James Madison of the CAA already staked its claim as the best women’s team in Virginia after it defeated the No. 17 Cavaliers 15-10 on Wednesday.
Which team in the state is the next best?
In the ACC, fans have Virginia and Virginia Tech, which are just about a two-hour drive from each other.
NO. 17 VIRGINIA AT NO. 13 VIRGINIA TECH
WHEN: Saturday, April 21, 1 p.m.
WATCH: ACC Network Extra
The No. 13 Hokies (11-5) rank higher with significant wins over Duke, Notre Dame and Syracuse, while coming off a hard-fought 9-7 loss to undefeated Boston College, nearly knocking off the No. 2 squad one week ago.
The Cavaliers currently have a 9-7 record, but are 4-2 in conference play, just like Virginia Tech. The highlights of their season are wins over Duke, Notre Dame, Princeton and Syracuse, but have gone 1-5 in their last six games.
Saturday’s matchup is both teams’ last game of the regular season before the ACC Tournament, which starts April 26. Boston College sits first in the league, followed by North Carolina, Virginia Tech and then Virginia.
Whichever team wins Saturday bumps itself ahead of the other. A win for the Hokies would secure their winningest season in program history and the No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament.
The Cavaliers are led by Kasey Behr (55 draw controls, 47 points, 28 ground balls, 22 caused turnovers), Maggie Jackson (86 draw controls, 50 points, 47 ground balls, 18 caused turnovers), Sammy Mueller (65 draw controls, 59 points, 26 ground balls) and Avery Shoemaker (53 points).
The Hokies’ lead talent is also spread across the board – Mary Claire Byrne (43 ground balls, 30 caused turnovers, 21 points), Kelly Glatthorn (40 draw controls, 32 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers), Tristan McGinley (75 draw controls, 42 points) and Paige Petty (50 draw controls, 48 points, 22 ground balls).
Let the battle begin.
Other games highlighting the weekend include:
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Duke at No. 5 North Carolina
Saturday, 3 p.m., ACC Network Extra
The Battle for Tobacco Road is always a showdown. The Blue Devils may be unranked and on a three-game losing streak, but they showed some signs of life with a 17-10 upset of Syracuse on March 31. If they can bring that same game to Chapel Hill, N.C., they could earn a much-needed win as their record sits at the .500 mark before the ACC Tournament. Meanwhile, North Carolina is on a five-game winning streak, defeating their opponents by a combined score of 84-44, making Duke the major underdog. -
UMBC at No. 1 Stony Brook
Saturday, 3 p.m., AmericaEast.TV
UMBC Athletics’ Twitter account is already playing up this game. Why? The Retrievers are playing another No. 1 team, this time being Stony Brook women’s lacrosse. Can they knock off yet another top-ranked, undefeated lacrosse team? The Seawolves boast the No. 1 scoring defense and No. 2 scoring offense, while also sitting first in assists per game, points per game and shot percentage – so the Stony Brook women's lacrosse Twitter account promptly responded. Will it be an America East battle or Twitterverse battle? Stay tuned.
Bae: Come over
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) April 18, 2018
Me: I can't right now
Bae: UMBC is about to play the No.1 team in the country again
Me:
(@UMBC_WLacrosse vs No.1 @StonyBrookWLAX this Saturday at 3 pm) pic.twitter.com/a50R5GXAqC
When you find out bae is actually a Stony Brook fan... pic.twitter.com/t7rjPuIB9T
— Stony Brook WLAX (@StonyBrookWLAX) April 18, 2018
DID YOU KNOW: The @AmericaEast has the NCAA Committee Rankings No.1 MLax team (@UAlbanyMLax) and the No.1 WLax team (@StonyBrookWLAX)?
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) April 17, 2018
Hey, would you look at that, we play No.1 Stony Brook on Saturday. Sup, Seawolves?
Sup, @UMBCAthletics?pic.twitter.com/v8QO6DNnnU
— Stony Brook WLAX (@StonyBrookWLAX) April 17, 2018
nuthin much, just having a good time over here. How are things over on #LaxIsland pic.twitter.com/Reaz2Z0m6Y
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) April 17, 2018
Business as usual. pic.twitter.com/g0gXEPGjAe
— Stony Brook WLAX (@StonyBrookWLAX) April 17, 2018
How can we even respond to that pic.twitter.com/B4SVnN0QCx
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) April 17, 2018
See you Friday? pic.twitter.com/rr3DQPQv0L
— Stony Brook WLAX (@StonyBrookWLAX) April 17, 2018
it’s a date pic.twitter.com/ByvQjVQKje
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) April 17, 2018
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, presented by Nationwide.
FRIDAY, APRIL 20
5 p.m.
Oregon at No. 11 Colorado (Pac-12 Plus Live Stream)
Ohio State at Johns Hopkins (JHU Live Stream)
6 p.m.
Hofstra at No. 10 Towson (Towson Live Stream)
7 p.m.
No. 14 Stanford at Cal (Cal Live Stream)
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
12 p.m.
Rutgers at No. 7 Northwestern
No. 9 Loyola at Colgate (PatriotLeague.TV)
Marquette at Georgetown (Big East Digital Network)
1 p.m.
Harvard at No. 8 Penn (Ivy League Network)
No. 12 Navy at Lafayette (WatchStadium.com)
Cornell at No. 20 Princeton (Ivy League Network)
San Diego State at Notre Dame (ACC Network Extra)
2 p.m.
No. 6 Florida at Denver (Pioneer Vision)
USC at Arizona State
4 p.m.
Yale at No. 15 Dartmouth (Ivy League Network/ESPN3)
SUNDAY, APRIL 22
12 p.m.
Hofstra at No. 4 James Madison (Madizone HD SportsNet)
1 p.m.
Louisville at No. 19 Syracuse (ACC Network Extra)