NCAA Men's Lacrosse Week 2 Preview: 5 to Watch, Clash of the Neighbors

The Ivy League doesn’t start play until the third Saturday of February, and luckily for us, it’s here on the earliest possible date this year.

Five of the Ivies are ranked in the USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, with both Princeton and Cornell in the top five. The league went 4-3 in 2024 openers. Five of the seven are favorites this Saturday.

The rest of the Top 20 has gotten started with two-time defending NCAA champion and top-ranked Notre Dame debuting Wednesday with a 24-6 win over Cleveland State.

Our final game to watch Saturday should be another classic among two storied programs who only rekindled their non-conference rivalry in 2022. Maryland and Syracuse were tied six times in the second half last year before the Terps pulled out an overtime win.

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PICK FIVE

NO. 14 PENN (0-0) AT NO. 15 GEORGETOWN (1-1)

Saturday 12 p.m. Eastern | Watch: Big East Digital Network | DK: Georgetown -1.5

Penn storyline to watch: The Quakers narrowly missed a spot in the NCAA tournament last year. A win over a Hoyas team that has won two of their last three meetings is the sort of difference maker they could need on Selection Sunday. Penn will need its offense to come to play. They can rely on an elite defense led by Brendon Lavelle and goalie Emmet Carroll, but the Quakers have yet to score double digits in five meetings against Georgetown.

Georgetown storyline to watch: Freshman Ross Prince has stepped in at X for an injured James Ball and won 69 percent of his faceoffs through two games. That’s given the Hoyas plenty of opportunities. Can they be more consistent with them? A week after flexing their depth in a convincing win over Loyola, Georgetown’s shooters suffered through a 2-for-27 stretch in an 11-6 loss to Johns Hopkins.

Key matchup: Two of the top goalies in the game are at either end. Penn’s Carroll led the country with a .594 save percentage last year. He was a second-team All-American. Georgetown’s Anderson Moore was sixth in the country with a 9.52 goals against average last year and honorable mention All-American. His athleticism is a big part of the Hoyas’ 10-man ride. Moore made 12 stops and Carroll had 11 in last year’s Georgetown win. A great game by either could swing the outcome.

NO. 19 HARVARD (0-0) AT PROVIDENCE (2-0)

Saturday 12 p.m. Eastern | Watch: FLO | DK: Harvard -3

Harvard storyline to watch: The Crimson exploded in last year’s opener against Providence, scoring 10 straight goals on their way to a 23-7 romp. Led by Tewaaraton Award Watch List member Sam King, can Harvard be even more dynamic? All-Ivy picks Andrew Perry and Owen Gaffney return after missing 2024 due to injury to blend into an already formidable midfield that includes 25-point scorers Logan Ip and Miles Botkiss. The offense could take pressure off a defense that will have a new face in cage, possibly highly touted freshman goalie Graham Stevens.

Providence storyline to watch: Are the Friars a Top 20 team? They beat Bryant for the first time since 2020, and a win over Harvard would be their first ever in the series. Ryan Bell, who is just four points away from being the program’s all-time leading scorer, is tops in the country at 7.0 assists per game. The Friars offense has scored 15 goals in each of its first two games, and the defense appears settled in front of Union College grad transfer Dan Donahue, who made 15 saves in the win over Bryant.

Key matchup: Two of last year’s worst ranked teams on faceoffs (Providence 60th, Harvard 64th) try to get the upper hand at X. Quinn McConnaughey, who was at .469 last year, has gone 27-for-44 (.614) for the Friars. Owen Umansky had a good fall for the Crimson, and he is in line to take over for the graduated Andrew DeGennaro. Umansky won 4 of 5 at X in last year’s matchup with Providence. Harvard won 21 of 31 faceoffs last year to key the blowout.

NO. 3 PRINCETON (0-0) AT NO. 9 PENN STATE (2-0)

Saturday 1 p.m. Eastern | Watch: BTN+ | DK: Princeton -1.5

Princeton storyline to watch: Probably the Tigers’ biggest question mark is how well Ryan Croddick replaces graduated goalie Michael Gianforcaro (now at North Carolina). Croddick played 24 minutes total last year, and now he faces a Penn State team with two games under its belt in which the Nittany Lions have shown some firepower. Having stellar senior defenders Colin Mulshine and Michael Bath in front should help, and Andrew McMeekin’s faceoff success could also help take some pressure off.

Penn State storyline to watch: Will Penn State keep up its offensive production against its most formidable defensive opponent yet? The Nittany Lions were concerned coming into the year about how fast their offense would mesh, but returners Matt Traynor and Kyle Lehman have combined for 20 points, and freshman Hunter Aquino and transfers Ryan DiRocco and Jack Aimone have made an immediate impact. Villanova held them in check – for a half – before PSU erupted for 11 second-half goals.

Key matchup: Princeton’s offense against Penn State’s defense. The Tigers had the No. 16 offense last year (tied with Penn State), and their top trio returns with another year of experience. Coulter Mackesy is a senior now, and Nate Kabiri and Colin Burns come off huge freshmen campaigns. They’ll be challenging a Penn State defense of Alex Ross, Kevin Parnham and Will Costin who have combined for 13 caused turnovers and 14 ground balls to support goalie Jack Fracyon, who has picked up where he left off with a .632 save percentage.

NO. 2 SYRACUSE (3-0) AT NO. 7 MARYLAND (2-0)

Saturday 2 p.m. Eastern | Watch: BTN+ | DK: Syracuse -3

Syracuse storyline to watch: The Orange hope to break a six-game losing streak against Maryland, tied with Notre Dame for their longest current skid against any opponent. Syracuse hasn’t won since Al Cavalieri started in goal for flu-ridden John Galloway in an 11-6 NCAA quarterfinal win in 2009. A win Saturday would give them their best start since going 5-0 in 2020 before the season was canceled.

Maryland storyline to watch: Which offense will show up? The one that gave Maryland a 7-0 lead at halftime against Richmond and scored five goals in the fourth quarter to overcome a three-goal deficit in their overtime win over Loyola? Or the one that settled for long-range shots and turned the ball over six times and had just six shots on goal in the first half to create that deficit in the first place?

Key matchup: Can Maryland contain Joey Spallina and Co. now that Ajax Zappitello has graduated? The Terps put the Syracuse offense on lockdown last year, holding them scoreless for more than 20 minutes. It would be more impressive if they could do anything like that against a sixth-ranked offense (18.33 goals per game) that has averaged more than 50 shots per game. Thirteen players already have a goal for the Orange. Maryland is allowing just 7.00 goals per game. Something has to give.

NO. 12 TOWSON (0-2) AT NO. 20 NAVY (2-0)

Sunday 12 p.m. Eastern | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Towson -2.5

Towson storyline to watch: How do the Tigers respond after losses to a pair of top 10 teams? They lost soundly to Syracuse but had a chance to tie Johns Hopkins in the final 30 seconds of their season opener. There are no moral victories for a team with lofty expectations. The Tigers offense hasn’t hit its stride with 17 goals through two games after being seventh nationally in scoring a year ago. Maybe they miss the graduated Nick DeMaio more than anticipated, and Joaquin Villagomez hasn’t played yet due to injury, but redshirt freshman Ronan Fitzpatrick (seven goals, one assist) has been a revelation.

Navy storyline to watch: None of the Mids’ returners have forgotten that Towson handed them their worst defeat of 2024. The 12-goal loss came in the teams’ first meeting since 2015. Navy is 2-0 but hasn’t seen a team the caliber of Towson yet, and given how hungry the Tigers are and last year’s outcome, this is Navy’s biggest test yet by far. Ten different Mids scored in their win over High Point and 15 scored against first-year program Iona.

Key matchup: The battle at X is an interesting one. Both Towson’s Matt Constantinides and Navy’s Zach Hayashi have started slower than anticipated after ranking back-to-back in the top 20 last year. A first-team CAA selection last year with a .573 win percentage at X, Constantinides has won just 14 of 40 faceoffs (.350) against formidable foes. Hayashi, the Patriot League Rookie of the Year last spring after posting a .575 faceoff percentage, has won 17 of 33 (.515) after going 9-for-23 at High Point.

howdy, neighbor

NO. 6 JOHNS HOPKINS (3-0) AT LOYOLA (0-2)

Saturday 12 p.m. Eastern | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Johns Hopkins -5.5

This one, on paper, looks like a runaway win for a Blue Jays team that has started hot against three ranked opponents. Hopkins has won two of the last three games in this series but is 4-6 in the last 10. They’re an astonishing 28-2 at home, but Saturday’s game is down Charles Street at Loyola, where the Greyhounds are 9-7 against the Jays. It’s a return for Luke Staudt, who was in goal for Loyola when they won in 2023 and when they lost last year. He’s back in goal, but now for Hopkins as a grad student.

RICHMOND (1-1) AT NO. 5 VIRGINIA (1-0)

Saturday 12 p.m. Eastern | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Virginia -7

One week after the Spiders didn’t score in the first half in a loss to Maryland, Richmond didn’t allow a first-half goal in a decisive win over Robert Morris. Goalie Zach Vigue made nine saves in just under 54 minutes to earn Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week. He made 16 saves the only time that Richmond has beaten UVA ‑ 17-13 in 2022. Last year’s meeting was a one-goal contest going into the fourth quarter before Virginia pulled away for a 14-10 win.