2023 FanLax Forum Poll

[Seacoaster(1)]

Top Ten this week:

1. Northwestern -- I just think that team from yesterday beats Syracuse on a neutral field. NU is better than its showing in the Dome. And I know a lot of you are thinking that too, right? Amirite?

If I were forced to place a bet on who wins it all right now, I'd put my money on Northwestern.
They look very much to me like the '21 BC team at this point, re eye of the tiger, hungry, not
going to be beat. Now add whole lot of talent, which includes an outstanding GK, to that and
that spells real trouble for everyone else. They made a good UNC team look pretty ordinary.

I don't think Syracuse could survive the draw disparity we saw with NU-UNC yesterday (by the way, what was it in the end? Thought UNC put together a decent run of draws in the second half). Can Adamson, Baxter and the circle women do enough to compensate for the loss of Mashewske?

The nice thing, for the fan of the game, is that everyone appears to be beatable, something I really never felt last year, or even the year before (when I assumed UNC was going to win the whole business). Who wants to draw Denver in the quarterfinals? Or JMU? Gonna be fun.

Syracuse was still able to beat Northwestern even though the wildcats outdrew them by a whopping 23-11 margin. I don’t think people are giving Cuse enough credit for having won that game despite the huge possession advantage Northwestern had.

Respectfully, I give the team and staff all the credit in the world for that win. I put NU -- which, you must understand, I loathe at a nearly irrational level -- above Syracuse in the polls because I think its trajectory so far looks a smidge better than Syracuse, because I've been let down before, and because I am using Dr. Tact's tactics to keep bad karma at bay. Please respect my stupidity.

[Matnum PI]

[Sunnylax]

Top Ten this week:

1. Northwestern -- I just think that team from yesterday beats Syracuse on a neutral field. NU is better than its showing in the Dome. And I know a lot of you are thinking that too, right? Amirite?

If I were forced to place a bet on who wins it all right now, I'd put my money on Northwestern.
They look very much to me like the '21 BC team at this point, re eye of the tiger, hungry, not
going to be beat. Now add whole lot of talent, which includes an outstanding GK, to that and
that spells real trouble for everyone else. They made a good UNC team look pretty ordinary.

I don't think Syracuse could survive the draw disparity we saw with NU-UNC yesterday (by the way, what was it in the end? Thought UNC put together a decent run of draws in the second half). Can Adamson, Baxter and the circle women do enough to compensate for the loss of Mashewske?

The nice thing, for the fan of the game, is that everyone appears to be beatable, something I really never felt last year, or even the year before (when I assumed UNC was going to win the whole business). Who wants to draw Denver in the quarterfinals? Or JMU? Gonna be fun.

Syracuse was still able to beat Northwestern even though the wildcats outdrew them by a whopping 23-11 margin. I don’t think people are giving Cuse enough credit for having won that game despite the huge possession advantage Northwestern had.

Respectfully, I give the team and staff all the credit in the world for that win. I put NU -- which, you must understand, I loathe at a nearly irrational level -- above Syracuse in the polls because I think its trajectory so far looks a smidge better than Syracuse, because I've been let down before, and because I am using Dr. Tact's tactics to keep bad karma at bay. Please respect my stupidity.

that's funny!

[FanLax Computer]

Based on 3 Best Ws, 3 Worst Ls...

1 Northwestern
2 North Carolina
3 Syracuse
4 Denver
5 James Madison
6 Stony Brook
7 Florida
8 Maryland
9 Boston College
10 Army
11 Notre Dame
12 Michigan
13 Loyola
14 Penn State
15 UMass
16 Virginia
17 Yale
18 USC
19 Princeton
20 Marquette
21 Villanova
22 Rutgers
23 Jacksonville
24 Towson
25 Louisville

[Seacoaster(1)]

Poll this week:

1. NU -- still winning. I do wonder if the absence of competition the rest of the way, save for maybe Maryland and spirited effort from We Are, will hurt them come May. If I am a NU fan (and I'm not), I gottas like the scoring being spread around beyond Izzy and Erin.

2. Syracuse -- still No. 2 for me, and playing the prettiest and most lethal offense I have seen in a long time. Good composed win in the Dome over a good, not great, SBU crew. I actually think the defense is improving, and believe that ACC play will keep them sharp.

3. UNC -- cannot see a reason to drop them, even after the mighty cleat-gate scandal of March 26, 2023.

4. JMU -- tough, tough group of women here. Our friend 8MeterPA thinks they may win it all. I don't; right now, anyway, they don't have enough goals to stay with Syracuse and Northwestern. The rest of the schedule, no offense, plummets fo0r the most part.

5. Denver -- I keep imagining a Denver-SBU game or a Denver-JMU game. "Denver squeaks out a 5-4 win over ___ in triple OT...."

6. SBU -- good, not great.

7. Florida -- note that I have them above Maryland, and I acknowledge this could and maybe should be reversed. If that is the case, it is because Maryland is the better coached team. Athlete to athlete, however, I still think Florida is the better team and it's my poll and I get to do whatever dumb thing I want.

8. Maryland -- see No. 7, above. A lot of games left on their schedule to get things right, or fall apart a little. They need their Keeper to help them more, and the defense needs to make teams shoot from poorer angles. Offense looking a little better, but it is hard to tell given the competition over the last five games.

9. UVA -- lost to Richmond and I still think they are a good team. Are they underperforming a little less this year? C'mon, a smidge? Work with me.

10. Loyola -- another week where I get to No. 10 and wonder What the heck I should do. I think Loyola will beat Army and run the PL table. Jinx?

[Matnum PI]

Reminder: FanLax Forum Polls are due on Monday at noon EST. Enjoy this weekend's games. Forum Poll Link (with Submission Links towards the bottom of the page).

Noon EST. All are welcome to submit a ranking.

[Womenslaxxfan]

Poll this week:

1. NU -- still winning. I do wonder if the absence of competition the rest of the way, save for maybe Maryland and spirited effort from We Are, will hurt them come May. If I am a NU fan (and I'm not), I gottas like the scoring being spread around beyond Izzy and Erin.

2. Syracuse -- still No. 2 for me, and playing the prettiest and most lethal offense I have seen in a long time. Good composed win in the Dome over a good, not great, SBU crew. I actually think the defense is improving, and believe that ACC play will keep them sharp.

3. UNC -- cannot see a reason to drop them, even after the mighty cleat-gate scandal of March 26, 2023.

4. JMU -- tough, tough group of women here. Our friend 8MeterPA thinks they may win it all. I don't; right now, anyway, they don't have enough goals to stay with Syracuse and Northwestern. The rest of the schedule, no offense, plummets fo0r the most part.

5. Denver -- I keep imagining a Denver-SBU game or a Denver-JMU game. "Denver squeaks out a 5-4 win over ___ in triple OT...."

6. SBU -- good, not great.

7. Florida -- note that I have them above Maryland, and I acknowledge this could and maybe should be reversed. If that is the case, it is because Maryland is the better coached team. Athlete to athlete, however, I still think Florida is the better team and it's my poll and I get to do whatever dumb thing I want.

8. Maryland -- see No. 7, above. A lot of games left on their schedule to get things right, or fall apart a little. They need their Keeper to help them more, and the defense needs to make teams shoot from poorer angles. Offense looking a little better, but it is hard to tell given the competition over the last five games.

9. UVA -- lost to Richmond and I still think they are a good team. Are they underperforming a little less this year? C'mon, a smidge? Work with me.

10. Loyola -- another week where I get to No. 10 and wonder What the heck I should do. I think Loyola will beat Army and run the PL table. Jinx?

Bc out of your top 10? Interesting. Based on eyeball test I don’t disagree. But something tells me they will be competitive once schleicher comes back…

[PhanLax99]

Based on 3 Best Ws, 3 Worst Ls...

1 Northwestern
2 North Carolina
3 Syracuse
4 Denver
5 James Madison
6 Stony Brook
7 Florida
8 Maryland
9 Boston College
10 Army
11 Notre Dame
12 Michigan
13 Loyola
14 Penn State
15 UMass
16 Virginia
17 Yale
18 USC
19 Princeton
20 Marquette
21 Villanova
22 Rutgers
23 Jacksonville
24 Towson
25 Louisville

Will i be arguing with a bot if I comment on this ranking? This is a hot take out of all hot takes.

[Matnum PI]

Will i be arguing with a bot if I comment on this ranking? This is a hot take out of all hot takes.

It's a ranking from 7 days ago. Might as well wait.

[ultravisitor]

Poll this week:

1. NU -- still winning. I do wonder if the absence of competition the rest of the way, save for maybe Maryland and spirited effort from We Are, will hurt them come May. If I am a NU fan (and I'm not), I gottas like the scoring being spread around beyond Izzy and Erin.

I think they'll be fine. They've faced some great competition, and against some of that competition they weren't even at full strength. For whatever reason, Hailey Rhatigan wasn't playing in the first handful of games. Now Rhatigan is an important part of the offense, and the defense has gotten stronger. If Northwestern should face Syracuse and/or BC again in the post-season, they will (probably) have everyone in the lineup. They will really be a very different team than the team that played the first games of the season not just due to the growth over the course of the season but also because because of the additional personnel.

[Seacoaster(1)]

Poll this week:

1. NU -- still winning. I do wonder if the absence of competition the rest of the way, save for maybe Maryland and spirited effort from We Are, will hurt them come May. If I am a NU fan (and I'm not), I gottas like the scoring being spread around beyond Izzy and Erin.

2. Syracuse -- still No. 2 for me, and playing the prettiest and most lethal offense I have seen in a long time. Good composed win in the Dome over a good, not great, SBU crew. I actually think the defense is improving, and believe that ACC play will keep them sharp.

3. UNC -- cannot see a reason to drop them, even after the mighty cleat-gate scandal of March 26, 2023.

4. JMU -- tough, tough group of women here. Our friend 8MeterPA thinks they may win it all. I don't; right now, anyway, they don't have enough goals to stay with Syracuse and Northwestern. The rest of the schedule, no offense, plummets fo0r the most part.

5. Denver -- I keep imagining a Denver-SBU game or a Denver-JMU game. "Denver squeaks out a 5-4 win over ___ in triple OT...."

6. SBU -- good, not great.

7. Florida -- note that I have them above Maryland, and I acknowledge this could and maybe should be reversed. If that is the case, it is because Maryland is the better coached team. Athlete to athlete, however, I still think Florida is the better team and it's my poll and I get to do whatever dumb thing I want.

8. Maryland -- see No. 7, above. A lot of games left on their schedule to get things right, or fall apart a little. They need their Keeper to help them more, and the defense needs to make teams shoot from poorer angles. Offense looking a little better, but it is hard to tell given the competition over the last five games.

9. UVA -- lost to Richmond and I still think they are a good team. Are they underperforming a little less this year? C'mon, a smidge? Work with me.

10. Loyola -- another week where I get to No. 10 and wonder What the heck I should do. I think Loyola will beat Army and run the PL table. Jinx?

Bc out of your top 10? Interesting. Based on eyeball test I don’t disagree. But something tells me they will be competitive once schleicher comes back…

Ugh. No, I am pretty sure I had them in the actual submission at No. 6 or so, which would push Loyola off the top ten. I really am a dope. Thanks for pointing the omission out. I still think BC is a very able team, in search of itself. And I think 28 is the straw, as they say, that stirs the drink between the 30s.

[Seacoaster(1)]

Poll this week:

1. NU -- still winning. I do wonder if the absence of competition the rest of the way, save for maybe Maryland and spirited effort from We Are, will hurt them come May. If I am a NU fan (and I'm not), I gottas like the scoring being spread around beyond Izzy and Erin.

I think they'll be fine. They've faced some great competition, and against some of that competition they weren't even at full strength. For whatever reason, Hailey Rhatigan wasn't playing in the first handful of games. Now Rhatigan is an important part of the offense, and the defense has gotten stronger. If Northwestern should face Syracuse and/or BC again in the post-season, they will (probably) have everyone in the lineup. They will really be a very different team than the team that played the first games of the season not just due to the growth over the course of the season but also because because of the additional personnel.

Yes, pretty much why I have them as No. 1. Thanks.

[Matnum PI]

[FanLax Computer]

Will i be arguing with a bot if I comment on this ranking? This is a hot take out of all hot takes.

I'm not a 'bot. I'm a computer. Big difference...

[Womenslaxxfan]

1 NU---I think they look the best of any team right now

2 SYR—Just a notch below NU

3 UNC—Surprising how they are doing with their young players. I don’t think they have enough this year to win it.

4 JMU---based on my view of their offensive talent vs Denver. Both play great zones. JMU only loss to T5 team. Denver hasn’t played one.

5 Denver---they haven’t yet played an elite defense.

After 5, the next 7 are a real tossup. Nobody has beaten an elite (top 5) team. I rank these teams based on how they have looked against elite teams (ie, how high is ceiling), not by whether they have pounded weaker ones.

6 Maryland—good win against florida (T10). Also hold wins over Penn (T25) and Rutgers (T25). Very competitive against Denver (T5) and JMU (T5). Blown out by Cuse (T5). They are 6 bc they hold a T10 win (Florida).

7 Florida—Wins against Michigan (T15) and Loyola (T10). Were competitive late with JMU(T5) and Maryland (T10). Looked bad against UNC (T5). They are 7 bc they hold a T10 win (Loyola).

8 UVA---Wins over Notre Dame (T15), Princeton (T20), Clemson (T25). Very competitive very late with UNC (T5) and JMU (T5). Bad loss to Richmond a puzzler.

9 BC---wins over Duke (T20), Umass (T20), USC(T20), Clemson (T25). Looked great against NU (T5) early in season, but then uncompetitive against UNC and unimpressive against Denver.

10 Loyola—wins over penn state(T20) and penn (T25) aren’t gold star wins. But looked very competitive against Syracuse (T5) and Florida (T10).

11 SB—Good wins against Michigan (T25), and Yale (T15). Performances against elite teams has been “meh” at best. At no point were their games with Cuse or Northwestern close in the second half. This is most controversial ranking…but they just have looked very ordinary against elite teams. And their wins aren’t compelling enough to put them in top 10 versus other teams who played top teams better.

12Notre Dame---Basically they are here because I think they are better than anyone below them. They hold wins against Duke (T20), Clemson (T25). But meh against Cuse (T5), and games weren’t as close as final score might indicate for NU and UVA. UNC and BC are their last chances to get any more meaningful wins…

[Seacoaster(1)]

Yes, Womenslaxxfann, that's probably where I would have Notre Dame too if I went beyond a top ten.

[FanLax Computer]

Will i be arguing with a bot if I comment on this ranking? This is a hot take out of all hot takes.

PhanLax, This is my *computer* ranking. Computer...

1 Northwestern
2 Syracuse
3 North Carolina
4 James Madison
5 Denver
6 Stony Brook
7 Florida
8 Maryland
9 Boston College
10 Virginia
11 Michigan
12 Army
13 USC
14 Loyola

[Seacoaster(1)]

1. NU -- still winning.

2. Syracuse -- still No. 2 for me.

3. UNC -- lost in South Bend, in a strange venue and hostile environment. Still cannot see how someone climbs over them.

4. JMU

5. Denver

6. Boston College

7. Maryland

8. Florida

9. Loyola

10. Notre Dame -- showed how they can play.

OK, what did I miss?

[Matnum PI]

Reminder: FanLax Forum Polls are due on Monday (Today) at noon EST. Enjoy this weekend's games. Forum Poll Link (with Submission Links towards the bottom of the page). All are welcome to submit a ranking.

[Laxfan500]

1. NU -- still winning.

2. Syracuse -- still No. 2 for me.

3. UNC -- lost in South Bend, in a strange venue and hostile environment. Still cannot see how someone climbs over them.

4. JMU

5. Denver

6. Boston College

7. Maryland

8. Florida

9. Loyola

10. Notre Dame -- showed how they can play.

OK, what did I miss?

Stonybrook out of top 10 for you?