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 Patriot League race is about to heat up in a big way.

The league is loaded this year. Four teams are ranked in the top 15 of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20. They’ll turn their sights on each other Saturday, with No. 4 Army visiting No. 11 Lehigh (1 p.m. ET on ESPN+) and No. 14 Navy hosting No. 15 Loyola (2 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network).

Among the other games we’re watching are yet another top-10 ACC showdown (No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 5 Syracuse) and a continuation of the Big Ten gauntlet (Penn State at No. 2 Maryland and No. 17 Ohio State at No. 7 Rutgers).

Check out the TV listings page for all of this weekend’s games on TV and streaming platforms.

GAMES TO WATCH
All times Eastern

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 4 Army at No. 11 Lehigh

The Black Knights emerged from a three-week pause seemingly unfazed by the layoff, handling Holy Cross 13-3 and extending their winning streak to four games. Both Army and Lehigh boast top-10 defenses. First to 10 wins? That’s probably overlooking how balanced these Patriot League powers really are. Army has Brendan Nichtern (14 goals, 17 assists). Lehigh counters with Tommy Schelling (10 goals, 13 assists) and will have the decided advantage on faceoffs with Mike Sisselberger (75.3 percent, three goals).

UPSET WATCH
Penn State at No. 3 Maryland

Mac O’Keefe is heating up. He’s now seven goals shy of the NCAA career record. And for the first time this season, every important Penn State player showed up in the same game. Colby Kneese made 15 saves, Nick Cardile caused three turnovers, Gerard Arceri won 15 of 19 faceoffs and O’Keefe scored four goals in last week’s 11-8 win over Johns Hopkins. If the Nittany Lions (2-4) can maintain that up-the-middle momentum, they will be a tough out for the unbeaten Terps (6-0).

BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT
No. 12 Richmond at No. 6 Virginia

“Dox is back” is the prevailing narrative right now in Charlottesville. After scoring just two goals through Virginia’s first six games, midfielder Dox Aitken has enjoyed back-to-back hat tricks, including the game-winning howitzer to lift the Cavaliers over Notre Dame last week. UVA’s schedule offers an intriguing mix of ACC and non-conference play, and this will be the Cavaliers’ stiffest non-conference test since their 15-12 win over Loyola on Feb. 20. They’re 6-0 all-time against Richmond and thus far have been spared the Spiders’ penchant for eye-opening upsets. While ACC fans fixate on Notre Dame-Syracuse and still chat up Thursday’s night’s North Carolina-Duke thriller, this game has fallen under the radar. Look for Ryan Lanchbury (16 goals, 23 assists) to prove once again that he belongs in the conversation among the nation’s elite players.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Spencer Rees, Navy: A career backup going all the way back to his high school days, Rees has emerged in a big way during the Midshipmen’s 3-0 start. He ranks third in Division I in save percentage (63.8) and goals against average (7.12). Navy seems ready to take it up a notch. “"It gives us a chance to put ourselves right into the thick of the Patriot League race,” second-year coach Joe Amplo told US Lacrosse Magazine’s Nelson Rice. “But it's one game at a time, and this is the absolute most important game since I've been here for our program."

Timmy Ley, Boston University: Anyone else notice that the Terriers are 5-1 and knocking on the door of the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20? It seems the only mention BU gets these days is that Chris Gray used to play there. Also a Long Island native, Ley currently ranks third nationally (and four spots ahead of Gray) with 4.33 goals per game (26 goals through six games). BU hosts Utah on Saturday.

Mason Woodward, Marquette: The redshirt freshman defenseman ranks first nationally among non-faceoff specialists with 5.38 ground balls per game (35 ground balls through six games). The Golden Eagles will have their hands full with a loaded No. 8 Denver team that just added midseason the most dominant faceoff specialist in NCAA history. That said, Marquette has a history of playing the Pioneers tough, including a 10-9 loss earlier this season.