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.

Don’t worry. You’re not the only one seeing double.

Friday-Sunday doubleheaders have become a common occurrence this spring in an effort to minimize travel for teams in a COVID world. The Big Ten is playing doubleheaders almost exclusively — though there are a few schedule quirks that break things up for a handful of teams — and the ACC is also utilizing the doubleheader as a means to get games in without constant travel.

Thus far, for the most part, we’ve watched as the superior team comes out on top in both games. Losing teams have improved the second time around — see: Notre Dame’s second crack at Syracuse and Penn State’s much-better game against Northwestern — but the results have ultimately been the same.

Several more matchups put that trend to the test this weekend. Michigan will travel to Happy Valley to play Penn State on Friday and Sunday, Duke heads to Virginia for two contest and Florida takes the trip north to Philadelphia to play AAC foe Temple.

There is a litany of other interesting matchups this week, too. Here’s everything to look out for.

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. 10 Duke at No. 7 Virginia

As mentioned above, doubleheaders are the name of the game. And we get two intriguing top-10 matchups this weekend between Virginia and Duke, two teams coming off 10-goal wins — Virginia a 15-5 win over VCU and Duke a 19-9 win over High Point.

Two offensive powers, UVA and Duke will now battle to see which defense can do enough to keep the other team off the board. With North Carolina and Syracuse running through their schedules and Boston College looking strong, this is something of a battle for fourth place in the ACC.

Game No One’s Talking About
Stanford at Colorado

Maybe no one’s talking much about it because it’s a game out West, or maybe it’s because both Stanford and Colorado remain unranked (though Stanford has been in consideration for a few weeks now). But this is an important game between two teams that have traditionally been at the top of the Pac-12.

The Cardinal is 7-5 against Colorado, but the Buffs took the last game 16-9. Look out for Ali Baiocco of Stanford. She’s played just two games but already has 12 goals and four assists.

UPSET WATCH
No. 14 Florida at Temple

At some point this weekend, expect Temple to give Florida run. Jacksonville found success against the Gators last weekend by winning the draw, and Temple is seventh in the country with 16.2 draws won per game. Florida is tied for 62nd with 12 per game.

Temple has flown a bit under the radar, but this could be the Owls’ chance to make a statement.

Under-the-Radar Stars

Alyssa Arnold, Jacksonville

The senior from Clarksville, Md., has nine goals through three games, but she was especially lethal against Florida. She scored three goals on three shots and has been a consistent source of scoring for the Dolphins since she stepped on campus.

Meghan Hoffman, Temple

Through five games, Hoffman has 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists), which is one off her career high of 27 set in 2019. The grad student is Temple’s offensive leader, quarterbacking the Owls and making things happen.

Sorana Larson, UC Davis

Larson has been a scoring machine, netting 28 goals (and seven assists) over seven games. UC Davis has predictably dropped games to Stanford and USC, but it’s taking care of business against other teams out west. Larson’s at the heart of it.

SMALL SCHOOL GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 2 Indianapolis at No. 11 Grand Valley State

This is the first strong challenge for UIndy since it defeated Queens three weeks ago and climbed to No. 2 in the Nike / US Lacrosse Division II Women’s Top 20. The Greyhounds have been flexing their offensive muscle in 2021, including a combined 50 goals in their last two wins. After three impressive road victories to start the season, GVSU is playing its home opener and aiming to snap a four-game losing streak against its former league rival.