• USILA Website

BALTIMORE -- Thanks to its exciting 11-10 triple overtime victory over previously No. 12 ranked UMBC on Saturday, the University of Delaware men’s lacrosse squad has charged into the first regular season United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Top 20 poll announced Monday.

The Blue Hens earned points in the pre-season USILA Coaches Poll announced earlier this month but did not crack the Top 20. That changed this week as Delaware made the biggest move in the country by appearing at No. 13 in the poll with 83 total points.

The Hens (2-0), who are off to a 2-0 start for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, will be put to the test right away as Delaware travels to take on No. 5 Johns Hopkins (1-0) Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 23) at 5 p.m. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU TV.

The game will be a rematch of the 2007 NCAA national semifinal game won by the Blue Jays by an 8-3 score at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Delaware’s current No. 13 ranking is its highest since a No. 7 ranking on March 10, 2008. Johns Hopkins will be the Hens’ highest ranked opponent since those same Blue Jays were ranked No. 5 in that 2007 Final Four matchup.

Defending national champion Syracuse (1-0) remained at the No. 1 spot in the USILA poll as the Orange earned all 13 first place votes and finished with 260 total points. Virginia was at No. 2 followed by Notre Dame, North Carolina, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Cornell, Duke, Princeton, and Loyola in the top 10.

Delaware’s Colonial Athletic Association foe Hofstra was at No. 11 followed by Georgetown, Delaware, Massachusetts, Bucknell, Navy, Harvard, Stony Brook, Brown, and UMBC.

Among the 20 teams in the USILA poll, Delaware will square off against six of them season. In addition to UMBC and Johns Hopkins, the Hens will face No. 18 Stony Brook on March 13, No. 12 Georgetown on March 17, No. 11 Hofstra on April 10, and No. 14 Massachusetts on April 17. Albany, Towson, and Drexel, who all earned votes in this week’s USILA poll, are also on the UD schedule this spring.

AGATE:

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division I Men’s Lacrosse Top 20 Poll: 1. Syracuse (1-0), 260 points (13 first place votes); 2. Virginia (1-1), 241; 3. Notre Dame (1-0), 222; 4. North Carolina (3-0), 214; 5. Johns Hopkins (1-0), 211; 6. Maryland (1-0), 170; 7. Cornell (0-0), 167; 8. Duke (1-1), 164; 9. Princeton (0-0), 143; 10. Loyola (1-0), 139; 11. Hofstra (0-0), 135; 12. Georgetown (0-0), 93; 13. Delaware (1-0), 83; 14. Massachusetts (2-0), 77; 15. Bucknell (1-1), 69; 16. Navy (1-1), 67; 17. Harvard (0-0), 63; 18. Stony Brook (1-0), 46; 19. Brown (0-0), 41; 20. UMBC (0-1), 29; Others receiving votes: Albany, Binghamton, Rutgers, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, Army, St. John’s, Towson, Ohio State, Drexel, Lehigh, Colgate.