Weekend One-Liners: Rivalries Rule
Last weekend, we got Army-Navy. This weekend, we get Hopkins-Maryland, Syracuse-Virginia and Michigan-Ohio State.
Rivalries rule.
What’s even better is that all three games and seven total are on linear TV. It’s a couch potato’s dream.
Here are 10 games to watch with one sentence on each. Rankings are per this week’s USA Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20. All times Eastern.
No. 7 Penn State (8-3, 2-2) at Rutgers (7-5, 1-3) – Friday 6 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Rutgers hasn’t reached double figures in more than a month and will find it especially difficult to score against Jack Fracyon and a Penn State defense that’s getting healthier by the week.
Loyola (6-6, 4-2) at Navy (7-5, 4-2) – Friday 7 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Six Patriot League teams are 4-2 in conference play and it’s looking like a one-bid league, so home-field advantage would be mighty helpful for the one that emerges from the fray as the No. 1 seed.
North Carolina (6-6, 0-2) at No. 1 Notre Dame (8-1, 2-0) – Saturday 11:30 a.m. (ACC Network)
A late surge was not enough to keep the Tar Heels from suffering their third one-goal loss of the season against Syracuse and their trip to South Bend presents unfavorable matchups of youth vs. experience at virtually all levels of the field.
Boston University (7-5, 4-2) at Lehigh (6-6, 4-2) – Saturday 12 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
BU’s loss to Lafayette was a head-scratcher, especially after the Terriers beat Army and took both Duke and Yale to the wire in close losses.
No. 19 Harvard (7-4, 1-3) at No. 10 Cornell (7-4, 3-1) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
The Crimson will need to upset the Big Red for the second straight year to keep their scant Ivy League tournament hopes alive.
No. 14 Richmond (8-4, 3-0) at UMass (6-5, 2-1) – Saturday 12 p.m. (ESPN+)
All eyes are on a top-20 showdown with St. Joe’s on April 27, but Richmond would be remiss to overlook tough, scrappy UMass team with four one-goal losses.
No. 4 Virginia (10-2, 1-1) at No. 12 Syracuse (10-4, 2-1) – Saturday 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
Since 2017, Virginia is 24-1 in games after a loss and the Cavaliers have won three straight games in their series with Syracuse.
No. 5 Maryland (8-3, 3-1) at No. 3 Johns Hopkins (9-3, 4-0) – Saturday 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
The 127th edition of the greatest rivalry in college lacrosse will be played to determine the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament.
No. 13 Penn (8-4, 4-1) at No. 18 Princeton (7-4, 2-2) – Saturday 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Fun fact: Emmet Carroll, who made 18 saves in a comeback win over Harvard, and Brendan Lavelle, who hurled in his first career goal from the defensive end of the field, were high school teammates in Rye, N.Y.
Michigan (6-6, 1-3) at Ohio State (6-7, 1-3) – Saturday 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
All seven of Ohio State’s losses have come to teams ranked in this week’s top 10, and the Buckeyes proved in consecutive one-goal defeats to Big Ten frontrunners Hopkins and Maryland that they will be a tough out in the playoffs.
Matt DaSilva
Matt DaSilva is the editor in chief of USA Lacrosse Magazine. He played LSM at Sachem (N.Y.) and for the club team at Delaware. Somewhere on the dark web resides a GIF of him getting beat for the game-winning goal in the 2002 NCLL final.