NCAA women's lacrosse rankings

A look at Newsday’s top 10 NCAA women’s lacrosse teams after the opening week of the 2019 campaign.

Boston College (1-0)

The Eagles return Tewaaraton winner and West Babylon native Sam Apuzzo as well as Kenzie Kent, who returns after not playing last year because of women’s ice hockey. Kent had five goals and four assists in her first game in over a year, a 20-6 win over Boston University on Saturday.

Maryland (1-0)

In unfamiliar territory in a place other than No. 1 in the preseason rankings, the Terps have appeared in 10 straight NCAA semifinals and there’s no reason to believe that will change. Jen Giles had five goals and a helper in a 16-5 win over George Mason in the season-opener.

North Carolina (1-0)

Centereach’s Jamie Ortega was the nation’s top freshman after scoring 70 goals, and Huntington’s Taylor Moreno stole the national spotlight between the pipes in the second half of last season. The Tar Heels throttled defending national champion James Madison, 18-7, in the season-opener, behind five goals from Ortega and six assists from Katie Hoeg (Mattituck).

Florida (1-0)

The Gators left the Big East for the American Athletic Conference. Lindsey Ronbeck (Manhasset) and Shannon Kavanagh (Smithtown) lead a potentially potent offense that topped Colorado, 17-9, on Saturday. Kavanagh had five goals, and Ronbeck had four.

Stony Brook (0-0)

Something of a transition year after graduating historic players in Kylie Ohlmiller, Courtney Murphy and Brooke Gubitosi, the Seawolves will now lean on Ally Kennedy, Taryn Ohlmiller and others. They open the season on Feb. 22 at Colorado.

Northwestern (1-0)

A formidable offense led by Selena Lasota (five goals) throttled Louisville in the season-opener, 21-11. The Wildcats allowed 19 goals per game in the last five games of last season, though, so an 11-goal start for the defense isn’t ideal.

Princeton (0-0)

Kyla Sears made headlines as a freshman, tallying 83 points. The Ivy League is uber-competitive with resurgent teams like Dartmouth making a case, but Princeton has made six straight NCAA tournaments. The Tigers open Feb. 16 against Temple.

James Madison (0-1)

The defending national champs will rely on Hanna Haven to help replace the scoring hole left by Kristen Gaudian and Haley Warden, but the season didn’t start well. JMU was down 9-3 by halftime against UNC and couldn’t recover.

Loyola (0-0)

The Greyhounds are preseason favorites in the Patriot League with sophomore Livy Rosenzweig and senior Kristen Yanchoris expected to lead the offense and defense, respectively. Loyola opens at Johns Hopkins on Feb. 16.

Penn State (1-0)

A key win against defensive-powerhouse Towson kickstarted the Nittany Lions’ season. In the 13-7 victory, Madison Carter had four goals and an assist as Penn State scored 10 second-half goals. With seven straight NCAA tournament appearances, Penn State looks ready for another.

On the cusp: Towson (0-1), Syracuse (1-0), Penn (0-0), Virginia Tech (1-0), Virginia (1-0)

Preseason rank

1. Boston College

2. Maryland

3. North Carolina

4. Florida

5. Stony Brook

6. James Madison

7. Penn

8. Northwestern

9. Towson

10. Princeton