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Lacrosse Top 20 Poll: Villanova making noise

Villanova Athletics Media Relations

With a big win in State College, the Villanova Wildcats have officially gotten the attention of the voting committee. Via College Crosse, Villanova has received votes in the latest College Lacrosse Poll.


TEAM COACHES POINTS (FIRST-PLACE VOTES) MEDIA POINTS (FIRST-PLACE VOTES) AVG.
Loyola (9-1) 1 290 (8) 1 470 (16) 1.0
Cornell (9-0) 2 285 (5) 2 457 (8) 2.0
Duke (9-2) 3 266 (1) 3 428 3.0
Maryland (8-1) 4 258 (1) 4 411 4.0
North Carolina (8-2) 5 245 5 384 5.0
Denver (8-2) 6 228 6 366 6.0
Notre Dame (4-3) 7 195 8 311 7.5
Syracuse (5-3) T8 191 7 322 7.5
Virginia (8-3) T8 191 9 298 8.5
Johns Hopkins (5-3) 10 160 10 243 10.0
Massachusetts (7-2) 11 129 12 200 11.5
Bryant (8-2) 12 128 11 231 11.5
Yale (4-3) 14 94 14 157 14.0
Pennsylvania (4-3) 15 93 13 190 14.0
Fairfield (7-2) 13 101 15 142 14.0
Albany (4-4) 16 56 18 67 17.0
Colgate (7-3) 19 41 T16 100 17.5
Princeton (4-4) 17 54 19 49 18.0
Hofstra (6-3) 20 31 T16 100 18.0
Army (6-3) 18 47 20 45 19.0

Receving votes: Brown, St. John's, Lehigh, Drexel, Villanova, Towson, Mercer.

While "receiving votes" may seem gloomy, this is a big turnaround after a rough start for the 'Cats squad. A 1-5 start put Villanova in a tough spot right off the bat. The rough stretch was not to blame on poor play (fully). Of the first 6 games, 5 of them were played against ranked squads at the time. However, the Wildcats have made a sudden turnaround, winning 3 straight and starting 2-0 in the Big East conference.

The most recent victory, a 9-7 win against the then-#17 Penn State Nittany Lions on the road, officially brought Villanova back to national relevance. The loss forced Penn State completely out of the Top 20. Only in the coaches poll did PSU get any votes.

Senior Kevin O'Neil leads the team this season in goals (16) and points (22). The defense is backed by freshman goalie Dan Willis who puts up a respectable 47.4% save percentage and a 9.39 GAA.