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

1. Notre Dame halted Elon's hot start to the season with a convincing 16-7 win on Thursday night in Burlington, North Carolina.

The No. 14 Irish jumped on the No. 19 Phoenix defense early, charging out to a 4-1 lead behind two goals from Courtney Fortunato. After Elon made it 4-2, Notre Dame went on a six-goal rally, with halftime in between, to put the game out of reach for the home team.

Fortunato had four goals and two assists, while teammate Casey Pearsall had three goals and dished out four assists. Nikki Ortega also had a hat trick for Notre Dame.

The win makes it four straight for the Irish after falling to Northwestern by one goal on Feb. 5.

Here's a glimpse at the rest of Thursday's action.

On the men’s side:

  • Jacksonville suffered its third straight loss to open the 2017 season, falling 12-11 at Detroit-Mercy. That makes two one-goal losses for the John Galloway-led Dolphins.

On the women’s side:

  • Grace Gabriel and Amanda Bochniak had hat tricks to help Marquette get by Central Michigan by a score of 12-9. It was a much-needed victory after the Golden Eagles fell to Louisville, Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins to open the season.

2. Megan Whittle steps into the spotlight. She’s entering her third season with No. 2 Maryland with a lot more responsibility. With Taylor Cummings out of the picture, Whittle will be looked to lead the 2016 NCAA runner-up Terrapins.

We know she has the speed and ability to finish when her team needs, but is there more in store for Whittle? We may find out soon enough. Maryland hosts No. 1 North Carolina on Saturday at College Park with a chance to avenge the national championship game loss.

3. Is this the year Penn State finally breaks out?

Last year, the Nittany Lions showed signs that they could break through, averaging more than 12 goals per game, but they did not make the NCAA tournament. Now, with a large veteran group returning mixed with talented freshmen like U.S. U19 team member Mac O'Keefe, Penn State's time might be coming shortly.

4. Blaze Riorden came up big this weekend for the Buffalo Bandits.

Riorden, the Rochester Rattlers goalie, is playing as a forward for the Bandits. He scored his first two NLL goals on Sunday — and they came at a good time for the Bandits. He scored both of his goals in the four quarter, helping the Bandits pick up a mich-needed win over the New England Black Wolves.

We knew Riorden could score, as evidenced by his famous coast-to-coast goal for Albany in the NCAA tournament. Now, he gets to show off his attack prowess in the NLL.

WHAT WE’RE READING

  • Marie McCool is college women's lacrosse's newest star, but she's doesn't feel the pressure of that title. A Team USA and North Carolina midfielder, McCool is continuing to work on her craft, and she's gotten off to a fast start to 2017.

  • For the Baltimore Sun, ESPN analyst Quint Kessenich spoke to more than a handful of college lacrosse coaches about who they learned the most from during their coaching careers. From Kevin Corrigan’s relationship with legendary football coach Lou Holtz, to Dave Pietramala’s relationship with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Kessenich writes, coaches never stop learning.

  • Another city has dropped out of the running for the 2024 Olympics. Budapest, Hungary withdrew from the competition to host the Summer Games, leaving only two cities for the IOC to consider — Paris and Los Angeles. Lacrosse has been vying for recognition by the IOC with the hopes that it could appear in the Olympics in the near future. The sport could have a viable path to appear, whether as a demonstration or medal sport, if the Olympics are rewarded to Los Angeles, where lacrosse appeared in 1932.

  • Stevenson coach and former MLL great Paul Cantabene will join the Chesapeake Bayhawks as an assistant coach. He will serve as offensive coordinator under former Bayhawks teammate Brian Reese.

  • High school lacrosse players at Good Counsel (Md.) are putting old jeans to use. Both the boys' and girls' teams are working together on the Sole Hope Project, which aims to provide new shoes made from old jeans to people in impoverished areas in Uganda.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Because who doesn't love a good Throwback Thursday? NCAA Lacrosse takes us back 26 years ago, when Virginia held on to win the national championship over Syracuse in a thrilling final.

WHAT’S ON TAP

  • We have another Top 5 women's lacrosse matchup Friday, as No. 3 USC heads to No. 5 Florida for a 6:30 p.m. game. The Trojans are 2-0 after getting by Northwestern in overtime last weekend, while the Gators look to rebound from a loss to No. 1 North Carolina on Feb. 11. The game will be streamed live on YouTube.

  • Maryland Stadium will host a star-studded doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. First, at noon, the No. 2 Maryland men face No. 6 Yale, who may get Ben Reeves back from injury. After that game, we have a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup on the women's side, as the second-ranked Terps look to avenge the 2016 national title game loss to the Tar Heels. Sounds like a fun day at College Park. The men's game will air on ESPN News and the women's game on BTN Plus. Click here for a full TV schedule for the weekend.

  • In another blockbuster men's matchup, the red-hot Johns Hopkins Blue Jays travel to Chapel Hill to face defending champion North Carolina.

  • Saturday, US Lacrosse members can purchase discounted tickets to these games: Albany at Drexel (1 p.m.), Virginia at Penn (1 p.m.) and Rutgers at Fairfield (noon). 

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