On Saturday, Stony Brook enters its first matchup as the No. 1 team in the country against No. 13 Northwestern. It’s the first time in program history the Seawolves have been ranked first in all three national polls.

Opening the season 3-0 with wins over then-No. 5 USC, Stanford and Denver, Stony Brook is looking to stay hot without losing sight of its end goal – making it to the NCAA championship on its home turf at LaValle Stadium.

“We’ve hunted one goal from the time our season ended last year, and that goal hasn’t changed,” Seawolves coach Joe Spallina said. "Our program has full focus on the future and being the No. 1 team in the country in the last poll of the year. Northwestern is a really good team and Saturday’s game will be another great challenge for our group.”

NO. 1 STONY BROOK AT NO. 13 NORTHWESTERN
WHEN: Saturday, March 3, 1 p.m.
WATCH: FloLive.TV

This weekend’s matchup comes on the heels of the Tewaraaton Foundation announcing its 50-player watch list, which includes three Seawolves – their 100-point scorers Courtney Murphy, who has made an impressive return from injury after setting the NCAA single-season goals record in 2016, Kylie Ohlmiller, who was a Tewaaraton finalist in 2017 after setting the NCAA single-season points record formerly owned by all-time great Jen Adams, and Taryn Ohlmiller, who has been a standout sophomore with a balanced offensive effort after stepping up in Murphy’s absence last season with 101 points.

The women’s watch list also features two Wildcats – junior attacker Selena Lasota and senior midfielder Sheila Nesselbush. Lasota is back in her groove, shining once again on the field after battling injury in a tough 2017 and now leading Northwestern with 21 points. Nesselbush also returned from injury last season, and together, their leadership back on the field provides the confidence Northwestern needs for a strong postseason run.

“I think we all want it, and we’d all like to see Northwestern get back to being the top program in the country,” Lasota said. “We know what it takes. I think every second of the day about that.”

The Stony Brook-Northwestern game will feature endless creativity with the number of threats on the field. In the series history, the Seawolves lead 3-1.

Other games highlighting the weekend include:

• No. 7 Florida at No. 3 North Carolina
  Saturday, 1:15 p.m., ACC Network Extra
  
  After dethroning No. 1 Maryland in a program-validating victory, the Tar Heels look to close their homestand with another strong performance against Florida, which is coming off a midweek win over Jacksonville after barely scraping by unranked Loyola. Marie McCool is playing hot for North Carolina with a team-best 20 points and 30 draw controls, while the Gators are led by a balanced effort from Lindsey Ronbeck and the Pirreca sisters on the attack and from Sabrina Cristodero, Sydney Pirreca and Shannon Kavanagh in the midfield. Inspired by the powerhouses of the 1990s in Maryland and Loyola, said UNC coach Jenny Levy, the Tar Heels lead the all-time series 7-2.​

• No. 5 Syracuse at No. 8 Virginia
  Sunday, 12 p.m., ACC Network Extra
  
  Virginia coach Julie Myers thinks her team finally has the “it factor” it needs to propel itself far into the postseason, but the path to get there isn’t easy. Sunday’s game against Syracuse opens a six-game stretch against Top 20 teams or teams receiving votes, including back-to-back home games against the Orange and Tar Heels. Both Syracuse and Virginia are undefeated, though the Orange want to grab their first significant win of the year before hosting Florida and Maryland in the Dome. Emily Hawryschuk leads the Syracuse offense with 11 points and Julie Cross has taken charge in the midfield with 12 draw controls. For Virginia, it’s captain Kasey Behr leading the way with 13 goals and Sammy Mueller controlling the draw.​

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 2

1 p.m.

Binghamton at No. 6 Boston College (ACC Network Extra)

3 p.m.

No. 2 James Madison at Temple (Owls TV)
Stanford at No. 16 Duke

SATURDAY, MARCH 3

12 p.m.

Hofstra at No. 4 Maryland (BTN Plus)

1 p.m.

No. 11 Penn at Cornell (Ivy League Network)
No. 12 Princeton at Brown (Ivy League Network)
Loyola at No. 18 Penn State (Lion Vision)
Harvard at No. 19 Yale (Ivy League Network)
Furman at No. 20 Johns Hopkins (JHU Live Stream)
Delaware at Georgetown (Georgetown Live Stream)
UMass at UConn (UConn Live Stream)

3 p.m.

Oregon at No. 9 Towson (Towson Live Stream)

6 p.m.

Winthrop vs. No. 10 Navy (at US Lacrosse Headquarters, Sparks, Md.)

SUNDAY, MARCH 4

12 p.m.

Stanford at Elon

1 p.m.

Boston University at No. 16 Duke (ACC Network Extra)
No. 17 Notre Dame at Louisville

2 p.m.

No. 15 Virginia Tech at Colorado (Colorado Live Stream)