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 Atlantic Coast Conference currently boasts three top-five teams and four in the top 10. The only outlier? No. 12 Syracuse.

The Orange, who were ranked No. 2 in the preseason and were undefeated in 2020, will try to prove that their 18-11 loss to Army last weekend was an aberration more than the norm. As will be the case most of this season, Syracuse will have the chance to rocket up the rankings given the strength and high rankings of its ACC foes.

A silver lining of the various schedule format changes in 2021 is that each ACC team will play two of their conference opponents twice. Syracuse, for example, has two games against both Virginia and Notre Dame. The upshot of the expanded conference matchups is a lot of great lacrosse.

We’ll get our first taste of the “super conference” slate tomorrow night when Syracuse hosts No. 3 Virginia in what promises to be the game of the weekend.

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. 3 Virginia at No. 12 Syracuse

This is a no-brainer. The start of ACC play, fittingly, kicks off in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse looks to rebound after a 18-11 season-opening loss to Army that seemed at least for a week to cast some doubt on the sky-high expectations for the Orange in 2021.

Don’t expect a repeat performance. Do expect a great game in the 37th meeting between these schools. In their last meeting on March 2, 2019, the Cavaliers prevailed 15-14 in overtime in the Dome.

UPSET WATCH
No. 19 High Point at No. 4 North Carolina

No, this is not déjà vu. Yes, these two top-20 teams played each other 10 days ago in Chapel Hill. High Point almost pulled off the upset last time despite falling behind 15-7. With an offense that’s averaged 18 goals per game behind the sensational play of senior attackman Asher Nolting, look for another exciting game as the Panthers try to prove that the second time’s the charm.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Brayden Mayea, High Point

The freshman attackman from Ontario has shown a deft scoring touch for the Panthers through two games. He’s scored eight goals while shooting 72.7 percent.

Wheaton Jackoboice, Notre Dame

The senior midfielder from Kansas City (Mo.) had a breakout campaign in 2019 when he finished tied for third on the team with 36 points. Last spring, he started all five games for the Irish and tallied eight goals and three assists.

“That kid is one of the best midfielders in the country that nobody even knows about,” fifth-year senior defenseman and two-time captain Jack Kielty said of Jackoboice during an interview earlier this month on the Notre Dame Instagram account.

Jack Myers, Ohio State

While Tre Leclaire rightfully receives the lion’s share of the attention on the Buckeyes’ attack, Myers has proven he’s more than a complementary piece. In his first two seasons in Columbus, he tallied 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) and led the Buckeyes in assists both years. He scored a hat trick last weekend when Ohio State topped Johns Hopkins 14-8 at Homewood Field.

Milestone Watch

153

Jake Carraway is just one goal shy of the Georgetown career goal record (153), held by former teammate Daniel Bucaro. A week after Carraway put up eight goals in a 16-1 win over Villanova and was named the US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Player of the Week, it seems like a guarantee that this record will fall when the Hoyas take on St. John’s tomorrow at home.