Expectations for No. 6 Denver and No. 14 Duke have yet to be dashed while basking in the fresh start brought by the onset of the 2019 campaign.

Yes, Duke opened the season ranked second in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men's Top 20, and a 13-9 loss to High Point was an unexpected blip on the radar. At 2-1, Duke can settle any unrest with a strong showing against Denver.

The Pioneers opened the spring decisively, winning 11-4 over Air Force behind freshman Ellis Geis’ hat trick. Even with Duke’s minor setback, this has all the makings of a back-and-forth game we’ll remember come May.

NO. 6 DENVER AT NO. 14 DUKE
WHEN: Saturday,  Feb. 16, 11 a.m.
WATCH: ACC Network Extra

It’s not as if Duke is in a downward spiral. The Blue Devils responded against Jacksonville in a 15-8 win, holding the Dolphins scoreless in the final 22:47. Brian Smyth won 17 of 23 draws and picked up 14 ground balls. Naturally, Denver freshman Brett Boos — the heir apparent to Trevor Baptiste at the faceoff dot — will be a factor. He won 15 of 19 faceoffs against Air Force, 8 of 9 in the second half.

The importance of earning possession goes without saying, but watching the freshman compete against Smyth, a junior, should be a better indicator of Boos’ impact.

The defenses are another thing to monitor closely. Duke stifled Jacksonville for most of the second half, while Denver netminder Alex Ready saved nine of the 13 shots he faced against Air Force. Whichever unit breaks first could be on the wrong end of this potential early season classic.

Other games highlighting the weekend include:

• No. 3 Loyola (Md.) at No. 20 Johns Hopkins
  Saturday, 2 p.m. (ET), ESPN3
  
  Johns Hopkins’ season started inauspiciously. Towson handed the Blue Jays a 17-8 loss, and Hopkins fell from No. 7 to No. 20 in the Nike/US Lacrosse rankings. Loyola, meanwhile, rose three spots to No. 3 with a 17-9 win over Virginia. A one-game sample is hardly enough to judge these two contenders, but another loss for Hopkins would be a big hole to recover from. Both teams won less than 50 percent of faceoffs in their first games — Loyola was 13 of 28 and Hopkins was 7 of 28 — so perhaps the team that figures things out in that aspect will emerge.

• No. 16 Albany at Syracuse
  Sunday, 4 p.m. (ET), ACC Network Extra
  
  Syracuse, ranked No. 10 in the Nike/US Lacrosse preseason poll, faltered in its season-opener, a 12-9 loss to Colgate, and fell out of the top 20. Drake Porter made 15 saves in his first career start, but the Orange scored just five goals through three quarters and couldn’t recover. But make of this what you will: Since 1983, Syracuse has lost the season opener five times and made it the Final Four each of those seasons, twice winning an NCAA championship. This will be Albany’s opener, and last year, the Great Danes throttled Syracuse 15-3 at the Carrier Dome.

More Games On Our Radar

All times are listed in ET. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV listing page.

FRIDAY, FEB. 15

3 p.m.

No. 9 Towson at Mount St. Mary’s (NEC Front Row)

5 p.m.

Lehigh at No. 10 Virginia (ACC Network)

7 p.m.

No. 19 Marquette at Jacksonville (ESPN+)
UMBC at Navy 

SATURDAY, FEB. 16

Noon

Providence at Bryant (NEC Front Row)
No. 5 Penn State at Stony Brook (AmericaEast.TV)
Dartmouth at Boston U (Patriot League Network)
Harvard at No. 8 North Carolina (ACC Network Extra)
Stony Brook at No. 5 Penn State

1 p.m.

Villanova at No. 1 Yale (ESPN+)
Utah at Hofstra (Hofstra)
No. 2 Maryland at Penn (ESPN+)
No. 12 Ohio State at UMass (Lax Sports Network)

7:30 p.m.

Detroit Mercy at No. 7 Notre Dame