This week's Inside Lacrosse poll is out. Predictably, Virginia remains at No. 1.
The Cavaliers are also tops on my ballot after upending Cornell 14-10 yesterday. Most importantly, Virginia beat the Big Red by turning to their midfield.
If Virginia can score from outside 10 yards, it is going to be extremely tough to tame. Just look at the Cavaliers' last two NCAA championship teams. Both the 2003 and 2006 had great attacks. But the thing that made both teams particularly good were their midfields.
So if Shamel Bratton is the next Chris Rotelli or Kyle Dixon or Matt Poskay (not so much in style as value to the team), then the Cavaliers are going to look good all the way through Memorial Day.
The ballot rundown, plus five extra teams:
1. Virginia (7-0)
2. Syracuse (3-1)
3. Princeton (4-0)
4. Notre Dame (4-0)
5. Maryland (4-1)
6. North Carolina (6-1)
7. Johns Hopkins (3-1)
8. Cornell (2-1)
9. Duke (5-2)
10. Massachusetts (3-1)
11. UMBC (3-2)
12. Georgetown (1-2)
13. Harvard (2-1)
14. Navy (4-2)
15. Hofstra (2-1)
16. Brown (3-1)
17. Denver (4-2)
18. St. John's (4-0)
19. Army (3-2)
20. Loyola (3-2)
21. Albany (2-1)
22. Colgate (2-3)
23. Villanova (4-0)
24. Ohio State (3-2)
25. Hobart (4-0)
--- Patrick Stevens
