Welcome to the Gameday Guide.

Every Saturday (and some Sundays) during the college lacrosse season, US Lacrosse Magazine staff will riff here on the weekend ahead — the juiciest matchups, trendiest topics, biggest storylines and hottest takes.

Following Friday night games at the Carrier Dome (Colgate vs. Syracuse) and in Annapolis (Manhattan vs. Navy), there’s a 24-game slate Saturday, including season openers for a lot of teams. And if opening weekend taught us anything, it’s that there are few soft spots in the talent-saturated ranks of Division I men’s lacrosse.

TEN TO WATCH
All times Eastern

* televised games in bold

[TV/Live Stream Listings]

[Nike/USL Division I Men’s Top 20]

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 15 UMass at Army

Air Force’s entry into the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 necessitated Army’s ouster, but the Black Knights have a clear path of reentry. This game has sneaky shootout potential, due to what each side lost on the defensive end and their fully loaded arsenals on offense.

Sean Sconone, the Kelly Award-winning goalie, is no longer between the pipes for UMass, which also graduated game-changing defenseman Isaac Paparo. Army, meanwhile, must replace Schmeisser Award-winning defenseman Johnny Surdick and goalie AJ Barretto.

Look for UMass’ Chris Connolly and Army’s Brendan Nichtern to put up big numbers against rebuilding defenses.

UPSET WATCH
No. 1 Penn State at No. 18 Villanova

The Wildcats are not to be taken lightly. The Nittany Lions know this as well as anyone. Two years ago, Villanova erased a five-goal fourth-quarter deficit to beat Penn State in overtime.  Last year, the Wildcats upset both Yale and Denver when they were top-10 teams.

As one rival coach said in ranking the team during the preseason, “Villanova is known to be streaky. They have a lot of players returning and would probably be higher if they were consistent. Can they play at a high level for an entire year?”

BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Mount St. Mary’s at Delaware

Delaware was another team generating preseason buzz, as some consider goalie Matt DeLuca (13.57 saves per game, 58.1 save percentage) to be the best coming back in Division I. And don’t sleep on Mount St. Mary’s, which beat Richmond and gave Georgetown fits last year and always plays the Blue Hens tough. The Mountaineers return their entire starting defense and goalie Dylan Furnback, the reigning Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

MILESTONE WATCH
LIU’s Division I Debut (Sort Of)

Merrimack acquitted itself well in its Division I opener last week, nearly coming back to beat Holy Cross. Unlike its fellow Division II ascender, LIU (no Post) is eligible for postseason competition immediately because LIU Brooklyn had previously competed at the Division I level. LIU is no stranger to D-I, having competed at this level from 1982-92 during the Division II hiatus. The Sharks, who return more than 80 percent of their scoring from a year ago, open at Siena.

PRESEASON CASUALTIES

Before ever taking the field in 2020, Duke and Johns Hopkins were operating at deficits.

The Blue Devils, already without Wilson Stephenson after the long pole broke his leg in the NCAA quarterfinals, announced this week that top scorer Joe Robertson would miss the season with a torn ACL.

The Blue Jays, already in rebuilding mode on defense, parted ways with three-year starter Jack Rapine for undisclosed reasons. Then on Friday, ESPN’s Quint Kessenich tweeted that star attackman Joey Epstein is day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Ohio State, which plays on the road at Boston University on Saturday, is still without All-American faceoff man Justin Inacio — also shelved with an injury of the vague lower-body definition.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Colin Burke, Utah: Burke was an honorable mention All-American as a freshman at Fairfield and ranks fifth in Stags history with 144 career points. He redshirted last season, graduated in May and sure looked like his old self with two goals and four assists in his Utah debuts — a 16-10 Utes victory over Bellarmine.

Jake Carraway, Georgetown: Those expecting the Hoyas’ offense to take a step back in the wake of Daniel Bucaro’s graduation would be wise not to underestimate Carraway, who tied Georgetown’s single-season record with 88 points (57 goals, 31 assists). “Jake Carraway could be the most underrated player in the country,” a rival coach said during the preseason. “It’s his team now.”

Ryan Lanchbury, Richmond: Like so many Ontario products, Lanchbury can flat-out score. He had 52 goals as a sophomore to give him 80 through his first two seasons. One of his more productive games came against Maryland (career-high five goals in a narrow 10-9 loss).

FOLLOW US

Follow @USLacrosseMag on Twitter and Instagram for highlights, results and stories from across the college lacrosse landscape, and check back to USLaxMagazine.com for a gameday roundup.