Senior midfielder Connor Kelly carried Maryland past Notre Dame 12-10, delivering a maestro performance of three goals and seven assists to keep the Terrapins undefeated in 2018.

Albany’s TD Ierlan went 24-for-24 on faceoffs to help the Great Danes erase a late two-goal deficit to snag an 11-9 defeat of Cornell, helping to overcome Christian Knight’s stellar 19-save day in the cage for the Big Red.

And as a result, there’s a 1-vs.-2 matchup early in the season filled with intrigue. (Albany first must get by UMass in a tricky road game Tuesday.)

There’s the upstart against the defending national champion in this matchup of the top two teams in this week’s Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20. It also is a rematch of last year’s NCAA quarterfinals, when Maryland had its way in an 18-9 triumph.

It’s been more than a year since Albany lost to anybody other than Maryland, rattling off 18 in a row against the rest of the country. Saturday’s visit to College Park (noon, BTN) provides the Great Danes a tangible chance to continue their climb to the top of the sport.

Nike/US Lacrosse
Division I Men’s Top 20

Also considered (alphabetical order): Delaware, Hofstra, Lehigh, Navy

HOT

Syracuse (+5)

So the question still must be asked: How good is the Orange? No one’s placing Syracuse at Albany’s level after the Great Danes throttled John Desko’s team in the Carrier Dome, but a resilient showing against Army last week offered some hope.

And now there’s some more. Syracuse built a five-goal lead early in the fourth quarter Sunday at Virginia, watched it vanish as the Cavaliers scored on six of their nine shots in the quarter, and then squeaked out a 12-11 victory on Tucker Dordevic’s goal with 13 seconds to play.

Dan Varello won 16 of 26 draws for the Orange (3-1, 1-0 ACC), who jump to near the top of a scrum of one-loss teams largely connected in some way early in the season (Syracuse beat Virginia, which beat Loyola; Syracuse beat Army, which beat Rutgers).

NOT

Ohio State (-8)

In falling 8-7 in overtime to Marquette on Friday and then edging Detroit 8-7 two days later, the Buckeyes took a step toward solidifying early perceptions about its defense while creating a little concern about its offense.

One, Nick Myers’ defense is outstanding. During the Buckeyes’ 5-1 start, they’ve allowed just one opponent to reach double figures (Jacksonville). In the two games this week, the close unit of Matt Borges, Erik Evans and Ben Randall combined for 11 caused turnovers. They’re only going to get better.

Still, there’s work to do at the offensive end. The Buckeyes are equipped to win games 9-7 and 8-7 (as they already have this season), but the two-game shooting performance this week — 15 of 61, or 24.6 percent — wasn’t overwhelming. Defense is going to be the big strength in Columbus, but a bounceback on offense would be a welcome development.

Penn (-6)

The Quakers ran into a hot faceoff guy, and that was enough to cost them a chance at knocking off another power conference school. A week after besting Duke 10-9, Penn dropped a 10-7 decision to Penn State as the Nittany Lions’ Gerard Arceri won 18 of 20 draws.

Penn’s at its best when it can play at its pace and gradually wear down an opponent — which is what it did to Duke in the fourth quarter a week earlier. The Quakers didn’t have that luxury against Penn State, and even though none of the other numbers were especially bleak — comparable save totals, only seven turnovers, just one bungled clear — the difference in possession was just too costly.

IN

Penn State

One of February’s disappointments, the Nittany Lions have an overtime loss to Villanova and a setback against Robert Morris to their credit even before they get into conference play. Dropping a game at Penn would have further reduced the margin of error for Jeff Tambroni’s team as it chased an NCAA tournament berth.

Arceri’s faceoff work allowed the Nittany Lions to dictate the game and also permitted Penn State’s cast of dozens on offense to find ways to contribute. No player had more than three points for the Nittany Lions, with Mac O’Keefe and Nick Spillane both collecting a pair of goals and an assist. But nine players had at least one point, a good sign in a relatively low-scoring game for a team with a lot of options.

OUT

Delaware (previously No. 18)

The Blue Hens played from ahead nearly all day against Villanova but ultimately had no answer for Christian Cuccinello, who scored seven goals for the Wildcats in a 13-12 victory. Cuccinello delivered Villanova’s final score with 7:30 to go, giving the Wildcats their first lead of the day.

That said, the Blue Hens (3-1) got five goals from Dean DiSimone and another four from Bryce Reid, acquitting themselves well against an undefeated team. It’s just one setback, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ben DeLuca’s bunch nudges its way back into the top 20 before long.