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

1. Ohio State needed a spark. It found one in Jack Jasinski. The sophomore midfielder from Alabama broke out with four goals and three assists, as the Buckeyes defeated visiting Johns Hopkins 13-9 on Sunday night.

Propelled also by Jake Withers’ 19-for-26 performance on faceoffs, Ohio State blanked the Blue Jays in the third quarter and scored four goals in the fourth to earn just its second-ever win in the series. The Buckeyes’ offense had sputtered in consecutive losses to Notre Dame and Penn State, dampening their 9-0 start to the season, but they unleashed an X-factor in Jasinski, who had just 10 points as a freshman and came into Sunday with just six points in 11 games.

2. Zed Williams’ emotional return was not enough to lift Virginia out of a seven-goal hole, as North Carolina held on for a 15-12 victory Sunday night in Charlottesville.

Williams, who spent the last 10 days at home on the Seneca reservation in western New York mourning the death of his father, Daniel, arrived at Klockner Stadium in the first quarter to hugs from teammates and coaches and a warm reception from the fans. He scored three goals in the second half, as the Cavaliers cut a 9-2 halftime deficit to 11-8 in the third quarter before the Tar Heels — who may have saved their season — pulled away in the fourth. Williams also connected on a pretty cross-crease bounce pass to Mike D’Amario for a highlight-worthy assist.

Alas, Virginia’s ACC woes continue. The Cavaliers will miss the ACC tournament for the fourth straight season and are 1-18 in the conference since 2013. North Carolina faceoff ace Stephen Kelly (23-for-30, one goal) had a lot to do with the latest setback.

3. Trevor Baptiste belongs in the Tewaaraton conversation. Not only is he on pace to challenge the NCAA Division I single-season record for faceoff winning percentage,  but also on Sunday, he showed he could make opponents pay for not sliding to him on fast breaks.

Baptiste scored his first career hat trick to go with a 23-for-28 performance at the X, leading the Pioneers to a 16-11 win over visiting Villanova. The Wildcats came in on fire, with five straight wins, including an overtime upset of Maryland, predicting their return to the national rankings. But Baptiste extinguished any hopes of another Villanova upset Sunday, adding an assist and 17 ground balls to his impressive stat line.

4. The Syracuse women showed the men they too could stage a thriller, defeating Virginia Tech 12-11 in overtime on freshman Mary Rehal’s game-winning goal. Another freshman, Emily Hawryschuk, scored four of her game-high five goals in the second half as the Orange erased a halftime deficit. Virginia Tech’s Taylor Caskey tied the game with just four seconds remaining to send it to overtime.

5. Conference races are heating up. We’ve reached the point of the women’s lacrosse season where Friday-Sunday swings become more common. We’re starting to see some separation in the CAA and Atlantic-10, with James Madison and Towson emerging in the former and UMass dispatching the biggest threat to its NCAA-record conference winning streak in the latter. The Dukes and Tigers both handled Elon, while the Minutewomen defeated Richmond for their 49th straight A-10 triumph.

6. There were two substantial small college upsets Sunday. In Division II men’s lacrosse, unranked Wingate took down No. 3 Mercyhurst 12-11 in overtime. Jeremy Sullivan scored the game-winner, cementing the comeback win after the Bulldogs had fallen behind 5-0 in the first quarter. In Division III women’s lacrosse, No. 19 Tufts ended No. 11 Cortland’s 83-game home winning streak, defeating the Red Dragons 13-11 behind Kate Mackin’s five goals.

7. There will be a new No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 after previously top-ranked Penn State was humbled by Tewaaraton candidate Matt Rambo and Maryland. Will Hofstra, the last unbeaten remaining, ascend to the top spot? Or will Syracuse take it? Also, we should just ignore anything Duke does in February.

What We're Reading

  • We’re 12 days out from MLL opening day, and there’s a lot of buzz around training camps. The defending champion Denver Outlaws are using camp to build chemistry and establish an identity.

  • With the NCAA Division I Council vote on early recruiting legislation looming this week, expect the volume to increase on this controversial issue. Even if passed, can the legislation be enforced? Hofstra coach Seth Tierney likened it to speed limits.

  • The Hartford Courant covered New England Patriots wide receiver and former Penn State lacrosse player Chris Hogan’s honorary contract signing with the NLL’s New England Blackwolves and uncovered the story behind his friendship with the Blackwolves’ Bill O’Brien and the Thompson brothers.

  • Success is contagious in Big Ten men’s lacrosse.

  • Lacrosse is Florida State’s “dark-horse sport.”

What We're Watching

"Saturdays are for the boys."

Binghamton has won nine straight games entering a telling stretch. The Bearcats close the regular season with games against UMBC, Albany, Syracuse and Stony Brook.

What's On Tap

  • New Nike/US Lacrosse college rankings are out today. Find them here.

“Dialed In” is posted daily Monday-Friday at 8 a.m. Eastern on uslaxmagazine.com.