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.

Are you not entertained? Duke’s overtime thriller at Virginia last night begged that question. At this point it’s almost a guarantee that the ACC primetime matchup will come down to the wire. Joe Robertson proved, again, that he’s not afraid of the moment with another clutch performance and game winning goal—13-12 in OT.

While that finish will likely be hard to top this weekend, there are still plenty of intriguing matchups and conference races in play this weekend, so let’s get to it.

As always, check out our TV Listings page for the entire list of games coming up.

GAMES TO WATCH
All times Eastern

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 5 North Carolina at No. 10 Syracuse

The thought of Chris Gray in the Carrier Dome is enough to elevate this game to the top of the conversation alone. Still, there’s a lot more that makes it compelling. After losing consecutive conference games, the No. 5 Tar Heels (1-2 ACC) find themselves tied with the Orange at the bottom of the most competitive conference in college lacrosse—that boasts four of the top five teams in the current Nike / US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20.

“The best team @ACCMLax team is ____,” ESPN broadcaster Anish Shroff tweeted after calling Virginia’s 18-16 win over UNC.

“Nobody knows...and if they tell you they do...they are lying!” Paul Carcaterra replied.

Without the aid of a conference tournament, contests like tomorrow’s carry even more weight. The heavy weight and likely high scoring battle begins at 3 p.m. on the ACC Network.

Game No One’s Talking About
No. 7 Denver at No. 10 Georgetown

Since a February two-game road trip where Denver dropped games to Duke and UNC, the Pioneers have reeled off eight consecutive wins, including a 13-7 result over the Hoyas on March 16 at Peter Barton Stadium. That’s the only blimp on Georgetown’s resume (8-1) thus far. The Big East stalwarts have split their last four meetings.

UPSET WATCH
Boston U at No. 9 Army

The Black Knights and Terriers are in the drivers’ seat to represent the North Division in the Patriot League Tournament. While Army delivered a complete performance and looked dominant in a 12-7 win over Loyola last weekend, Boston U previously offered a much sterner test. The Terriers trailed by one goal for most of the fourth quarter during the Black Knights’ eventual 12-10 win on March 6.

Under-the-Radar Stars

Brody McLean, Towson

The fifth-year attackman from Bolton, Ontario, poured in four goals to lead the Tigers to a midweek 10-8 win over Hofstra at Johnny Unitas Stadium. After going a month without a win, Towson (5-6) has won three of its last four games. The Tigers will look to improve to .500 when they take on UMASS tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Tyler Bradbury, Utah

A year after not registering a point in four games played, the attackman from Oak Park, California, leads the Utes with 34 points on 13 goals and 21assists through eight games.

Tommy Sopko, Bucknell

While the Bison (2-4) did not kick off their season until March 7, the senior attackman and Conestoga product made up for lost time. He’s totaled 22 goals and four assist through six games and has had only one game this year where he’s registered less than a hat-trick. Bucknell hosts Robert Morris tonight at 7:30pm on ESPN+.

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