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.

We've reached mid-April and the dog days of the college lacrosse season. Conference battles are heating up (what even is the ACC?), and juicy out-of-conference matchups are few and far between. This weekend looks to be one of the lighter slates so far this season, but that doesn't mean we're exempt from chaos.

Four games between ranked teams litter the Saturday slate, including two from the uber-competitive Ivy League. We've covered that deepest conference in men's lacrosse plenty through Gameday Guide, so we'll skip Yale-v-Brown and Harvard-v-Penn for the moment.

A few conference races to watch? Let's start with the Patriot League. Boston U currently holds the top spot, but the Terriers will face a challenge at Loyola, which sits just a game back in a four-team race. In the Big Ten, Maryland looks to be the favorite to roll through the regular season, but Ohio State could use a big victory to cement its spot at No. 2. Johns Hopkins and Penn State also face off to determine who sits in fourth in the conference.

Then there's always the ACC. Does anyone actually have any idea for how that conference will shape out? Syracuse travels to North Carolina in a game that seems well in the Tar Heels' favor, but stranger things have happened.

GAMES TO WATCH
ALL TIMES EASTERN

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 9 Ohio State at No. 1 Maryland

The Buckeyes travel to College Park in what could amount to the last chance to knock off Maryland before it reaches the Big Ten or NCAA tournaments. No team has come closer than eight goals of the Terps since March 5, when Maryland topped Notre Dame at Arlotta.

The case for Ohio State to pull the upset is not a completely farfetched one. The Buckeyes are a balanced team, sitting in the top 25 in both scoring offense and defense. The teams that have gotten the closest to the Terps (Princeton, Notre Dame, Rutgers) all rank in the top 10 in scoring offense. Ohio State sits at No. 11 with 14.36 goals per game.

Ohio State has had mixed results against offensive teams at the caliber of Maryland, topping Notre Dame in Columbus but getting dominated by Rutgers in Piscataway. Nick Myers' bunch will have to dig in defensively to stop what is becoming seemingly more unstoppable by the game.

UPSET WATCH

No. 13 Army at No. 6 Cornell

In a week that doesn't feature many potential upset picks, we're going with an in-state battle between teams that have three losses combined. Something has to give between the Black Knights and the Big Red as they face off in Ithaca.

Cornell has been one of the steadiest teams in Division I this season but has had its share of close calls. Just Monday, the Big Red trailed big early and rallied to down Syracuse at the Dome in one of the game's of the year. The mental strength it took to win that game could play a role in Saturday's matchup with Army.

These teams match up quite well with each other, each scoring over 13.5 goals per game and allowing under 11 goals per game. The stars on each side might have to shine to come out with a crucial victory. 

Brendan Nichtern is one of the most dynamic attackmen in the country, leading the nation with 6.18 points per game. CJ Kirst is one of the most skilled freshmen in the nation, and he's leading the Big Red with 4.91 points per game. He and teammate John Piatelli helped ignite the Cornell comeback on Monday.

BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT

No. 20 Boston U at Loyola

Look, the Patriot League is not the Big Ten or the Ivy League. But there are four teams in the conference that could potentially make noise in the NCAA tournament if they advanced to it.

The problem is that there might only be room for one team, at most two, from the Patriot League. It's what makes this matchup all the more intriguing. Boston U currently leads the Patriot League at 5-0 (tied with Lehigh), while Loyola and Army each boast just one loss.

The Terriers, who boast one of the top attackman in the country in Vince D'Alto, have lost two straight to Yale and Princeton. Loyola, however, is finding its footing, losing just one of its last six games after dropping four straight to start the season. A Boston U win would give it a firm grip on the top spot in the Patriot League, but a Loyola win would create more chaos.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Ryan Lanchbury, Richmond

Lanchbury might not fit the "under-the-radar" bill as well as the others on this list, but what he's doing this season deserves recognition. He's tallied four or more points in eight of 10 games so far this season, saving back-to-back four-goal games for matchups with Virginia and Jacksonville last week.

Alex Slusher, Princeton

I keep telling the team here how much I like Slusher's game, but I haven't been able to share it publicly. Slusher entered this season having played five collegiate games before COVID-19 shut down the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In his first full season, Slusher leads Princeton with 33 goals and scored 18 goals combined in wins over Georgetown, Rutgers, Penn and Brown.

Bryan McIntosh, Hofstra

The Pride haven't had a strong season overall, but McIntosh has been one of the bright spots. The transfer from Mount St. Mary's leads the nation with 34 caused turnovers, and he's been all over the field for Hofstra. Twice in the past five games, McIntosh has tallied five caused turnovers.