored the Flames. Two goals apiece from Taylor Hoss, Laurel Gonzalez and Lacey Downey were key, and Johns Hopkins’ defense was also stellar, holding Liberty to 19 shots and 10 shots on goal. The Blue Jays are looking like they could be dangerous in the Big Ten, and if they can win their three upcoming ranked road matchups against Loyola Maryland, Duke and Penn, they’ll have a truly stacked early-season resume.
9. Clemson (2-0, 0-0 ACC)
Movement: up three spots
Last Week: 20-5 win vs. Vanderbilt, 18-1 win vs. Furman
This Week: vs. No. 4 Stanford, at Queens
The Tigers surged into the top 10 after obliterating Vanderbilt with 13 first-half goals and 20 tallies in all, including five from Brooke Goldstein. The coaches poll gave Clemson major credit for its dominance, but the Tigers weren’t satisfied. They nearly shut out Furman on Tuesday, allowing just eight total shots all game alongside big offensive performances from Alexa Spallina (six goals) and Regan Byrne (four goals). Clemson looked scary (albeit against lighter competition) in its first two games, and now, the question becomes whether the Tigers can survive their first true test in an early-season ACC opener against the Cardinal.
10. Navy (1-0, 0-0 Patriot League)
Movement: up six spots
Last Week: 12-10 win at No. 12 Virginia
This Week: vs. Villanova
How about the Midshipmen with an early-season upset? On Friday, Navy marched into Charlottesville, Va., and pulled out a gritty 12-10 victory over the Cavaliers, riding the momentum established by its 16-7 draw control advantage. The Midshipmen also outshot UVA 33-21, generating multi-goal games from four different players as a result. Navy is a balanced team, and although its next three games are all against unranked opponents, its Feb. 28 home tilt against Florida should be an electric watch where the Gators could very well be on upset alert.
Just missed the cut: Penn (opens season on Feb. 14 vs. Drexel), Virginia (lost to Navy), Syracuse (lost to Maryland)
