Polls for Feb 9: Media #2 / Coaches #2

[OrangeXtreme]

Friday night is officially No. 1 vs. No. 2.

Maryland retains the top spot in the KANE Media Poll, and they’ll travel to the No. 2 Orange for a 6 p.m. tilt in the Dome.

The Terps dispatched Loyola in an indoor game Saturday, showcasing their top-ranked transfer class and separating in the second half. Syracuse, meanwhile, has steamrolled two-straight teams in Boston U and Saint Joseph’s.

The Week 1 Media Poll sits at a unique part of the season. Still a quarter of the teams have not yet played, which is typical at this point for Ivy League teams that have their first games this weekend but atypical for some teams that have had to endure weather-related postponements.

Princeton, Cornell and Georgetown — all in the Top 5 — have yet to play a game and will make their debut this coming week.

Penn State is the first victim of early lacrosse, as the Nittany Lions fell in OT to Villanova inside Holabu Hall. Penn State drops to No. 14 from 7, while the Wildcats enter the poll at No. 16.

Find the full Polls page here with this week's poll plus the full archives dating several years.

1. Maryland 416 (17)
2. Syracuse 388 (1)
3. Princeton 380 (1)
4. Cornell 338 (2)
5. Georgetown 324

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[OrangeXtreme]

1. Maryland
2. Syracuse
3. Princeton
4. Georgetown
5. Cornell

 

[OrangeXtreme]

2. Syracuse
Saint Joseph’s handled Hopkins, albeit a scrimmage in January, so the Orange 20-2 demolition of the Hawks is notable. Joey Spallina finished with eight points. The talented senior continues to climb the SU scoring charts, but I’m not comfortable using just points to compare players or quantify legacies.

Goalie Jimmy McCool stopped 83%. FOGO Drew Angelo gives Gary Gait depth behind John Mullen. The Orange cleared cleanly against the 10-man ride with pole Billy Dwan III cashing in from long range. Syracuse also spread the wealth offensively with 11 players scoring goals. Rookies Ted Rawson scored the first two goals of his career and Bogue Hahn netted for the second game straight. Midfielder Wyatt Hottle scored twice in the first period following a three-point performance vs. BU. The extra-man was crisp. They will be lethal. It was the ideal home tuneup before a date with Maryland on Friday night. Should be electric with more than 10,000 fans on hand at 6 p.m. in Central New York. You can watch on the ACC Network or the ESPN App. Spread the word.