NCAA Men's Lacrosse Week 3: Schedule, Key Matchups, Revenge Narrative

Schedule  | TV Listings | Rankings

Saturdays are for college lacrosse. But before we dive into the slate ahead, it’s worth revisiting a particularly productive workweek for several Division I teams making early-season statements.

Ranked 10th in the USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20, Army continued its searing start with a 14-3 beatdown of 17th-ranked Yale. The Black Knights improved to 3-0 and have outscored UMass, Rutgers and Yale by a combined 39-15 margin. No joke.

Unranked (but maybe not for long) Fairfield also is 3-0 after defeating Sacred Heart in an OT thriller that ended with players jumping into snowbanks to celebrate.

Virginia and Penn prevailed in a pair of get-right games following losses, with the 13th-ranked Cavaliers throttling High Point 17-8 and the 15th-ranked Quakers handling Albany 14-8.

And how about the Patriot League? It’s not just Army doing damage to the Ivy League. Unbeaten Boston University edged Brown 8-7 and Colgate defeated Harvard 19-15 in a shootout. And let’s not forget about Navy’s hot start or the fact that Loyola had both Maryland and Hopkins on the ropes.

There’s more fun in store Saturday. Establish your multi-screen setup now.

FIVE TO WATCH

#14 DENVER (2-1) AT #5 CORNELL (1-0)

Sat 11:30 a.m. EST | Watch: ESPN+| DK: Cornell -4.5

Denver storyline to watch: Is a goalie controversy afoot? The Pioneers had a short leash on reigning Big East Goalie of the Year Malcolm Kleban against Utah. They pulled him after he allowed three goals in the first two minutes and in relief freshman Grayson Manning was nothing short of sensational. He made 16 saves on 21 shots in blizzard-like conditions as Denver prevailed 10-8.

Cornell storyline to watch: Revenge. Cornell's 17-16 loss at Denver at this time last year likely cost it an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. It was a wild affair. The Big Red had a 14-10 lead in the third quarter when CJ Kirst was called for a crease violation — the dispute over which resulted in two non-releasable penalties on which the Pioneers capitalized and swung the momentum of the game.

Key matchup: Jimmy Freehill vs. CJ Kirst. Two first-team preseason All-Americans going toe to toe. Freehill has the length and range that plays well against more athletic dodgers and might be one of the few defensemen in the country capable of neutralizing Kirst, who started his Tewaaraton-potential campaign with a six spot against Lehigh.

— Matt DaSilva

#20 MICHIGAN (0-0) AT #6 DUKE (0-0)

Sat 12 p.m. EST | Watch: ACCNX | DK: Duke -5

Michigan storyline to watch: Michigan had some tough shoes to fill following graduation losses from its back to back Big Ten championship teams, perhaps none bigger than faceoff specialist Justin Wiefeldt. Michigan got used to a lot of make-it, take-it with Wietfeldt at the dot the last few years, but the Wolverines are winning just 47.9 percent this year. Duke, led by freshman Ben McCarthy (58.1 %), has been efficient in its first three games.

Duke storyline to watch: If the Blue Devils are going to move to 4-0 for the second straight season, they’ll need to get midfielder Andrew McAdorey more involved in the offense. Duke’s top returning scorer and a three-time All-American, McAdorey has just eight shots through three games. He’s still been effective — three assists with no shots in the opener, two big second-half goals against Jacksonville and a hat trick against Saint Joseph’s — but Duke is going to need him to play a bigger role on an offense that graduated all three starting attackmen.

Key matchup: Hunter Taylor, the starter in both of Michigan’s Big Ten championship game wins, made 10 saves while allowing just one goal in its season-opening win over Marquette. Since then, he’s made just 14 saves while allowing 24 goals. He’ll need to revert to form as he faces one of the best-shooting teams in the country. Duke’s 41.8 team shooting percentage trails only Notre Dame. In just three games, 18 different Duke players have already scored goals.

— Brian Logue

#8 CAROLINA (2-0) AT #4 HOPKINS (4-0)

Sat 12 p.m. EST | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Hopkins -1.5

North Carolina storyline to watch: North Carolina goalie Michael Gianforcaro has been everything Joe Breschi hoped for and more. The graduate transfer from Princeton ranks second in the country with a 69.7 save percentage. He won’t face a lethal offense — Hopkins is averaging 11.0 goals per game — but he needs to be sharp, because Hopkins’ defense has been very frugal, allowing just 8.5 goals per game.

Johns Hopkins storyline to watch: At some point, Johns Hopkins has to be looking for a breather on the schedule. News flash, it’s not coming. The Blue Jays have zero freebies on the schedule this season. They opened with four straight wins — three of them on the road — and all but Loyola was in the Top 20 at the time of the game. Can they keep rising to the occasion against this gauntlet? After Saturday, they continue testing the ACC waters against Virginia and Syracuse and then hit the road to play Navy before closing with five straight Big Ten games.

Key matchup: Who does Johns Hopkins match up stud defenseman Scott Smith on? Is it sophomore Dom Pietramala, who looks even better in his second year back from an injury that delayed the start of his career, or do they match him up with all-everything Owen Duffy? Pietramala, who will playing on the field where his dad created quite a legacy as a player and coach, has nine goals in the first two games. Duffy was held to just one assist against Stony Brook, but had four goals in a season-opening win over Michigan.

— Brian Logue

#3 MARYLAND (3-0) AT #2 PRINCETON (1-0)

Sat 12 p.m. EST | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Maryland -1.5

Maryland storyline to watch: What data will iPad impresario John Tillman exploit next? He mentioned last week that defensive coordinator Jesse Bernhardt used data points from (friend of the site) Lacrosse Reference to build a game plan to neutralize Syracuse. Princeton only has one game under its belt, an imperfect OT win at Penn State — a game that was moved indoors due to weather.

Princeton storyline to watch: It's not quite Duke over Virginia, but Maryland sure has had Princeton's number of late. They’ve played five times in the last three seasons (twice in the NCAA tournament) and the Tigers have not led at any point in any of the games. Overall, the Terps have won eight straight in the series. You'd have to go back to the 2004 NCAA quarterfinals to find the last time Princeton beat Maryland.

Key matchup: Chad Palumbo and Tucker Wade versus Maryland rope. Princeton's offense runs through arguably the best 1-2 attack duo in the country in Coulter Mackesy and Nate Kabiri. The attack unit as a whole accounted for nine of the Tigers' 11 goals against Penn State. Maryland will exploit such one-dimensionality. And thus Princeton will need more from their top two threats of the midfield going up against Terps short sticks Eric Kolar and George Stamos as well as long-stick midfielder AJ Larkin.

— Matt DaSilva

#1 NOTRE DAME (2-0) AT #12 GEORGETOWN (2-1)

Sat 12 p.m. EST | Watch: FLO | DK: Notre Dame -6

Notre Dame storyline to watch: When do the football guys get going? Kevin Corrigan is slow-playing it with his two-sport studs, notably Jordan Faison, who has practiced the last two weeks but was held out of the Irish's first two games and likely won't play Saturday. "I really want him to be fresh and ready in April and May," Corrigan told WSBT, before delivering the quote of the year. "I don't want him dragging around thinking, 'It's been a long year.' I want him going, 'Hot dog, it's May.'" Will we see No. 1 recruit Matt Jeffery, though? Notre Dame has already demonstrated phenomenal midfield depth. Imagine how good the Irish will be at full strength.

Georgetown storyline to watch: As predicted, the defense is carrying the mail while the offense finds its footing. A low-scoring slugfest would suit the Hoyas well. Problem is, you'd have to go back to April 30, 2023 (a 12-8 loss to Virginia) to find the last time someone managed to keep the Irish to single-digit scoring. Georgetown played Notre Dame twice last year and with a much deeper and more experienced offense managed 11 goals in both games. One was an 11-10 OT victory, the Irish's lone defeat in their march to a second straight NCAA title, and the other a 16-11 NCAA quarterfinal loss.

Key matchup: They don't face each other, but we'll get to see two of the top young defensemen in the game in Shawn Lyght (Notre Dame) and Ty Banks (Georgetown). Will Lyght draw his former teammate Fulton Bayman? He couldn't break through the logjam of excellent attackmen in South Bend but has found a nice niche as the Hoyas' top scorer (six goals, four assists) through three games.

— Matt DaSilva