One of the most intriguing matchups within the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 is Saturday as No. 11 Northwestern hosts No. 6 North Carolina in the middle of its six-game homestand.

NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA AT NO. 11 NORTHWESTERN
WHEN: Saturday, March 17, 1 p.m.
WATCH: BTN Plus on BTN2GO

The Wildcats have only lost once at home – and that was to No. 1 Stony Brook by five goals on March 3.

Meanwhile, the Tar Heels have appeared to struggle on the road, first falling at James Madison in double overtime to start the season and most recently trailing at halftime at Virginia one week ago to battle for the comeback victory in the second period.

Even in its 14-10 victory at High Point on Feb. 16, North Carolina allowed the Panthers – which upset No. 20 Notre Dame on Wednesday – to win the second half by one goal.

As of March 14, North Carolina has the fourth most turnovers in Division I with 13 per game.

As coaches like to say, playing a full 60 minutes is necessary for both teams to come out on top Saturday.

And as Tar Heels senior Marie McCool – who anchors her team with the third-most shots in Division I and a team-high 55 draw controls, 31 points, 28 goals, 14 ground balls and eight caused turnovers – said following their upset loss to Florida on March 3, they “need to stay composed” and not lose their poise.

While Northwestern is 2-2 in its last four games, it has the No. 4 scoring defense in Division I and also ranks fourth for ground balls per game. Selena Lasota leads the Wildcats with 22 points with a team-high 16 goals and Shelby Frederick headlines the midfield with 31 draw controls.

A win for Northwestern would mark its best this season since its 9-5 upset of then-No. 8 USC on Feb. 25 at home, but a victory for North Carolina would be its third straight and third over a Top 20 team.

Other games highlighting the weekend include:

• No. 15 Colorado at No. 12 USC
  Friday, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
  
  After Colorado defeated Stanford 18-16 one week ago, the No. 15 Buffs now go head to head with the only other undefeated team in the Pac-12 – No. 12 USC. The Trojans have yet to play the Cardinal, but a win for either team Friday could be an early indicator for which team has a high probability of being the inaugural Pac-12 champion. Colorado’s Darby Kiernan sits third in Division I with 8.86 draw controls per game, while Miranda Stinson has the fifth-most shots per game. USC is led by Kerrigan Miller on offense, Jackie Gilbert in the midfield and Lydia Sutton on defense.

• No. 3 Maryland at No. 17 Johns Hopkins
  Saturday, 12 p.m., JHU Live Stream
  
  Reigning national champion Maryland boasts the No. 1 scoring offense and also ranks first in shots on goal per game and free position percentage, second in draw controls per game and third in shots per game. Johns Hopkins is fourth in shots per game. If there’s one thing that’s certain, fans will see endless fire on goal. It’ll be a tough battle for the Blue Jays to overcome the Terps’ threats at every position, but the first step to success would be to shut down Maryland attacker Megan Whittle, who ranks first in Division I with three free position goals per game and also sits fourth with 4.33 goals per game.

• No. 14 Towson at No. 1 Stony Brook
  Saturday, 5 p.m., AmericaEast.TV
  
  Stony Brook has yet to be beaten with its No. 1 scoring defense, plus its offensive stars Kylie and Taryn Ohlmiller and Courtney Murphy. The Seawolves are first in points per game thanks to Kylie Ohlmiller (No. 4 with 6.17 per game) and Murphy (No. 5 with 6.00 per game), as well as assists per game thanks to Taryn Ohlmiller (No. 1 with 3.50 per game). But Stony Brook is also first in turnovers per game. If the Tigers want a shot at an upset, they need to play its signature high-pressure defense as they are tied for third with Wagner in caused turnovers per game.

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, MARCH 16

2 p.m.

Harvard vs. No. 8 Syracuse (at US Lacrosse, Sparks, Md.)

9 p.m.

Oregon at Arizona State (ASU Live Stream-2)

SATURDAY, MARCH 17

11 a.m.

Colgate at No. 10 Navy (CBS Sports Network)

12 p.m.

No. 4 Boston College at Louisville (ACC Network Extra)
No. 9 Penn at Duke (ACC Network Extra)
No. 18 Penn State at Rutgers (BTN2GO)
UMass at Cornell (at US Lacrosse, Sparks, Md.)
Ohio State at Michigan (BTN Plus)

1 p.m.

Richmond at No. 2 James Madison (Madizone HD SportsNet)
Army at No. 13 Loyola (PatriotLeague.TV)
Villanova at Georgetown (Hoyas Video)
Brown at Yale (Ivy League Network)

4 p.m.

Cal at Stanford (Stanford Live Stream)

SUNDAY, MARCH 18

1 p.m.

Denver at Temple (OwlsTV)

2 p.m.

No. 5 Florida at Vanderbilt (Facebook Live)
No. 15 Colorado at Arizona State (ASU Live Stream-2)

3 p.m.

Oregon at No. 12 USC (USC Live Stream)
Delaware at No. 19 Virginia Tech