With the girls lacrosse season off and running, one of the major storylines to keep an eye on nationally is the continued emergence of not only schools fielding varsity teams, but having those teams achieve success rather rapidly.
As more programs have sprung up the last few years, so too has the level of parity. Outstanding teams are everywhere!
Having said that, there are still plenty of noteworthy dynasties very much intact, such as Garden City in New York and Vero Beach in Florida, who have each won five straight state titles, or Good Counsel in Maryland, which won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference title for the seventh straight year.
No. 1 Garden City is led by Boston College recruit Mikaela Rix, left.
File photo by Jane Haslam
In our first Xcellent 20 rankings of girls lacrosse teams, 11 states are represented. Five states have teams in the Top 10, which says a lot about the increasing trend toward parity.
Like with the boys lacrosse Xcellent 20, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island lead the way as a region, placing five teams among the first 10.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 20 NATIONAL GIRLS LACROSSE RANKINGS1. Garden City (N.Y.), 6-0: Boston College-bound midfielder
Mikaela Rix and Georgetown-bound attack
Caroline Tarzian may be the top one-two scoring duo in the nation.
2. Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), 10-0: Caileigh Sindall, who will play collegiately at North Carolina, does it all for the Falcons.
3. Shoreham-Wading River (Shoreham, N.Y.), 4-0: In Navy-bound
Codi Mullen, the Wildcats have one of the premier playmakers around.
4. McDonogh (Owings Mills, Md.), 7-0: Brooks Lawler, a midfielder bound for Northwestern, has the athleticism and stick skills to be an impact player at the next level.
5. Ridgewood (N.J.), 2-0: After winning their first state title, the Maroons are eager for an encore.
6. Farmingdale (N.Y.), 3-1: North Carolina-bound
Kelly McPartland is one of five Division I recruits for the Dalers, whose loss was against No. 1 Garden City.
7. New Trier (Winnetka, Ill.), 6-0: Attack
Janie Gion is coming off a 62-goal, 46-assist season.
8. St. Anthony's (Melville, N.Y.), 2-1: Should a 11-10 double overtime loss to No. 1 Garden City really count as a loss? Of course, but… Well, you get the idea.
9. Vero Beach (Fla.), 16-0: The Fighting Indians have eight returning starters.
10. Northport (N.Y.), 5-0: Midfielder
Shannon Gilroy earned Long Island player of the year honors last season after scoring 97 goals.
11. Greenwich (Conn.), 2-0: Junior
Claire Feeney had five goals for the Cardinals in a 14-3 win over Trumbull.
12. Westborough (Mass.), 4-0: An 8-6 win over Framingham marked the first time the Rangers didn't score 17 or more goals in a game this season.
13. Wantagh (N.Y.), 6-0: A 13-11 victory over Manhasset marked the Warriors' lowest goal total in their six games.
14. Medina (Ohio), 0-0: The Battling Bees beat Arlington 15-1 to win the Division I state title last year and complete a 21-0 season.
15. Fox Lane (Bedford, N.Y.), 4-0: Lindsay Toppe and
Sammy Jo Tracy combined to tally 207 goals last year.
16. West Genesee (Camillus, N.Y.), 3-0: The Wildcats' 11-10 victory against New Jersey power Mendham has given West Genesee a spot here.
17. Yorktown (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), 4-0: A showdown against Section 1 rival Lakeland/Panas on Friday will be the latest challenge for a Husker team that has already picked up in-state wins over Ward Melville, John Jay and Suffern, as well as against Mountain Lakes (N.J.).
18. St. Stephen's & St. Agnes (Alexandria, Va.), 12-2: The Saints' 10-game win streak ended with an 11-7 loss to No. 2 Good Counsel.
19. Alta (Sandy, Utah), 8-0: The defending state champ Hawks have won 36 straight.
20. Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.), 5-1: The Patriots' loss was a 10-9 decision to Vero Beach.
Joe Lombardi writes the "Lax with Joe" blog at LaxLessons.com
and is an analyst for the MSG Varsity Television Network. He is also
the primary author of the new edition of "Lacrosse for Dummies," which
was released last year. He may be reached at joe@laxlessons.com.
