Weekend One-Liners: Another Chance for Marquee Wins
A light mid-week slate highlighted by No. 11 Stony Brook’s back-and-forth overtime win over No. 5 Syracuse makes weekend lacrosse a welcome sight.
Speaking of that team from Long Island: the Seawolves’ Top 20 clash with No. 13 Johns Hopkins takes center stage in this week’s one-liners. Plus, a national semifinal rematch goes down Friday night, and Mid-Atlantic foes meet in a non-conference game not to miss on Sunday morning.
TV LISTINGS | USA LACROSSE TOP 20
Colorado (4-2) at Marquette (2-4) — Friday, 3 p.m. (Flo Sports)
The loss of top offensive threats Mary Schumar (now at Northwestern) and Lydia Foust (graduation) has seen the Golden Eagles take a step back from their history-making 2023 season, but a win over a fringe Top 20 Colorado team would make a statement.
No. 14 Denver (3-2) at No. 1 Northwestern (5-1) — Friday, 7 p.m. (BIG+)
After losses to Maryland and Michigan, the Pioneers are searching for a marquee win — upending the defending national champion Wildcats, who bounced them from the Final Four, would fit the bill.
Temple (5-2) at USC (4-2) — Friday, 4 p.m. (USC Live Stream)
The Women of Troy will try to snap a two-game skid against the Owls, who ended a two-game losing streak of their own with a 10-9 win over Saint Joseph’s on Sunday.
Towson (2-3) at No. 8 Loyola (5-0) — Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
Loyola holds a 34-14 all-time record against in-state foe Towson, but the Greyhounds will have to sneak past Towson netminder Jo Torres, whose 11.75 saves per game rank sixth in the NCAA.
No. 15 Virginia (6-1) at No. 6 Notre Dame (5-1) — Saturday, 1 p.m. (ACCX)
A pair of teams with the potential to ditch the Boston College-North-Carolina-Syracuse dominance atop the ACC clash in South Bend.
UConn (1-3) at No. 18 Yale (4-0) — Saturday, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Fresh off a win over Princeton last weekend, Top 20 newcomer Yale hosts UConn in a battle for in-state bragging rights.
Boston University (4-1) at Brown (4-1) — Saturday, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
All aboard the Brown bandwagon, as the Bears are off to a 4-1 start under Katrina Dowd, most recently thumping Bryant 20-9.
Penn State (2-4) at Rutgers (5-1) — Saturday, 1 p.m. (BIG+)
Rutgers appears to have bounced back after a down 2023, while the Nittany Lions are attempting to rebound from three-straight losses and reclaim some of their preseason hype.
Drexel (4-2) at Fairfield (4-1) — Saturday, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Go off the beaten path for this matchup between two sneaky good teams with wins over preseason Top 20 programs (Army for Fairfield; Penn State and Navy for Drexel).
No. 7 North Carolina (4-2) at No. 20 Clemson (5-1) — Saturday, 3 p.m. (ACCX)
If two tough teams trying to rebound from ACC losses isn’t enticing enough, tune in to see the Tigers’ stunning 1,000-seat facility that’s exclusively for women’s lacrosse.
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 11 Stony Brook (5-0) at No. 13 Johns Hopkins (6-2) — Saturday, 4 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C. (Event Live Stream)
Ellie Masera’s overtime heroics gave Stony Brook a signature win over Syracuse at the Dome, but Hopkins knows a thing (or six) about tight contests, with of the Jays’ eight games decided by four goals or fewer.
UPSET ALERT
No. 3 James Madison (6-0) at No. 10 Maryland (5-1) — Sunday, 11 a.m. (BIG+)
The Dukes beat Maryland last season and enter the game undefeated and favored, but the Terps looked solid in Saturday’s win over Denver.
Beth Ann Mayer
Beth Ann Mayer is a Long Island-based writer. She joined USA Lacrosse in 2022 after freelancing for Inside Lacrosse for five years. She first began covering the game as a student at Syracuse. When she's not writing, you can find her wrangling her husband, two children and surplus of pets.