Best of Lacrosse 2023: Vote for Best Game

Welcome to #BestOfLacrosse2023. Help us celebrate the past year of lacrosse by voting in 15 polls over 15 weekdays in December, beginning Monday, Dec. 4. All voting will be conducted on X (@usalacrossemag), and fans will have 24 hours to make their selections.

For more information — including upcoming categories, rules and more — check out our introductory post to #BestOfLacrosse2023.

Is there anything more captivating than a thrilling lacrosse game? A punch-for-punch, down-to-the-wire contest can get your heart racing in February the same way it can in April or May. 

Luckily for lacrosse fans, there were plenty such games in 2023 — so many, in fact, that narrowing the nominees down to four for Best Game was extremely difficult. Our staff weighed the stakes and circumstances of the candidates to put together our list.

Now we have to see which team has enough left for one last knockout blow of 2023.

Here are the nominees for Best Game.

Is there anything more captivating than a thrilling lacrosse game? Luckily for fans, there were plenty such contests in 2023.

VOTE in our #BestofLax poll to determine the Best Game of 2023.

NOMINEES: https://t.co/Vd5kZn0Sst

— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) December 4, 2023

BEST GAME

NOTRE DAME VS. MARYAND (M)

Maryland had no one to turn to with the game on the line on Saturday, March 4. Notre Dame had two Kavanaghs. Pat Kavanagh lured Brett Makar to the middle of the field about 15 yards from the goal, faked a rollback and scored on a lefty runner in the 70th minute to lift eventual national champion Notre Dame to a dramatic 13-12 triple-overtime victory over defending champion Maryland at SECU Stadium.

Relive the instant classic by reading this game story by Matt DaSilva.

DENVER VS. NORTH CAROLINA (W)

Liza Kelly knew the exact style her team needed to play. In what quickly turned into a defensive grudge match — one that embodied the Denver style in 2023 —fifth-seeded Denver inched past fourth-seeded North Carolina 5-4 in an NCAA women’s lacrosse quarterfinal on Thursday, May 18, at Dorrance Field. It was a win that Kelly noted not only panned out the way she hoped it would, but one that possessed gameplay that was vital for the Pioneers to advance to their first-ever final four.

Remember perhaps the grittiest game of the year by reading this game story by Evan Rogers.

ALBANY VS. VIRGINIA (W)

In the 13th game and the 10th hour of the first round of the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse tournament, Albany delivered the most stunning result on Friday, May 12. Making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2017 after winning a long sought-after America East championship, the Great Danes came back from a seven-goal deficit to defeat Virginia 16-14 at Peter Barton Stadium in Denver.

Revisit a wild second half by reading this game recap by Matt DaSilva.

ARCHERS VS. WATERDOGS

Call it a legacy game, or an MVP moment, or whatever you’d like. When it comes down to it, there’s just no stopping Tom Schreiber. Schreiber, the Premier Lacrosse League’s Jim Brown Most Valuable Player this season, picked up a grounder, evaded a swarming Waterdogs defense and scored the go-ahead goal with 1:37 remaining, willing the Archers to a 15-14 win on Sunday, Sept. 24, at Subaru Park in the PLL championship game.

Recall another one of Schreiber’s magical moments in this game story by Kenny DeJohn.