Playoff Weekend

Let's get this party started.

Author

Steve Ulrich
May 09, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

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MAY 9, 2025 | composed by STEVE ULRICH

Welcome to D3 Lacrosse, devoted to NCAA Division III men’s and women’s lacrosse

🥍  LFG. It’s weekend one of three in the DIII championship tournaments. Here. We. Go.

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TOP STORY
1. Playoff Weekend

Davis Fisher, York (David Sinclair photography)

We begin the weekend with 32 teams … we will leave Sunday with just eight.

2nd/3rd Round Games - Saturday-Sunday

  • Rhodes at #1 Tufts, 12:00 | #15 St. Lawrence vs. #18 Middlebury, 3:00

  • Scranton at #8 W&L, 12:00 | #9 Gettysburg vs. #22 Stevens, 3:00

  • Grove City at #4 CNU, 12:00 | #14 Stevenson vs. #19 Lynchburg, 3:00

  • Rivier at #5 Bowdoin, 12:00 | #12 Amherst vs. #21 Endicott, 3:00

  • Babson at #7 Wesleyan, 12:00 | #10 RPI vs. #24 Williams, 3:00

  • Ohio Northern at #3 RIT, 12:00 | #13 OWU vs. #20 St. John Fisher, 3:00

  • St. Mary’s at #2 Salisbury, 12:00 | #16 Dickinson vs. #17 Denison, 6:30

  • #25 Trinity at #6 York, 4:00 | #11 Cortland vs. #23 Ill. Wesleyan, 7:00

CHAMPIONSHIP (W)
2. Finding the Sweet 16

Marlin Price, Sewanee (photo by Liam Selvido)

The 2025 NCAA DIII women’s lacrosse championship will whittle its field from 47 teams to 16 after the completion of first and second-round games this weekend.

1st/2nd Round Games - Saturday-Sunday

  • Hope at #23 Wooster, 3:00 (Friday) | winner vs. #21 Chicago, 3:00 (Saturday)

  • Ithaca vs. Oswego State, 1:00 | winner at #1 Middlebury, 1:00

  • Plymouth State vs. Marymount, 12:00 | winner at #8 York, 1:00

  • #22 William Smith vs. Husson, 1:00 | winner at #9 Amherst, 1:00

  • #25 Endicott vs. Emmanuel, 1:00 | winner at #4 Colby, 1:00

  • #17 Stevens vs. George Fox, 1:00 | winner at #14 TCNJ, 1:00

  • #24 Babson vs. Worcester State, 1:00 | winner at #7 Wesleyan, 1:00

  • #18 WestConn vs. Merchant Marine, 2:00 | winner at #12 Rowan, 2:00

  • Scranton vs. MIT, 12:00 | winner at #2 Tufts, 1:00

  • #15 Pomona-Pitzer vs. #16 Colorado College, 3:00

  • John Carroll vs. Grove City, 12:30 | winner at #6 St. John Fisher, 1:00

  • #19 Haverford vs. St. Mary’s, 12:00 | winner at #13 Salisbury, 1:00

  • Messiah vs. Mount Union, 3:00 | winner at #3 Franklin & Marshall, 3:00

  • Carroll vs. Lake Forest, 1:00 | winner at #20 Denison, 1:00

  • Trinity vs. Meredith, 1:00 | winner at #5 Gettysburg, 1:00

  • #11 Wash. and Lee vs. Transylvania, 2:00 | winner at #10 Sewanee, 4:00

All times EDT

BY THE NUMBERS
3. Statistical Leaders

Here are the team statistical leaders for scoring offense and defense, as well as face-off and draw control percentages for teams still remaining in the NCAA DIII tournaments.

Scoring Offense (M)

  1. Endicott, 19.28

  2. Cortland, 17.95

  3. Grove City, 17.86

  4. St. John Fisher, 17.84

  5. Tufts, 17.83

  6. Salisbury, 17.68

  7. Lynchburg, 17.32

  8. Stevenson, 16.74

  9. Stevens, 16.61

  10. Ohio Wesleyan, 16.50

Scoring Defense

  1. Rivier, 6.61

  2. Ohio Northern, 6.75

  3. Stevens, 7.17

  4. Cortland, 7.42

  5. Salisbury, 7.63

  6. Rensselaer, 7.88

  7. Grove City, 8.05

  8. St. John Fisher, 8.21

  9. St. Lawrence, 8.47

  10. Endicott, 8.50

Face-off Winning Pct.

  1. Wash. & Lee, 751

  2. Grove City, 696

  3. Chris. Newport, 653

  4. Endicott, 651

  5. WestConn, 645

  6. Denison, 641

  7. Maine Maritime, 638

  8. Pfeiffer, 637

  9. Stevens, 636

  10. Salisbury, 633

Scoring Offense (W)

  1. Meredith, 20.52

  2. Pomona-Pitzer, 18.42

  3. St. John Fisher, 18.28

  4. Marymount, 18.11

  5. Tufts, 17.56

  6. USMMA, 17.27

  7. Mount Union, 17.22

  8. Lake Forest, 16.94

  9. Chicago, 16.75

  10. Sewanee, 16.71

Scoring Defense

  1. St. John Fisher, 4.83

  2. Meredith, 4.86

  3. USMMA, 5.13

  4. Sewanee, 5.59

  5. Marymount, 6.11

  6. Stevens, 6.42

  7. York, 6.42

  8. Middlebury, 6.47

  9. Colorado College, 6.48

  10. Pomona-Pitzer, 6.68

Draw Control Pct.

  1. Stevens, 680

  2. Meredith, 661

  3. Babson, 659

  4. St. Mary’s MD, 657

  5. Middlebury, 653

  6. Marymount, 645

  7. Sewanee, 641

  8. Hope, 638

  9. St. John Fisher, 633

  10. William Smith, 629

BY THE NUMBERS
4. NCAA History

How many NCAA championships has your school won? How many games have they won? Here are the numbers.

NCAA Championships (M)

13, Hobart (last: 1993)
13, Salisbury (2023)
4, Tufts (2024)
3, Middlebury (2002)
3, Nazareth (1997)
2, RIT (2022)
2, Cortland (2009)
1, Stevenson (2013)
1, Washington College (1998)
1, Wesleyan (2018)
1, Cabrini (2019)

Most NCAA Tourney Wins (M)

95, Salisbury (41 yrs, 95-28)
45, RIT (25 yrs, 45-23)
45, Tufts (16 yrs, 45-12)
42, Hobart (15 yrs, 42-2)
41, Cortland (30 yrs, 41-28)
37, Middlebury (19 yrs, 37-16)
32, Washington College (26 yrs, 32-25)
27, Nazareth (22 yrs, 27-19)
24, Gettysburg (28 yrs, 24-28)
23, Denison (29 yrs, 23-29)
22, Ohio Wesleyan (29 yrs, 22-29)

NCAA Championships (W)

12, TCNJ (last: 2006)
10, Middlebury (2024)
4, Salisbury (2021)
3, Gettysburg (2018)
3, Ursinus (1990)
2, Franklin & Marshall (2009)
1, Amherst (2003)
1, Cortland (2015)
1, Hamilton (2008)
1, Trinity CT (2012)

Most NCAA Tourney Wins (W)

88, TCNJ (38 yrs, 88-26)
80, Middlebury (28 yrs, 80-18)
61, Salisbury (24 yrs, 61-20)
45, Gettysburg (22 yrs, 45-19)
42, Franklin & Marshall (25 yrs, 41-23)
34, Trinity (16 yrs, 34-15)
32, Cortland (26 yrs, 32-24)
31, William Smith (24 yrs, 31-24)
27, Amherst (14 yrs, 27-13)
20, Tufts (9 yrs, 20-9)

FEATURE
5. Examining the Relative Competitive Strength of Men’s Conferences Through NPI

by Steve Dittmore

“The new DIII NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings this year provide an opportunity to not only rank individual teams, but also consider relative strengths of conferences. We shared a primer on the NPI and what it means in January.

Using the 2025 season’s final NPI rankings, it is possible to assess how conferences performed in the new metric. Recognizing a team’s performance from year-to-year is dependent on a number of variables (quality of competition, team injuries, etc.), this snapshot does not necessarily reflect how teams improved or underperformed relative to last year. Consider Bates College which went 3-11 in 2024, but surged to 9-7 this season, a performance which certainly boosted the profile of the NESCAC. Below is what we can glean for DIII men’s conferences in the 2025 season. An analysis of women’s conferences will occur next week.”

NEWS
6. UW-Superior is New Kid In Town 

“The University of Wisconsin-Superior and Yellowjacket Athletics have announced the addition of three sports – one varsity sport and two club sports, to its current athletic offerings.

UW-Superior will add one varsity NCAA sport, women’s lacrosse, which will debut in time for the 2026-27 academic year with sights set on competing in the spring 2027 season.

As one of the fastest growing collegiate sports at the NCAA Division III level, women’s lacrosse is slated to have its inaugural season in the 2026-27 academic year. The program will compete against regional peers as conference affiliation is explored. A national search to hire the head coach of the women’s lacrosse program is expected to begin this spring.”

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