Alas, the wait is nearly over.

With the 2020 women's lacrosse season upon us, the abundance of storylines can seem like a whirlwind. While every team embarks on the new season with hopes of hoisting the NCAA championship trophy, only a select few have the chops to contend.

There will be steps along the way that impact every team's pursuit of a national title, and the A-to-Z guide below will help you follow along during what's sure to be an entertaining spring season. Memorial Day nears, folks, but let's make sure we enjoy the three-month ride ahead.

A is for Andie Aldave.

The junior is fresh off an astounding season for Notre Dame in which she was named a first-team All-American and a Tewaaraton nominee. She scored 47 goals and shot 51.1%, both major jumps from her production as a freshman. Can she take another step forward?

B is for Boston College.

The Eagles lost their Big Three of Dempsey Arsenault, Sam Apuzzo and Kenzie Kent to graduation but gained an impact transfer in Charlotte North (who has already made her presence felt). The junior scored 82 goals last season and was expected to miss the 2020 season due to ACC transfer rules, but she was deemed eligible in October. That’s a boon for the Eagles.

C is for championship weekend.

Johns Hopkins’ Homewood Field is again home to the biggest weekend in lacrosse. Last season, a sellout crowd witnessed one of the best lacrosse games of all time, a 15-14 double-overtime win for Boston College over North Carolina in the NCAA semis. This year, the semifinals are Friday, May 22, followed by the championship game on Sunday, May 24.

D is for defense.

Four IWLCA All-American defenders from 2019 return, three of whom — Samantha Chenoweth, Emma Trenchard and Cara Trombetta — are slated to play. Maryland’s Lizzie Colson tore her ACL training with the U.S. national team in June, and a Maryland spokesperson confirmed to US Lacrosse Magazine that she will redshirt in 2020.

E is for Emily Hawryschuk.

She was the nation’s top breakout player in 2019. The senior attacker from Victor (N.Y.) was an IWLCA first-team All-American after a 75-goal, 19-assist campaign. Syracuse has high expectations as the No. 2 team in the Nike/US Lacrosse Preseason Division I Women’s Top 20, and Hawryschuk is a major reason why. She's an absolute game-breaker on offense and impacts the game just as heavily on the draw.

F is for February.

The month we’ve all been waiting for. Lacrosse is back, and the road to Homewood Field begins. The schedule doesn’t pick up until the middle of the month, but then, it’ll seem like a mad dash to the finish line. Count us in.

G is for growth.

Last season, four of the most recent powers — Boston College, North Carolina, Northwestern and Maryland — competed during championship weekend. Boston College was a newcomer to the mix in 2017, and James Madison was a stunning NCAA champion in 2018. Is this the year a newcomer stakes its claim for the top prize? Or will a once-prominent program rise back into the mix?

H is for Kali Hartshorn.

She has set the national landscape ablaze in the draw circle, and in the process has climbed the Maryland record book. So much so that she’s approaching Taylor Cummings’ all-time Maryland record of 509 draw controls as she enters her senior season. Harstshorn’s 388 already rank 17^th in Division I history, and her average of 129 per year puts her on track — albeit, just barely — to pass Cummings.

I is for Ivy League.

It figures to be uber-competitive again. Princeton and Penn are the clear top teams, but a team like Dartmouth made strides in 2019 and is a threat in 2020. The Ivy League also boasts some of the best individual talents, like Sam Fish, Kyla Sears, Erin Barry and Gabby Rosenzweig (more on her later).

J is for Jacksonville.

The Dolphins tore through opposing defenses to the tune of 18 goals per game in 2019, and it’s reasonable to believe they’ll do it again. They return six 20-goal scorers — Jenny Kinsey, Alyssa Arnold, Alexis Deaken, Lauren Phillips, Molly Brock and McKenna Rushford — meaning Atlantic Sun defenses are in for a tough go.

K is for Ally Kennedy.

A popular preseason choice to be a Tewaaraton finalist, and for good reason. The Stony Brook senior went from an unheralded recruit out of North Babylon High School (N.Y.) to one of the best athletes in program history. In 21 games in 2019, she recorded 84 goals, 124 draw controls, 47 ground balls and 15 turnovers. Not to mention the next-level speed with which she plays. As far as pure athletes go, she’s one of the best.

L is for Kelly Larkin.

Somewhat quietly, Larkin led the nation in points per game (5.76) in 2019. Her 121 points (69 goals, 52 assists) ranked third nationally behind Boston College standouts Kenzie Kent (127) and Sam Apuzzo (124). Navy, the preseason No. 16 team, fell in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Virginia but could be in for a bigger breakthrough.

M is for Michigan.

Was last season a fluke? Now’s the time for the Wolverines to prove they have staying power. A program-best season in 2019 saw Michigan play to a 16-4 record and win a first-round game in the NCAA tournament. The Big Ten remains a gauntlet with Northwestern and Maryland at the top, but Michigan could establish itself as a threat to them both.

N is for new coaches.

There are over a dozen. The two to keep tabs on, though, are Amy Bokker at Ohio State and Danielle Spencer at Stanford. Bokker heads to the Buckeyes after leading Stanford to six conference titles and eight NCAA tournament appearances in 11 seasons. Spencer joins Stanford after guiding Dartmouth to its first Ivy League title since 2011.

O is for Jamie Ortega.

The US Lacrosse Magazine Division I Women’s Preseason Player of the Year for top-ranked North Carolina. The junior has been off to a blistering start to her collegiate career, netting 151 goals in two seasons. At this pace, she’ll continue to ascend the Tar Heels record book — and quickly — as a junior. With the motivation of the 2019 NCAA semifinal loss to Boston College, Ortega could put up gaudy numbers.

P is for Alyssa Parrella.

Another player rewriting record books. She doesn’t get a ton of attention at Hofstra, but as she enters her senior season, she could be on the cusp of a national breakout for an emerging Pride squad. She’s the Colonial Athletic Association’s single-season leader in goals (85) and goals per game (4.47) and is second in points (105). She’s 33 goals away from becoming the CAA’s career goals leader and 65 points away from the career points mark.

Q is for Quinton Hoch-Bullen.

She tallied 59 goals a season ago and was under the radar, for the most part. Now a junior, the attacker from Ontario could be in for big things. Rival coaches have opined that Denver’s offense could take strides, and with Hoch-Bullen leading the charge, she’s in for some national recognition.

R is for the Rosenzweig sisters.

Gabby, a senior, stars at Penn as a returning Tewaaraton nominee and IWLCA third-team All-American. Livy, a junior at Loyola, is was a 2019 IWLCA first-team All-American who produced 46 goals and 70 assists. Just imagine those backyard 1-v-1s. We’ll get a glimpse into that battle when Loyola travels to Penn on March 7.

S is for the Richmond Spiders.

Richmond boasts the No. 10 incoming class of recruits, according to Inside Lacrosse. Richmond’s season ended in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Loyola, but the Spiders were riding high after a thrilling 19-18 OT victory over UMass in the Atlantic 10 tournament. This could be the year Richmond makes some noise in the national tournament.

T is for TV Listings.

For a comprehensive, daily list of which games are being televised across men’s and women’s Division I lacrosse, head to here.

U is for "up for grabs."

Sure, North Carolina was an easy choice for No. 1 in the preseason rankings, but it seems as if it’s anybody’s game in 2020. Even the casual women’s lacrosse fan could have guessed that Boston College and Maryland would duke it out for the NCAA title in 2019, but we’re not so sure there’s a clear-cut favorite at this point. Having the 2020 season be “up for grabs” is certainly a good thing for the sport.

V is for venues.

Tierney Field at US Lacrosse Headquarters in Sparks Glencoe, Md., will host several teams for neutral-site contests in 2020. On Feb. 16, James Madison will play UConn in a non-conference game for the fourth straight season. In quirkier venue news, Syracuse will play three neutral-site games and finish with nine of its last 10 games on the road as the Carrier Dome begins renovations in March.

W is for "wow" factor.

A quality which several players across the country possess. These players go beyond the goals and assists to make jaw-dropping, highlight-reel level plays with regularity. A few who come to mind: Northwestern’s Izzy Scane, Virginia Tech’s Paige Petty, Boston College’s Charlotte North, UNC’s Taylor Moreno, Maryland’s Brindi Griffin and UNC’s Scottie Rose Growney. These are hardly the only ones.

X for the X.

A place from which seven of last year’s top 10 assist-getters return to dominate. Kenzie Kent, the nation’s leading assister, graduated, as did Marissa Brown of Richmond and Hannah Powers of Loyola. But Katie Hoeg (73 assists), Livy Rosenzweig (70), Gabby Rosenzweig (63), Kailey Conry (55), Mia DeRuggiero (53), Kelly Larkin (52) and Monica Borzillo (47) are all back.

Y is for young stars.

There are several beginning their college careers in the spring. Notre Dame boasts two touted freshmen in Madison Ahearn and Kasey Choma, while Livi Lawton (UNC), Sophia DiCenso (Richmond) and Shaylan Ahearn (Maryland) could also carve out roles with their respective teams.

Z is for Zips.

The Akron Zips will join the D-I fray this spring, competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference as a first-year varsity program. The roster has 24 freshmen, sophomore Kaylee Riggins (an LIU Brooklyn transfer) and junior Anna Dennison (a Fort Lewis College transfer). The Zips will be coached by Christy Mitchell, who most recently spent six seasons at Walsh University.