Welcome to the Gameday Guide.

Every weekend during the college lacrosse season, USA Lacrosse Magazine staff will riff on the juiciest matchups, trendiest topics and biggest storylines.

Check out the rankings and TV listings for more.

THE ROAD GAME CAN BE A CHALLENGE FOR JUST ABOUT ANY LACROSSE TEAM, whether it sits atop the rankings or is knocking on the door of the contenders. Entering an unfamiliar environment and delivering a top-notch performance is rare, but powerful when it happens.

This weekend, three ranked teams will meet a fellow member of the Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20 on the road. No. 5 Ohio State, No. 15 Delaware and No. 1 Maryland will meet some of their toughest tests of the season. In addition, No. 4 Rutgers heads to Stony Brook to meet the unbeaten Seawolves.

Other juicy matchups include road underdogs like Richmond at Duke, Princeton at Georgetown and UMBC at Towson. Would fans be shocked if any of these results went in the favor of the road teams?

In another jam-packed Saturday, underdogs will be liking their chances. Check out some of the top games of this weekend.

GAMES TO WATCH
ALL TIMES EASTERN

DIVISION I GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 1 Maryland at No. 7 Notre Dame – Saturday, 2 p.m. (ACCNX)

In another edition of the yearly rivalry, the top team in the country heads to South Bend to face an Irish team reeling off a loss to Georgetown. Logan Wisnauskas and a high-powered Maryland offense meets an equally strong Notre Dame offense (both ranked No. 4 in Division I) for a game that is sure to feature fireworks. It’s the first meeting between these two teams since the Terps won in overtime in the NCAA quarterfinals last season.

DIVISION II GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 1 Le Moyne at No. 3 Mercy – Saturday, 12 p.m. (WATCH)

Le Moyne has been rolling past the competition in the past two seasons and opened its 2022 slate with a win over No. 2 Wingate. The Dolphins have another challenge in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., against No. 3 Mercy. The Mavericks are 1-4 all-time against the Dolphins but could shake up Division II lacrosse with a win.

DIVISION III GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 4 Lynchburg at No. 1 Salisbury – Saturday, 1 p.m. (YouTube)

Salisbury opened its 2021 season with a 10-8 loss to Lynchburg — a defeat that set the course for a national championship game run. The Sea Gulls scored a season-low eight goals, three fewer than any other game. Now the top team in Division III, Salisbury has plenty of motivation for revenge. Lynchburg heads to the Eastern Shore having topped Cabrini by six goals last weekend.

UPSET WATCH

No. 4 Rutgers at Stony Brook – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Stony Brook has quietly had a great start to the 2022 season, taking down Fairfield, Robert Morris, St. John’s and LIU en route to a 4-0 start. The bar is raised much higher when the Scarlet Knights make a trip to Long Island. Rutgers got past Army and Loyola in consecutive weekends, proving that it has all the pieces for a championship run. Two of the top 15 offenses in the nation will go at it at Stony Brook, and the Seawolves need a strong game from Renz Conlon to keep the momentum on their side.

BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT

No. 5 Ohio State at No. 13 Cornell – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Ohio State and Cornell are two of the most surprising stories in college lacrosse this season. Ohio State leaped from unranked into the top 10 after blowing out North Carolina, while Cornell has three quality wins to start its campaign. Cornell hasn’t played a game of this magnitude since 2020, whereas Ohio State has been ranked this high since before that point. Are both of these teams legit contenders? The Buckeyes rank second in Division I in scoring offense, while the Big Red have allowed just 8.33 goals per game.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Devon McLane, Brown

The key factor in Brown’s 3-1 start? Devon McLane has 15 goals and 12 assists to lead the Bears to wins over Quinnipiac, Vermont and Villanova. He currently sits fourth in Division I with 6.75 points per game, and he has another chance on Saturday against Providence.

Chris Brown, Princeton

Brown is one of the lead facilitators of the Tigers offense through three games, dropping nine goals and eight assists. He had three points in a 15-10 loss to Maryland last weekend but will look to lead Princeton to an upset of Georgetown this weekend.

Devin Craven, Richmond

A major factor in an early season upset can be strong goalie play. Richmond has gotten plenty of that from Craven, who has stopped 61.8 percent of his shots through four games. The Spiders travel to Duke this weekend, where Craven will see plenty of shots from a talented offense. If he gets hot, he might just give Richmond a chance to pull an upset.

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