NCAA Men's Lacrosse Week 0: Schedule, Upset Watch, New Regimes

College lacrosse is back. Oh, the sweet sound of that sentence.

They call this Week 0, when the early birds set flight in the first signs of spring.

Of the 78 teams in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse, 34 will be in action Saturday to commence the 2025 season.

That’s 17 games to whet your palette, with half the teams ranked in the USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Preseason Top 20 taking the field for the first time in an official capacity.

The headliner? A top-10 showdown between No. 9 Johns Hopkins and No. 10 Denver at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, one of the best college venues in the country. All eyes will be on the Lacrosse Capital of the West with the Pioneers’ surprising run to the final four in Matt Brown’s first season at the helm and the Blue Jays being a double-overtime loss to Virginia shy of their first championship weekend appearance since 2015.

It's far from the only tantalizing Week 0 encounter, however.

LINKS

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FIVE TO WATCH

NO. 9 HOPKINS (0-0) AT NO. 10 DENVER (0-0)

2 p.m. EST | Watch: MS+ | DraftKings: Hopkins -1.5

Hopkins storyline to watch: Is Matt Collison elite? A preseason All-American midfielder, the Canadian has a pair of 30-point seasons to his credit and is poised to take on more with the departures of Jacob Angelus and Garrett Degnon. The offense will look different regardless with assistant John Crawley leaving to become the head coach at High Point and Brian Kelly becoming offensive coordinator.

Denver storyline to watch: Jimmy Freehill’s health. The preseason first-team All-American defenseman sat out Denver’s scrimmage at Delaware. The Pioneers can ill afford to lose their lone holdover at close defense.

Bold prediction: Marek Tzagournis is the game’s top scorer. The all-time points in Ohio high school lacrosse history cut his teeth as Denver’s fourth attackman his freshman year and should slot in next to Cody Malawsky and Noah Manning on the Pioneers’ starting attack. The coaching staff is again talking up Malawsky as the next big thing out of DU. And while that may be true, Tzagournis should see his fair share of opportunities and is an excellent passer.

RICHMOND (0-0) AT NO. 6 MARYLAND (0-0)

12 p.m. EST | Watch: BTN+ | DraftKings: Maryland -5

Richmond storyline to watch: The Spiders’ ability to clip Maryland for the first time. They’ve never done it, going 0-4 against the Terps in a newer rivalry that began in 2019. Richmond fell 12-11 in double overtime a year ago in the season opener. There are questions with the top-level depth of this Maryland team, so this could be the year.

Maryland storyline to watch: The beginnings of another John Tillman masterclass. Maryland is going to be a work in progress in the early games of 2025. The best version of this Terps team will be the sum of its parts and not a one-man show, much like last year’s team that defied most expectations and made it to the NCAA championship game. What can Tillman do with this group to get back there again?

Bold prediction: Logan McNaney steals the show. McNaney had his “worst” year as the starter in 2024. In this case, “worst” is a relative term. When healthy and on his game, he’s one of the best netminders in the sport. Look for a casual 15-piece against Richmond.

UTAH (0-0) AT NO. 19 OHIO STATE (0-0)

12 p.m. EST | Watch: BTN+ | DraftKings: Ohio State -3.5

Utah storyline to watch: Can Utah wreak havoc in the middle of the field? In 2024, the Utes led the country in caused turnovers (159). Ohio State is a team focusing on offensive improvements this season, so if Utah can disrupt their flow, the bodes well for the two-time defending ASUN champ.

Ohio State storyline to watch: The return of Bobby Van Buren. Van Buren was limited to three games a year ago because of injury, and on a defense that lost Marcus Hudgins and Jacob Snyder to graduation, his presence will be crucial. How will he look in his first real game in almost a year?

Bold prediction: Pressure bursts pipes, and if Utah is going to be a pest on the ride, Ohio State could struggle. Utah will pick up right where it left off, causing a bunch of turnovers and riding that to an upset win.

RUTGERS (0-0) AT NO. 20 LEHIGH (0-0)

12 p.m. EST | Watch: ESPN+ | DraftKings: Rutgers -1.5

Rutgers storyline to watch: Almost no one is talking about Rutgers in a crowded Big Ten. They’re even favored here over a Lehigh team that won the Patriot League and has high expectations this season. So, how will Rutgers’ sleeper season begin?

Lehigh storyline to watch: Will Scudder spoke in the preseason about loading up a tough non-conference schedule. Rutgers is the first step in assuring that Lehigh can have a tournament-worthy resume, even if it doesn’t repeat as the Patriot League champion. Don’t expect Lehigh to take these non-conference games for granted.

Bold prediction: Lehigh is the home team yet still the underdog. Maybe that’s Big Ten bias. Expect the Mountain Hawks to come out swinging and make an early statement.

JACKSONVILLE (0-0) AT NO. 2 SYRACUSE (0-0)

12 p.m. EST | Watch: ACCNX | DraftKings: Syracuse -8

Jacksonville storyline to watch: John Galloway’s homecoming. The all-time winningest goalie in NCAA history returns to the place where he grew up and won back-to-back NCAA championships in 2008 and 2009. No Knute Rockne speeches needed from the ninth-year Dolphins coach.

Syracuse storyline to watch: It’s got to be the goalie, right? How poetic that Jimmy McCool, a highly rated prospect who spent the last season backing up Will Mark, will make his first career start in Galloway’s return to the Dome. The 6-foot-2, 213-pound junior will be tested by a Jacksonville team that ranked No. 8 nationally in scoring offense with 14.33 goals per game last year.

Bold prediction: John Mullen will finish north of 75 percent in his first game as Syracuse’s primary faceoff specialist. The 5-10, 203-pound weightlifting fiend garnered high preseason praise from head coach Gary Gait and takes over chief duties at the dot following the graduation of Mason Kohn.

UPSET WATCH

LOYOLA (0-0) AT NO. 14 GEORGETOWN (0-0)

12 p.m. EST | Watch: FLO | DraftKings: Georgetown -4.5

COLGATE (0-0) AT NO. 13 PENN STATE (0-0)

1 p.m. EST | Watch: BTN+ | DraftKings: Penn State -4

Vegas favors the home teams. Recent history favors the visitors. It was just a year ago that Loyola stomped Georgetown 18-10 and Colgate stunned Penn State 13-12 on opening day.

In D.C., the Greyhounds again have a chance to exploit a Hoyas team that’s reconstructing their offense after graduating a big-time scorer in Graham Bundy and primary distributor in TJ Haley. That said, Georgetown’s Ty Banks-led defense is one of the best in the land and Patriot League coaches don’t seem too high on Loyola, which they picked to finish sixth in the conference.

Colgate, on the other hand, garnered three first-place votes in the conference preseason poll and boasts a pair of preseason All-Americans in disruptive long pole Max Yates and shifty midfielder Hunter Drouin — the lefty whose breakthrough game was a four-goal showing at Panzer Stadium last year.

NEW REGIME WATCH

NAVY (0-0) AT HIGH POINT (0-0)

12 p.m. EST | Watch: ESPN+ | DraftKings: Navy -1.5

MARQUETTE (0-0) AT NO. 16 MICHIGAN (0-0)

1 p.m. EST | Watch: BTN+ | DraftKings: Michigan -7

John Crawley and Jake Richard paid their dues and now take the reins of a pair of mid-major programs with established postseason pedigrees.

Crawley, 30, earned a reputation as one of the game’s bright young offensive minds as an assistant at Lehigh and his alma mater Johns Hopkins. High Point hired him in June to succeed program founder Jon Torpey, who left to become the head coach at Brown.

Richard, 31, is Mr. Marquette. A fixture of the program since its inception in 2013, he was an All-American defensive midfielder for the Golden Eagles and served as an assistant coach under Joe Amplo and Andrew Stimmel.