Following a tough loss to eventual national champion Boston College in the NCAA Tournament semifinals this past Friday, UNC fell two spots to No. 3 on Tuesday in the final Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association national rankings for 2021.

This marks the first time all season the Tar Heels have been knocked from their perch atop the IWCLA rankings, having carried a perfect 20-0 record and a 27-game winning streak into the Final Four.

UNC entered Friday’s semifinal having won its first 20 games of the year by an average of just under 10 goals per game, including a 21-9 win over Boston College back in March.

The ACC champions were the third-highest ranked team from their own conference in the final poll, behind Boston College and Syracuse — who played for the national title on Sunday.

Northwestern and Stony Brook completed the top five, while the rest of the top 10 included: No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Duke, No. 9 Loyola and No. 10 Maryland.

No. 11 Virginia and No. 25 Louisville joined Boston College, Syracuse, UNC, Notre Dame and Duke as ACC teams included among the mix.

For the full rankings from the final IWCLA poll of 2021, click here.

 

 

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