Welcome to the Gameday Guide.
Every weekend during the college lacrosse season, US Lacrosse Magazine staff will riff here on the juiciest matchups, trendiest topics, biggest storylines and hottest takes.
The late-starting Ivy League finally joins the fray Saturday, with notably difficult road matchups out of the gate for No. 3 Yale (at No. 20 Villanova), No. 9 Penn (at No. 4 Maryland), and No. 11 Cornell (at Albany).
TEN TO WATCH
All times Eastern
Time
|
Away
|
Home
|
TV/Stream
|
11 a.m. |
Michigan |
Hofstra |
LSN |
12 p.m. |
No. 16 Rutgers |
No. 14 Army |
PLN |
1 p.m. |
No. 18 Lehigh |
No. 2 Virginia |
ACCNX |
1 p.m. |
No. 3 Yale |
No. 20 Villanova |
Nova Nation |
1 p.m. |
No. 9 Penn |
No. 4 Maryland |
BTN Plus |
1 p.m. |
UMass |
No. 13 Ohio State |
BTN Plus |
1 p.m. |
No. 11 Cornell |
Albany |
ESPN+ |
2 p.m. |
No. 12 Duke |
No. 8 Denver |
All-Access |
2 p.m. |
No. 15 Air Force |
Utah |
Pac-12 Plus |
3:30 p.m. |
No. 7 Johns Hopkins |
No. 17 Loyola |
PLN |
[TV/Live Stream Listings]
[Nike/USL Division I Men’s Top 20]
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Marist at Richmond (6 p.m. EST on ESPN+)
Before we get into Saturday, two reigning conference champions go toe-to-toe Friday in Virginia. The Red Foxes (1-0) defeated Binghamton 12-4 in their season opener. The Spiders (0-1) had Maryland on the ropes, a showing that earned them a No. 19 ranking in the USILA coaches and Inside Lacrosse media polls.
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 9 Penn at No. 4 Maryland
These two teams staged a thriller last year at Franklin Field, where Maryland escaped with a 13-12 win in overtime. Roman Puglise delivered the knockout punch, signaling a breakout season for the short-stick defensive midfielder in which he scored seven goals to go along with his yeoman’s work in the box and on the faceoff wing.
UPSET WATCH
No. 3 Yale at No. 20 Villanova
It’s not exactly a stretch. The Wildcats have upended the Bulldogs in overtime in each of the last two seasons — a 10-9 neutral-site victory in Dallas and an 11-10 road win in New Haven. Yale was the higher-ranked team both times. Villanova got blasted by No. 1 Penn State 19-10 in its opener.
BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Michigan at Hofstra
It looks like Pride head coach Seth Tierney and new coordinator Michael Gongas are opening up the offense. Hofstra’s 21 goals in a season-opening over Wagner were its most since 2006, John Danowski’s last season in Hempstead. And the Pride may have discovered their next Canadian gem in Justin Sykes, the freshman attackman who debuted with four goals and two assists.
The Wolverines also opened the season with an impressive victory, handling easily a Cleveland State team that took Marquette to overtime a week earlier. Michigan has steadily stepped up its recruiting game under Kevin Conry, which bore out in three freshmen — Jake Bonomi, Josh Zawada and Dylan Gardner — scoring two goals apiece in their debuts. Another newcomer, redshirt-freshman Nick Rowlett, went 14-for-23 on faceoffs.