Weekend One-Liners: Can the Orange Crush Preseason Expectations?

We posted our first bracketology of the season earlier this week and while there is still plenty of time for teams to turn their seasons around, we are reaching the point where any lost opportunity is something the bubble teams will be kicking themselves about in a few weeks.

Beyond the bubble, there are many compelling storylines, perhaps none as interesting as the return of Syracuse. This year's Atlantic Coast Conference race figured to be the big three of Duke, Notre Dame and Virginia with Syracuse and North Carolina jockeying for fourth. 

After the Orange dismantled Duke last week, that presumption was clearly flawed. In this week's Game of the Week, can Syracuse completly topple the apple cart when it travels to No. 1 Notre Dame?

That's just one game we've got our eye on. Here are a dozen games to watch with one sentence on each. Rankings are per the USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20. A complete schedule of televised and streamed games can be found on our TV Listings page. All times Eastern.

Lehigh (4-4, 2-1 Patriot League) at Loyola (3-6, 1-2 Patriot League) – Friday 7 p.m. (ESPN+)

Friday's lone Division I game features a hungry Loyola team fighting to avoid falling out of the top six in the league standings.

High Point (6-5) at Saint Joseph's (5-3) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

This Atlantic 10 opener features red-hot Saint Joseph's, five straight wins including Penn, hosting a High Point program coming off its first win ever against North Carolina.

No. 3 Virginia (8-1) at Harvard (6-2) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Harvard could right the ship after consecutive Ivy League losses, but will have to improve upon last year's performance against Virginia when the Crimson allowed 25 goals, including nine in the first eight minutes of the game.

No. 4 Army West Point (7-1) at No. 18 North Carolina (6-3) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ACCNX)

Army takes its final trip outside of the Patriot League to play a North Carolina team coming off of a staggering loss to High Point in which the Tar Heels gave up the final seven goals of the game.

No. 11 Denver (6-2) at Villanova (6-3) – Saturday 12 p.m. (FloSports)

Denver plays in the Eastern time zone for the third straight game as it opens Big East play against a battle-tested Villanova team that has won six of its last seven, including games against Colgate and Navy.

Colgate (6-3, 3-0 Patriot League) at Navy (5-4, 2-1 Patriot League) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Speaking of Colgate and Navy, the Raiders lead the Patriot League with a 3-0 league mark, but face an up-and-down Navy squad that has shown its potential with wins over Boston University and Johns Hopkins.

No. 9 Cornell (5-2, 2-0 Ivy League) at No. 15 Penn (6-3, 2-0 Ivy League) – Saturday 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

Led by C.J. Kirst, Michael Long and the emerging Ryan Goldstein, Cornell features the nation's No. 3 offense (16.1 goals per game), but Penn goalie Emmet Carroll ranks second in the country in save percentage (60.1) and will be fired up for a game in which the winner moves into sole possession of first place in the league.

Sacred Heart (6-4, 4-0 MAAC) at LIU (7-1, 4-0 MAAC) – Saturday 2 p.m. (ESPN+)

Quinnipiac fell from the ranks of the unbeaten on Wednesday, setting up this showdown for first place in the league with a Sacred Heart team led by Morgan O'Reilly (31 goals) and an LIU squad that has five 20-point scorers.

No. 5 Syracuse (9-2, 1-0 ACC) at No. 1 Notre Dame (5-1, 0-0 ACC) – Saturday 2 p.m. (ACC Network)

Notre Dame, with the nation's No. 1 offense (17.0 goals per game), has had two weeks to get ready for Syracuse's vastly-improved defense that held Duke to just four goals in a game when the Blue Devils entered with the No. 1 offense

Ohio State (5-5, 0-1 B1G) at No. 20 Rutgers (6-3, 0-1 B1G) – Saturday 4:30 p.m. (BTN+)

These teams have been somewhat mirror images to start the season, competitive, but searching for answers on offense as Rutgers has been held to single digits in each of its three losses and Ohio State has lost five of its last six, scoring 11 or fewer goals in each of those losses.

No. 13 Maryland (5-3, 0-1 B1G) at No. 2 Penn State (7-1, 1-0 B1G) – Sunday 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

The first Big Ten Network Sunday primetime game of the year features a Maryland team that has needed overtime to earn three of its five wins playing a Penn State team that has ripped off seven straight wins, but hasn't beaten the Terps since 2019.