Defense wins championships…or so they say, and I’ve always blindly believed. Defense can be so simple yet so complex. I will humbly say that from my comfy seat on my couch, I cannot begin to know the nuances of a man-to-man defense that some teams have taken years to perfect. The beauty of a well-executed double team to caused-turnover finished with a goal is not lost on me. So bear with me while I try to dissect the nation’s top defensive units.
So what teams do have the best defense in the country and what are they doing that sets them apart? Man to man or zone? High pressure or pack it in? To switch or not to switch? Let’s break down what’s working and what’s not.
Who’s got the best defense in D1 right now? Here’s the top 10 Scoring Defense from NCAA rankings *as of 3/3/24, along with their Week 3 national rankings.
https://www.ncaa.com/stats/lacrosse-women/d1:
1. Michigan (#6 in the country)
2. Boston College (#1 in the country)
3. Cincinnati
4. Notre Dame (#5 in the country)
5. Navy (#17 in the country)
6. Ohio State
7. Stony Brook (#12 in the country)
8. Denver (#10 in the country)
9. Maryland (#9 in the country)
10. UMBC
Of these, let’s focus on the Top 10 IL/IWLCA Division 1 Poll from Week 3 (https://www.insidelacrosse.com/league/wdi/polls)
#1 Boston College, #6 Michigan, and #9 Maryland all play man-to-man defense. It’s all back to basics and 1v1’s for these teams. Just this week I read a post from FirstClassLacrosse (on instagram) quoting Clemson’s Associate Head Coach Bill Olin talking about “eliminating slides.” This is a MINDSET, that grounds the defense in good principles while allowing for slides and adjustments to be made when necessary.
At the core of a good man-to-man defense is a phenomenal goalie. Michigan’s Erin O’Grady is ranked #10, with 58 saves this season. And Maryland’s Emily Sterling is ranked #23, with 48 saves. Shea Dolce for BC needs a shoutout as well, and comes up huge against the nation’s top scorers.
But I must say, what I write next will probably show you what defense I prefer.
#5 Notre Dame and #10 Denver both play notorious zone defense. Denver’s zone even had a feature article last year about their “Hot Pink” zone which led them to their first ever Final Four.
Their top defenders are back and ranked among the highest in the country for caused turnovers. Anna Palmisano, Sam Thacker and Trinity McPherson are all making an impact in the CTO category in the national poll.
Notre Dame made history again this weekend, defeating #7 ranked top scoring offense UNC, where the Irish defense was the X factor. Coach Lauren Benner states, “Our defense at Notre Dame has been a labor of love the past year and a half… It’s a high level zone and has taken time for players to grasp its concepts completely. I have seen incredible growth this year after having a full season under our belts in 2023.”
I think it’s important to note that two Notre Dame players earned spots in the CTO rankings as well. Keelin Schlageter and Olivia Dooley each have caused 9+ turnovers this season.
Defenders that wreak havoc and cause turnovers are momentum shifters. I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that the teams who play zone have more players causing turnovers. Especially when, as Coach Benner says, “The goal was to build a zone that used 1v1 principals paired with an aggressive mentality.” Denver and Notre Dame are both high on the caused-turnovers poll with Denver at 64 and Notre Dame at 66 (https://www.ncaa.com/stats/lacrosse-women/d1/current/team/264)
Denver and Notre Dame are taking the best parts of man-to-man defense, while also giving players more confidence to take risks and come up with big stops, beyond a goalie save.
At the end of the day, Coach Benner says it best, “The players are completely bought in, trusting in each piece of our defense which is leading to amazing defensive unit success, and even more team success… They put in incredible work each week... and take pride in their craft. It’s unbelievably rewarding to coach this team and see the pride they embody and display every practice and every game executing our defense.”
Buy-in and trust are at the core of a successful defense, no matter what version you’re executing in a game. Teams making it hard for top offenses to score, are pumping up their team and creating a positive ripple effect. Which in turn, leads to a more productive offense. When your defense makes stops, you can afford to make the inevitable mistakes on offense without it always resulting in a ball in the back of your net.
Will this year’s champion in fact have the best defense? I can't wait to find out!
MADDY MORRISSEY
Maddy is a former Duke Lacrosse standout and Founder of South Bay Lacrosse and The LA Select in Hermosa Beach, CA.