NCAA Women's Lacrosse Week 1: Schedule, Upset Watch, New Opportunities

The ground has thawed (well, in some places; thanks, February lacrosse), and it’s finally time to get the 2025 spring season started.

The Division I women’s lacrosse season kicks off at 11 a.m. Friday when No. 9 Florida visits No. 7 Johns Hopkins and George Washington makes the short trip to Howard. And just like that, women’s lacrosse is back.

There’s a lot of new this season — see: Beth Ann Mayer’s season preview for more on that — but luckily for you, our newly enhanced weekend preview will get you ready for what’s to come each week.

Strap in, enjoy the ride and watch as many games as you possibly can.

LINKS

» Schedule  
» TV Listings  
» Rankings

PICK FIVE

NO. 9 FLORIDA AT NO. 7 JOHNS HOPKINS

11 a.m. EST Friday | Watch: Hopkins Sports

Florida storyline to watch: Who will be the Gators’ alpha on offense? Maggi Hall emerged as a weapon a season ago, and she had plenty of co-alphas like Danielle Pavinelli, Emily Heller and the four others who reached the 30-goal mark. The only 30-goal scorer who’s back is junior Gianna Monaco. Gettysburg All-American Jordan Basso transferred in, so expect her to have a big impact early.

Johns Hopkins storyline to watch: The Blue Jays were doomed at times last year by short spurts of inconsistency. They’d play 45 dominant minutes but slip up in a random quarter and lose a close game. Florida is a good challenge to see if Tim McCormack’s team can go full bore for 60 minutes.

Bold prediction: Hopkins’ deep attack is going to sneak up on people, at least early on. Ava Angello, Ashley Mackin and Campbell Case are as good a 1-2-3 as any other in the Big Ten. They’ll dominate this one.

NO. 8 LOYOLA AT NO. 1 BOSTON COLLEGE 

2 p.m. EST Friday | Watch: ACCNX

Loyola storyline to watch: The Chase Boyle Tewaaraton Award campaign begins now. Our February cover star, Boyle is the best midfielder in the country. Hard stop. What will Boston College do to limit her? “Limit” being the operative word. Given all she does, it’s impossible to completely contain her.

Boston College storyline to watch: Boston College wasn’t immune to graduation losses, but few teams return as much as the Eagles do. Look for a fast start from them. Even though every team is different, Boston College has more built-in chemistry than most others.

Bold prediction: This is a lowkey great goalie battle between Loyola’s Lauren Spence and Boston College’s Shea Dolce. We could be talking about single-digit goals on both sides.

NO. 18 JAMES MADISON AT NO. 4 NORTH CAROLINA

5 p.m. EST Friday | Watch: ACCNX

James Madison storyline to watch: What does the offense look like without Isabella Peterson? Maddie Epke certainly emerged as a sophomore, so it’s time to see if she can be a bona fide No. 1 option.

North Carolina storyline to watch: Jenny Levy got reinforcements from her own roster with the return of so many impact players from injury. But the most interesting thing here is UNC’s out-of-this-world freshmen class. How much will they play, and what impact will they have?

Bold prediction: OK, maybe this isn’t so bold, but look for Chloe Humphrey (who missed last season with an injury) to remind everyone why she was the nation’s No. 1 freshman a year ago.

NO. 13 NOTRE DAME AT NO. 2 NORTHWESTERN

8 p.m. EST Friday | Watch: BTN+

Notre Dame storyline to watch: Christine Halfpenny’s roster was gutted by graduations to program staples. Enter Madison Rassas, a highly touted freshman with family roots in South Bend who Halfpenny believes is going to be the next big thing. Her first college game is one to watch.

Northwestern storyline to watch: It’s the Madison Taylor show. How will she react to having increased attention on her with the graduations of Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall? Probably just fine. But it’s worth watching.

Bold prediction: By no means is Taylor going to be shut down, but with Notre Dame’s defense laser-focused on her, Ivy League grad transfers Niki Miles (Penn) and Riley Campbell (Harvard) will be the offensive headliners.

STANFORD AT NO. 20 USC

4 p.m. EST Saturday | Watch: BTN+

Stanford storyline to watch: Aliya Polisky was the Pac-12 freshman of the year, spreading the word about lacrosse in the state of Tennessee with each passing goal. Her sophomore season is one to watch, and the Cardinal will lean heavily on her services. She had one goal on seven shots in her lone outing against USC last year, representing one of the few down games of her rookie campaign.

USC storyline to watch: Defense is almost always the name of the game with the Women of Troy, but they’ll need to build some offensive consistency to keep up with the Big Ten’s big teams. Much of that burden falls on Isabelle Vitale, who looks like the clear No. 1 on offense.

Bold prediction: Every Stanford-USC game is a treat. Stanford has the clear goalie edge and a little more offensive depth, but the USC defense will lock it down in this one with a new goalie emerging as a consistent starter in SoCal.

UPSET WATCH

RICHMOND AT NO. 19 PENN STATE

1 p.m. EST Saturday | Watch: BTN+

A few of the games above have upset potential. Notre Dame was the surprise winner of Northwestern a year ago, after all. But we’re going with something of an under-the-radar matchup here.

Penn State very much earned its preseason ranking, but the Nittany Lions graduated quite a bit and could (like many others) feel things out on offense in February. Richmond, the Atlantic 10 favorites coming into the year, return All-American midfielder Grace Muldoon and have senior leadership on offense (Colleen Quinn) and defense (Hannah Custer).

In-game experience is an unquantifiable advantage for the Spiders in this one, and while that doesn’t mean everything, it could mean a lot. Look to Richmond for a shot at an early season surprise.

WELCOME TO THE PARTY

KENNESAW STATE AT SOUTH FLORIDA

7 p.m. EST Friday | Watch: ESPN+

GARDNER-WEBB AT CHARLOTTE

12:30 p.m. EST Saturday | Watch: ESPN+

There are three new Division I women’s programs in 2025, two of which get their seasons started this weekend. South Florida, helmed by Mindy McCord opens Friday night with postgame fireworks and more festivities. A few hours the East Coast, Charlotte hosts Gardner-Webb in its inaugural game.

Rhode Island is the lone new program to wait another week for its first game. The Rams open Feb. 16 at home against Merrimack.