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.

It's a bit of rivalry week with Philly's top programs taking a cue from the famed Big Five in basketball. Drexel, Penn, Saint Joseph's and Villanova will tangle in the Philly 4 Lacrosse Classic on Friday and Sunday.

Old school Great Western Lacrosse League rivals Denver and Notre Dame, the benchmark programs from the "West" in collegiate men's lacrosse, add the latest chapter to their rivalry on Saturday in South Bend and one the sport's all-time great match-ups — Syracuse and Johns Hopkins — takes place at Homewood Field.

There are also some marquee neutral site affairs with Yale and Michigan tangling Saturday night in California in the Pacific Coast Shootout and Cornell and Penn State playing in The Crown Classic in Charlotte for the second consecutive season.

TEN TO WATCH
All times Eastern

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 9 Cornell vs No. 1 Penn State in Charlotte

This is the fifth straight year that Penn State head coach Jeff Tambroni has matched up against his former school, including the third straight year at a neutral site. The Nittany Lions beat Cornell 19-13 in Charlotte at The Crown Classic last year. The year before, Cornell rallied with six fourth-quarter goals to beat Penn State 9-7 at US Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md.

The consensus at the start of the year was that if Cornell could get to around 50 percent on faceoffs, the Big Red would be dangerous. On Sunday, the they proved to be dangerous no matter what. Despite losing 30 of 37 faceoffs against Ohio State, Cornell outscored the Buckeyes 17-16. Cornell is tied for second nationally at 18.5 goals per game in its 4-0 start.

Penn State led the country in scoring last season and seniors Grant Ament and Mac O'Keefe appear to be going out in style. Ament has 11 goals and 23 assists in leading Penn State to a 4-1 start and O'Keefe has 22 goals and six assists. Expect more fireworks on Sunday afternoon.

UPSET WATCH
No. 6 Virginia at Brown

Brown might be a little staggered after back-to-back overtime losses, but the Bears certainly have the talent to give Virginia a run for its money. Just look to last year's national championship season for Virginia. The Cavaliers had to rally from a three-goal deficit in the final six minutes of the game to pull out a 14-13 overtime victory.

Virginia is coming off its most complete game of the season, a 15-5 win over Air Force on Sunday, but the Cavaliers have yet to get on track offensively at the level they expected. Virginia is averaging 13.8 goals per game in its 4-1 start, down a shade from its 2019 average (14.1) despite returning the core of its offense and adding talented redshirt-freshman Payton Cormier to the mix.

Emotions will be high as Brown alum and former head coach Lars Tiffany returns to Providence for the first time since leading Brown on a memorable final four run in 2016. Tiffany parlayed that success into the head coaching job at Virginia. A smattering of Brown players recruited by Tiffany remain, including All-American goalie Phil Goss, who has a 56.1 save percentage. Goss (15 saves) and Virginia goalie Alex Rode (19 saves) were brilliant in last year's game.

BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Dartmouth at Vermont – Saturday 1 p.m. (ESPN+/AmericaEast.tv)

These are heady times in Hanover, N.H. The Big Green are 3-0 for the first time in over a decade — since 2006 to be exact. Dartmouth hasn't had a winning record since, and this year's three wins are already more than the school has posted in any season since winning five in 2015. 6-foot-5 sophomore goalie Daniel Hincks has made double-digit saves in all three games, and his 62.3 save percentage ranks second nationally.

Vermont (2-1) has lost in the America East championship game the last two seasons, narrowly missing an NCAA berth last year with a one-goal loss to UMBC in the AE title game. The Catamounts have continued a pipeline from Canada with their top three scorers — Thomas McConvey (seven goals, six assists), Rob Hudson (10 goals) and Ben French (four goals, four assists) — all hailing from north of the border.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Robert Clark, Georgetown: The fifth-year senior is thriving as a facilitator in the Hoyas offense. He leads unbeaten Georgetown with 13 assists, already equaling last year’s total, and is tied for second on the team with 22 points. The Hoyas visit Towson on Saturday.

Chris Conlin, Holy Cross: The 6-foot-2 sophomore leads the nation with 18 caused turnovers (3.0 per game) after ranking in the top 20 a year ago with 27. The Crusaders (4-2) have won four one-goal games and face a tough road trip to Lehigh Saturday.

Matt Gunty, Brown: The highly-regarded freshman from St. Alban’s in Washington, D.C., got his first real chance to shine last weekend and delivered. Gunty won 9 of 10 faceoffs in the fourth quarter and the only overtime faceoff to fuel Brown’s furious rally from a five-goal deficit to force OT in an eventual loss to Providence. For the season, he’s won 34 of 48 (70.8 percent) heading into Sunday’s game against Virginia.

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