Weekend One-Liners: What to Watch for in Men's Lacrosse

Say what you want about the evil empires, but college lacrosse just feels right when Johns Hopkins and Syracuse are relevant.

And while it’s too early to declare that the bluebloods are back, they’ve certainly caught our attention early in the season. Both are on the road for bellwether games this weekend, with Hopkins making the short trip up Charles Street to play Loyola and Syracuse facing Maryland in their first visit to College Park since 1997.

Check out our updated TV listings for all the games to stream this weekend. Here’s one line on a dozen games of note. All times Eastern. Rankings per the Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20.

Denver (1-1) at No. 17 Duke (2-1) – Friday, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)

Happy Hour Lacrosse returns to linear TV with two highly talented teams recovering from upset losses (to Air Force and Jacksonville, respectively) last weekend.

No. 11 Rutgers (2-0) at Army (0-1) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Jonathan Dugenio and Yale transfer Joe Neuman are fueling Rutgers’ NASCAR offense by combining to win more than 70 percent of faceoffs through two games.

No. 2 Cornell (0-0) at Albany (0-1) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Watch two of the best in the game operate at opposite ends of the field for the returning NCAA finalist Big Red, who open the season knowing they’re set with Gavin Adler on defense and CJ Kirst at attack. (Cornell Preview)

No. 9 Penn (0-0) at No. 8 Georgetown (1-1) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (FloSports)

Preseason Player of the Year Sam Handley makes his 2023 debut opposite one of his oldest friends in Tucker Dordevic, a reunion of two of Portland’s proudest exports. (Penn Preview)

Hobart (1-0) at Lehigh (1-0) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Both offenses put up 20-spots last week, with the Statesmen shooting 20-for-68 and the Mountain Hawks shooting 20-for-50 in wins over Canisius and Fairfield, respectively.

No. 5 Johns Hopkins (2-1) at No. 4 Loyola (1-0) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

A loss Tuesday to North Carolina in which their offense went silent in the second half took some of the shine off the Blue Jays’ win over Georgetown, while the Greyhounds are still riding high off a shocking season-opening win over defending NCAA champion Maryland in which they shot an extraordinarily efficient 46 percent.

No. 20 Saint Joseph’s (1-0) at Towson (1-0) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (FloSports)

While their Baltimore brethren were stealing headlines last weekend, the Tigers quietly took care of business against Mount St. Mary’s — a game in which 6-foot-5 freshman Joaquin Villagomez went off for five goals in his collegiate debut — and now get a crack at a nationally ranked Hawks teams that drew mixed reviews from coaches in our preseason polling.

Boston U (0-1) at Bryant (1-0) – Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN3)

Bryant sure looked comfortable in new coach Brad Ross’ offensive system, spreading the wealth with seven different scorers in a 15-14 season-opening win over Providence.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Syracuse (3-0) at No. 10 Maryland (1-1) – Saturday, 1 p.m. (BTN+)

Maryland comes limping into this game after suffering its first regular season loss in nearly three years and losing NCAA championship MVP Logan McNaney to an ACL injury, but backup goalie Teddy Dolan is plenty experienced as a former three-year starter and America East Defensive Player of the Year at Binghamton.

No. 15 Harvard (0-0) at No. 1 Virginia (1-0) – Saturday, 4 p.m. (ACCNX)

Payton Cormier’s five-goal, two-assist performance in the Cavaliers’ season-opening win over Michigan just reminded you of the glut of prized recruits they continue to stockpile year over year who have matured to make them an absolute wagon.

No. 18 North Carolina (2-0) at No. 12 Ohio State (2-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. (BTN+)

Tar Heels coach Joe Breschi returns to Columbus for the first time since the 2016 NCAA quarterfinals to find that the program he helped build now plays in the beautiful Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium.

UPSET WATCH

No. 7 Yale (0-0) at Villanova (1-0) – Sunday, 12 p.m. (FloSports)

Will Vitton is a technician in goal, Matt Campbell remains the most underrated midfielder in the country and attackman Patrick Daly is as clutch as they come for the Wildcats, who took down Penn State in their season opener.