NCAA Men's Lacrosse Week 9 Preview: Odds, April Must-Wins, More

Schedule | TV Listings | Rankings

Over the next five game previews, you — the loyal reader of USA Lacrosse Magazine — are going to see a couple mentions of must-win situations. Today is April 4. 

Fully acknowledging that it might be a wee bit early to get into do-or-die mode, the fact is that a muddled bubble situation and the possibility of a conference like the Patriot League to earn a rare second bid does add a bit of urgency to these pivotal conference matchups.

Take Duke and Boston U, for example. The only path for the Blue Devils to make the NCAA tournament is via an at-large bid. Without a Patriot League title, Boston U needs the committee to find its resume impressive, too. Duke is the first team out in Patrick Stevens' latest bracketology. Boston U is the next one out.

Well, they play each other this week. You tell me if that doesn't ramp up the urgency a couple levels.

The opportunites for teams to prove themselves and build compelling cases are dwindling by the day. It's not quite do or die, but its time for the rubber to hit the road.

— Kenny DeJohn

FIVE TO WATCH

NO. 7 PENN STATE AT NO. 13 MICHIGAN

Sun 12 p.m. EDT | Watch: Big Ten Network | DK: Penn State -1.5

Penn State storyline to watch: Less than a month ago, Penn State was just an overtime loss to Princeton away from perfection and owned one of the season’s biggest wins — a comeback overtime victory at Cornell. Fast forward, and the Nittany Lions are 0-2 in the Big Ten and in need of a spark. With the offense sputtering to the tune of 16 goals combined in losses to Ohio State and Maryland, Penn State will need senior goalie Jack Fracyon to return to his usual form to reverse the slide. Since making a season-high 18 saves in a win over Yale, the two-time All-American has combined for 25 saves over the last four games.

Michigan storyline to watch: The Wolverines have peaked at the end of the year for two straight seasons to win the Big Ten championship, including a near-flawless 16-4 takedown of Penn State in last year’s league final. After starting this year 4-4 with blowout losses to North Carolina and Notre Dame, Michigan’s defense has helped right the ship in back-to-back wins over Maryland Johns Hopkins. Princeton grad transfer Pace Billings is a big reason why. He had seven ground balls and four caused turnovers in last week’s 11-8 win over the Blue Jays.

— Brian Logue

NO. 12 DUKE AT NO. 16 BOSTON U

Sat 2 p.m. EDT | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Duke -2.5

Duke storyline to watch: With no automatic qualifier for the ACC, Duke’s only path to the NCAA tournament is through an at-large bid. According to Patrick Stevens’ latest bracketology report, Duke is the first team out. Sitting right behind them is Boston University. It’s too early to call this a must-win game since the Blue Devils have some big ACC games coming up to bolster their resume, but this head-to-head showdown could mean something in May.

Boston U storyline to watch: BU is in good shape to reach the Patriot League tournament, but a win over Duke would very much keep the Terriers front and center in the NCAA at-large discussion. More than that, the Terriers have never beaten Duke in six tries. That includes an 11-10 loss to a stacked Duke team last year, but BU has the firepower to score on a Duke defense that has been struggling recently. The Terriers’ starting attack of Jimmy Kohr, Jimmy O’Connell and Timothy Shannehan has combined for 121 points in 10 games — and 59 percent of the team’s goals.

— Brian Logue

NO. 10 HARVARD AT NO. 20 DARTMOUTH

Sat 1 p.m. EDT | Watch: ESPN+ | DK: Harvard -2.5

Harvard storyline to watch: The Crimson rank 71st out of 74 Division I teams in faceoff winning percentage (38.3%), ahead of only Mount St. Mary’s, Manhattan and Hampton. So how are they 7-2 with wins over Syracuse, Michigan and Boston U? Gerry Byrne’s bunch subscribes to the belief that the faceoff is just the beginning of winning possession. With outstanding and aggressive wing play, Harvard ranks second nationally in caused turnovers per game (11.56). Dartmouth isn’t stellar on faceoffs itself (42nd nationally), but the Big Green love a big ground ball battle. They’re first in the nation with 37.56 per game. Expect scrum after scrum in this one.

Dartmouth storyline to watch: Dartmouth’s last two wins over Harvard (10-9 in 2023 and 12-11 in 2015) were both overtime affairs. The Big Green have made it a habit of playing their Ivy League counterparts closely in 2025, beating Penn 9-8 in regulation and pushing Princeton to the brink in an 11-8 loss. Dartmouth likes to slow things down and lean on a defense that allows just 9.0 goals per game, 17th-best in the country. Harvard’s offense, though, is explosive at 14.89 goals per game. Something’s gotta give.

— Kenny DeJohn

NO. 2 OHIO STATE AT NO. 15 JOHNS HOPKINS

Sat 2 p.m. EDT | Watch: ESPNU | DK: Ohio State -2.5

Ohio State storyline to watch: All hail Big Tasty. Ohio State has done just about everything well in its emergence as a national title contender, but the standout play of Caleb Fyock, owner of the best nickname in lacrosse, is up near the top of the Buckeyes’ accomplishments. His .629 save percentage ranks only behind Army’s Sean Byrne (.673 percent). The 6-2, 297-pound netminder has four straight double-digit save outings and stopped 11 shots last April against Johns Hopkins in an 11-10 loss. The Buckeyes can win games in a lot of ways, but when Fyock is on, they have a huge advantage.

Johns Hopkins storyline to watch: The Blue Jays sure wish they could have bottled what was working for them in the first two weeks of the season. It was a lightning-fast 4-0 start that had Peter Milliman’s team up in the rankings and at the forefront of national headlines. They’re just 2-4 since, and firmly on the bubble in an at-large situation. There’s a not-impossible scenario that exists in which Johns Hopkins misses NCAA tournament eligibility because of a sub-.500 record. After Ohio State, they travel to Penn State and then head to Maryland before the Big Ten tournament. If there was ever an April 5 must-win situation, this might be it.

— Kenny DeJohn

NO. 5 NOTRE DAME AT NO. 6 SYRACUSE

Sat 2 p.m. EDT | Watch: ACC Network | DK: Notre Dame -2.5

Notre Dame storyline to watch: Does anyone else get the sense that Notre Dame is kind of just … lurking? The Irish are 5-2 with one-goal losses to the No. 2 team (Ohio State) and No. 3 team (Maryland) in the country. Heading into Saturday against Syracuse, the offense is humming. In wins over Michigan and Duke the past two weekends, they’ve outscored their foes 33-14. They’ll need to stay aggressive against Syracuse, the host team that hasn’t beaten Notre Dame in its last seven tries.

Syracuse storyline to watch: The offensive highlights are plentiful for the Orange, with Joey Spallina, Owen Hiltz, Michael Leo and Luke Rhoa all at 15 goals or more. Finn Thomson and Trey Deere are close behind at 14 apiece. The defense is quite good, too, and perhaps is in need of more credit. Under the watch of John Odierna, Syracuse’s defense ranks fourth nationally (tied with UMass) at 8.2 goals allowed per game. With sights set on erasing Chris Kavanagh’s impact from the game, all eyes will be on the defense on Saturday.

— Kenny DeJohn