NCAA Men's Lacrosse Week 6: Schedule, Storylines, Odds and More

Schedule | TV Listings | Rankings

We're starting to dip our toes deeper into the conference play waters, but there's still plenty of time for other rivals to mix things up.

Here's a look at some of this weekend's top games.

FIVE TO WATCH

#5 ARMY (6-0, 2-0 PL) AT LEHIGH (2-4, 1-0 PL)

Sat 12 p.m. EDT | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Army -5.5

Army storyline to watch: A year ago, Army had some big nonconference wins, but got left out of the NCAA tournament after stumbling some in the Patriot League. The Black Knights know what's at stake and will be primed to play in its toughest conference game to date.

Lehigh storyline to watch: After going 0-4 against a strong slate (three of the four against current Top 20 teams) to open the season, the Mountain Hawks have won two straight. For the season, Lehigh is averaging 35.8 shots per game, but in its 13-8 win over Navy last weekend, the Mountain Hawks let it fly with a season-high 51 shots. What approach will they take against the nation's No. 1 defense?

Notable: Lehigh won the Patriot League tournament last year — and the league's only bid to the NCAA tournament. The league has not had two teams in the tournament since 2021 when Lehigh and Loyola both qualified in a COVID-modified season.

#2 PRINCETON (4-1, 0-0 Ivy) AT #7 CORNELL (4-1, 0-0 Ivy)

Sat 12 p.m. EDT | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Cornell -1.5

Princeton storyline to watch: Three of Princeton’s first five games have been decided by two goals or less and the Tigers have won all three of those games. The Tigers offense has been good enough to win those close battles, but they’ll need one of their best performances of the season to match Cornell’s firepower. Senior Coulter Mackesy leads the team with 18 goals, but no one else has more than seven. Someone else will need to step up, like Chad Palumbo did with four goals against North Carolina.

Cornell storyline to watch: Can Cornell regain its mojo? The Big Red were staring 5-0 in the face when it allowed a depleted Penn State team to rally from four goals down in the final three minutes of the game to eventually beat Cornell 13-12 in overtime. Does the loss refocus Cornell or send them off track? The Big Red still rank second in the country in scoring offense at 15.8 goals per game, led by Tewaaraton candidate C.J. Kirst with 33 points on 59.0 percent shooting.

Notable: Neither team wants to head to the sin bin in this game. Princeton ranks second nationally converting seven of its 10 man-up opportunities this season. Cornell isn’t far behind, ranking fourth with six of 10 conversions, four of those coming from the stick of William Firth.

#8 DUKE (7-1) AT #13 RICHMOND (5-2)

Sat 12 p.m. EDT | Watch: ESPN+ | 

Duke storyline to watch:  Duke has gotten big-time additions from grad transfers in recent years – Michael Sowers and Josh Zawada come to mind – and you can add Eric Malever to the list. The Georgia native had 105 points in his three healthy seasons at Maryland (he missed 2023 with an injury), highlighted by a career-high 48 in the Terps’ national championship season in 2022. He’s on pace to obliterate that mark, leading the Blue Devils in goals (19), assists (19) and points (38) after just eight games. Malever had been a consistent presence for Duke’s offense with at least four points in seven of the first eight games.

Richmond storyline to watch: It shouldn’t have to at this point, but Richmond gets one more chance to prove itself for the doubters. The Spiders came into this year unranked after heavy personnel losses and then went scoreless in the first half and trailed 11-2 entering the final quarter in its season opener against Maryland. They finished strong that game, upset Virginia and had Cornell on the ropes in a one-goal loss. The Spiders are plenty tested for Duke.

Notable: Richmond has its own impact grad transfer, defenseman Mitchell Dunham. A two-time first team All-MAAC defender and the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, Dunham has slid in nicely to the Spiders always stout defense. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Canadian leads the team with 12 caused turnovers.

#1 MARYLAND (6-0) AT #15 VIRGINIA (3-3)

Sat 4 p.m. EDT | Watch: ACCN | DK: Maryland -3.5

Maryland storyline to watch: Maryland is far from the flashiest team in the country, and they couldn’t care less. Logan McNaney’s strong play in goal (No. 3 in the country with a 65.6 save percentage) is part of the success behind the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense (7.2 goals/game). But they also win because they don’t beat themselves. The Terps clear the ball better than anyone in the country (93.5%) and commit the fewest turnovers of anyone (12.67 per game). Can Virginia’s usually dominant ride make a dent?

Virginia storyline to watch: Will Matt Nunes be back in goal for the Cavaliers? Virginia went into the season with no firm answer as to who would get the job. Kyle Morris, who started the 2024 finale after Nunes struggled in the second half of last season, started the first five games this season. Playing back in his hometown of Houston last week against Towson, Nunes got the nod and made 15 saves while allowing just six goals in a victory. Nunes, who started the bulk of his first three seasons in Charlottesville, made 11 saves in Virginia’s 11-10 regular season win over Maryland last year.

Notable: They haven’t been together in the ACC for quite some time, but this rivalry hasn’t diminished. Virginia ended Maryland’s seasons in 2019 and 2021 on its way to a pair of NCAA championships and Maryland has since returned the favor, ending the Cavaliers 2022 and 2024 campaigns in the NCAA tournament.

#6 OHIO STATE (7-1) AT #20 DENVER (4-3)

Sun 2 p.m. EST | Watch: Midco Sports Plus | DK: Ohio State -2.5

Ohio State storyline to watch: The Buckeyes go from being the hunter to the hunted. Ever since giving up 19 goals in a season-opening loss to Utah, Ohio State has been the underdog in its big matchups - which resulted in wins over Virginia and Notre Dame. How will they handle the pressure? Ohio State is giving up just 6.0 goals per game during its current seven-game winning streak with Caleb Fyock playing lights out in goal. 

Denver storyline to watch: Denver goes as its defense goes. The Pioneers are giving up 14.3 goals per game in their three losses, but just 7.0 goals per game in their four wins. One of those wins was a 10-8 victory the same Utah team that gave Ohio State fits in its opener. Grayson Manning came off the bench to make 16 saves in that victory., but he was pulled last weekend against Yale. Malcolm Kleban made 15 saves in a relief role in that game as the Pioneers' coaching staff looks for an answer in net.

Notable: Shoutout to the Great Western Lacrosse League, which helped turned this game into a rivalry. But it's a rivalry dominated by Denver in recent seasons. The Pioneers have won four straight in the series and six of the last seven. Ohio State's last win came in 2017 and the Buckeyes haven't won in Denver since 2009.

RIVALRY WATCH

DELAWARE (3-2, 0-0 CAA) AT TOWSON (1-5, 0-0 CAA)

Sat 12 p.m. EDT | Watch: FloSports | DK: Towson -1.5

Fairfield has stolen the early thunder in the CAA, but this rivalry game takes on some special significance this year. With Delaware's football program upgrading to the FBS level, this will mark the final regular season conference game for two longtime conference foes that have followed each other from the East Coast Conference to the North Atlantic Conference to America East and finally to the CAA. Delaware will be in the Atlantic 10 for lacrosse next season.

YALE (1-3, 0-0 Ivy) AT #16 HARVARD (4-1, 0-0 Ivy)

Sat 1 p.m. EDT | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Harvard -1.5

After an 0-3 start, Yale's path to the NCAA tournament will have to run through the Ivy League. Given the strength of the league this season, making it to the four-team Ivy League tournament is tough enough. Yale has given up double-digit goals in all four games, so Harvard (15.2 goals/game, 4th in NCAA) and Sam King (6.2 points/game, 3rd in NCAA) could put up some numbers.

#11 JOHNS HOPKINS (5-2) AT NAVY (4-2)

Sat 7 p.m. EDT | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Johns Hopkins -5

The 94th meeting between these two Maryland rivals almost always delivers, no matter the records or expectations. Three of the last five games in the series have been decided by a single goal, including Navy's 10-9 overtime win at Homewood Field last season. The home team has lost the last three meetings since the series was restored following the COVID pandemic.