COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Thanks to its extended stretch of recent dominance, the Ursinus College men's lacrosse team is back among the nation's elite.
After convincing victories at Franklin & Marshall and at home against then-No. 17 Dickinson last week, the Bears have re-entered the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division III rankings, jumping in at No. 19 after a three-week hiatus. Ursinus jumped up two spots to No. 15 in the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine poll.
Salisbury sat atop the poll for the second straight week. With 299 points, the Sea Gulls were succeeded by RIT (286), Tufts (266), York (244), Denison (230), Bates (218), Amherst (198), St. Lawrence (176), Gettysburg (175), and Ohio Wesleyan (145) in the top 10. The Bears garnered 40 points.
Ursinus (8-1, 3-0) began the season ranked 13th in the USILA poll, then fell three spots over the next two weeks despite back-to-back wins to start the campaign. The Bears fell out of the rankings entirely after a 7-6 loss to Frostburg State, which climbed as high as No. 15 last week before dropping out with a loss to fourth-ranked York over the weekend.
Since that tight setback at the hands of Frostburg State, Ursinus has won its last six games by an average of nearly six goals per contest. That red-hot stretch includes a 12-7 triumph at Montclair State, which was receiving votes in last week's poll; a 15-5 rout at Franklin & Marshall, which had won its last seven games before the Bears rolled into Lancaster; and Saturday's 14-10 decision against Dickinson, which came in ranked seventh in the Laxpower.com computer ratings.
Ursinus is 5-0 at home this season and has won eight straight at Patterson Field, including last year's victory over Dickinson in the Centennial Conference semifinals. The Bears, who have prevailed in their last six regular-season league games, can match the best start in school history – set last season – with a win at Eastern on Wednesday.
The Bears lead the Centennial Conference in scoring offense (12.89), shooting percentage (.338), clearing percentage (.895), and turnovers per game (13.9) while ranking second in man-up offense (.415) and face-off percentage (.569).
With its recent surge, Ursinus has moved into the top 10 of Laxpower.com's Division III computer rankings, checking in at No. 9 (the highest of any Centennial Conference team) after Saturday's big triumph. The website's ratings list Dickinson at 10th and Gettysburg at 18th.