Weekend One-Liners: What to Watch for in Women's Lacrosse

Well, last weekend was fun. Maryland’s offense came alive in a win at Rutgers. James Madison and Florida gave us a first taste of a brewing AAC rivalry. Denver built a big lead against Boston College and continued on for the statement-making win, and top-ranked North Carolina went down in a loss to Northwestern.

Where does that leave us? With an unsettled landscape (in a good way, for fans). Syracuse is atop the rankings and flexed its muscles Wednesday night in a 16-11 win over No. 6 Stony Brook. The undefeated Orange play Louisville Saturday.

This weekend’s games don’t pop off the paper (or screen) like those last weekend. But any coach or athlete would tell you that nothing matters on paper, so tune in because, as recent history has shown, anything can happen.

All times Eastern.

TV LISTINGS | NIKE/USA LACROSSE TOP 20

No. 17 Michigan (7-4) at Rutgers (4-4) – Friday, 6 p.m. (BTN+)

Michigan’s schedule has (mostly) consisted of top-10 or under .500 teams, so Friday night’s game in Piscataway will be a good gauge of where the Wolverines stand.

No. 1 Syracuse (10-0) at Louisville (4-5) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ACCNX)

Louisville junior attacker Kokoro Nakazawa watched Kayla Treanor videos on YouTube while learning to play in Japan, but her Cardinals will have to contend with a new crop of stars, namely Tewaaraton contender Meaghan Tyrrell, on Saturday.

No. 5 Boston College (6-3) at Virginia Tech (5-5) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ACCNX)

I’ve said before that the Eagles have a habit of coming back strong, so all the best to the Hokies as BC attempts to rebound from Sunday’s loss to Denver.

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 11 Notre Dame (6-2) at No. 10 Virginia (7-3) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ACC Network)

Virginia, which has lost three of its last four, ranks fourth nationally in scoring offense (16.25), while Notre Dame sits seventh in defense (8.00).

No. 12 Loyola (6-2) at Boston University (6-2) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

BU played No. 13 Army tough and is flying under the radar at 6-2, but a win over the 12th-ranked Greyhounds would be impossible to ignore.

No. 19 Navy (7-2) at Lehigh (6-2) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Ava Yovino, a rookie who ranks second in the NCAA in points per game (6.75), has Navy riding a five-game winning streak heading into Saturday’s game at Lehigh.

Ohio State (4-3) at No. 18 Penn State (8-2) – Saturday, 2:30 p.m. (BTN+)

Kristin O’Neill has scored in 14 straight games, including notching her 100th career goal at Pitt Tuesday, and the Nittany Lions are on a four-game winning streak.

No. 14 Clemson (9-3) at No. 3 North Carolina (8-1) – Sunday, 2 p.m. (ACCNX)

UNC hasn’t had to come back from a regular-season loss in three years but did Thursday at High Point and now awaits upstart Clemson.

UPSET ALERT
No. 16 Duke (5-5) at Pitt (3-7) – Sunday, 12 p.m. (ACCX)

Pitt played Virginia well for three quarters, while Duke has struggled against the likes of Clemson and Yale.

Stanford (4-4) at No. 2 Northwestern (9-1) – Sunday, 2 p.m. (BTN+)  

Stanford coach Danielle Spencer, who won three national championships at Northwestern, returns to her old stomping grounds with a Stanford team that has yet to play its best game in 2023.