Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:

1. Don't look now, but Northwestern might be back. After back-to-back 11-10 seasons, the Wildcats are off to a dominating 3-0 start. The Wildcats steamrolled Canisius and Detroit Mercy over the weekend, and then jumped out to an 11-1 lead over No. 18 Colorado on Thursday before settling for a 15-8 victory.

Selena Lasota, who missed most of last season with an injury, had three goals and three assists against Colorado, all of them coming early in the contest to Northwestern to its 10-goal lead.

The next big test comes on Sunday, when Northwestern heads to No. 20 Duke for its first road game of the season.

Protected our turf. #B1GCats pic.twitter.com/6ruQ6dKs6n

— Northwestern Lax (@NULax) February 15, 2018

2. It's only February 16, but the season feels like it's in full swing with four heavyweight games scheduled for this weekend. Today, No. 1 Duke hosts No. 3 Denver in a nationally-televised men's game on ESPNU. Later this evening, No. 2 Stony Brook heads to California to face No. 5 USC in a cross-country women's showdown.

Tomorrow, No. 1 Maryland heads to No. 4 Florida for another Top 5 women's game and in what promises to be one of the most entertaining games of the season, No. 4 Albany heads to the Dome to face No. 9 Syracuse in a key men's matchup.

3. The Big Ten Network announced its 2018 schedule on Thursday, and it will feature 14 men's games and 14 women's games, starting with Stony Brook at Penn State in a men's game on Saturday. You can see the full college lacrosse TV/streaming schedule on our page sponsored by Nationwide.
 

PHOTO BY RICH BARNES

4. Tampa's Andrew Kew set a NCAA Division II men's record with 86 goals last season and the junior from Canada is the Warrior / US Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Player of the Year.

5. More than half of the Top 20 teams in the WCLA, a league of the nation's top college club programs competing under the US Lacrosse umbrella, will be in California this weekend for the Santa Barbara Shootout and the Golden State Invitational.

6. One of the things we love about Stony Brook and its head coach, Joe Spallina, is that they’re never afraid to push the envelope. And we need to get our hands on one of these Kylie Ohlmiller bobbleheads.

How incredible is an @kyohlmiller bobble head for the @StonyBrookWLAX season   Show me an athletic department that dedicated themselves to Wlax like ours!! Strong Island! What up 17 pic.twitter.com/gzyVizdBWc

— Joe Spallina (@JoeSpallina) February 15, 2018

7. And as long as we’re talking about bold moves, you have to love a college president throwing down a wager on a regular season college lacrosse game. Robert Morris president Dr. Chris Howard issues the challenge in advance of Saturday’s game against Georgetown.

I am issuing this friendly wager to my good pal, President John DeGioia, of @Georgetown. You are going down, my friend! @RMUMLacrosse @HoyasMLacrosse pic.twitter.com/yjOIrHZoUR

— Dr. Chris Howard (@DrChrisHoward) February 15, 2018

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Ed Lee of the Baltimore Sun with a very well-done piece on Johns Hopkins and what might have been. Former Jays player Jeremy Huber died in 2015. He would have been a senior this season.

• Remember when the Thompsons left Albany and you wondered if the Danes could stay relevant. You might say they’ve accomplished the feat when you get headlines like, “Is This The Most Anticipated Season for UAlbany Lacrosse?”

• Syracuse’s Nicole Levy is one of the most dynamic players in the sport, and turning it on for game day can be as simple as flipping the switch.

• Lacrosse has been pivotal in Larry Mackey’s life, and it continues with his son, Hassan, a sophomore at Eastern University who is looking to be the first person in his family to earn a college degree.

• Maryland’s student newspaper, The Diamondback, on the importance of goalie Megan Taylor to the Terps’ success.

• Mitch Goldberg has gone from player to coach to player again as the fifth-year senior looks to make the most of his final season at Richmond.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Delaware senior captain Will Hirschmann isn’t taking anything in his final season for granted.

Powerful words from senior captain Will Hirschmann.#BlueHens pic.twitter.com/riTGc0Im1l

— Delaware Men’s Lacrosse (@DelawareMLAX) February 15, 2018

Hey St. John Fisher, where do I sign up?

Cardinal Lacrosse Preseason 2018 from Ben Eggers on Vimeo.

WHAT’S ON TAP

• Get your stream on - lots of college action all weekend. Check out the Nationwide TV/Streaming listings to see all the games.

• Tierney Field at US Lacrosse headquarters will see its first college games of the season this weekend. On Saturday, Dickinson, ranked No. 9 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Men's Division III rankings squares off against St. Mary's (Md.). On Sunday, James Madison looks to continue its torrid start. The 2-0 Dukes, ranked No. 8 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Women's I Division I rankings plays against Connecticut. JMU edged the Huskies 11-10 on Tierney Field last season.

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