Weekend One-Liners: What to Watch In Division I Women’s Lacrosse

It’s the time of year where lacrosse fans wonder when the time went. Snowy February fields and appointment-viewing non-conference games are gone. And we’re now left with old conference rivals jockeying for positioning in conference tournaments and the big one. The weather is also nicer.

This week’s slate is full of intrigue. It features the Patriot League’s up-and-coming team and the league’s stalwart. And Penn will take the field for the first time as the Ivy League frontrunner. But many eyes will turn to ESPNU, as the defending national champion and the current national frontrunner square off.

All times eastern.

No. 10 Notre Dame (9-4) at Pitt (4-10), Friday, 5 p.m. (ACCX)

The Irish just dropped a program-record 26 goals on Butler on Monday — let’s see what the Irish do for an encore when they head to the Steel City.

Stanford (7-6) at No. 3 Denver (13-0), Friday, 9 p.m. (Pioneers All-Access)

A pair of brand-name teams that play outside the Eastern time zone lock horns on Friday (the time listed here is Eastern, sorry).

Game of the Week: No. 1 Syracuse (14-0) at No. 4 North Carolina (11-2), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)

A nationally televised game that needs no introduction.

No. 17 Army (12-1) at No. 12 Loyola (11-2), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+) – Loyola plays Wednesday

After this game, only one unbeaten team will remain in the Patriot League.

Cornell (6-6) at No. 15 Penn (7-4), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Penn surged into the national rankings after downing previous Ivy favorite Yale and now hosts a Cornell team coming off a double-overtime heartbreaker versus Harvard.

Upset Alert: No. 18 Clemson (10-5) at Virginia Tech (8-6), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ACCX)

The Hokies have risen to the occasion during ACC play, taking the likes of Boston College and UNC down to the wire and beating Duke.

No. 16 Yale (9-3) at Harvard (6-5), Saturday, 3:30 (ESPN+)

The Bulldogs try to pick themselves off the mat after a stunning loss to Pitt, while Harvard looks to build off last week’s overtime win at Cornell.

No. 9 Virginia (10-4) at No. 5 Boston College (11-3), Saturday, 2 p.m. (ACCX)

Two of the nation’s top offensive players in Jenn Medjid (4.08 points per game) and Ashlyn McGovern (3.71 points per game) share a field in Chestnut Hill.

No. 2 Northwestern (13-1) at Ohio State (5-9), Saturday, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)

See the nation’s hands-down best goal scorer by a mile Izzy Scane on ESPNU, where she belongs.

Cincinnati (10-5) at No. 6 James Madison (13-1), Sunday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

The Dukes haven’t lost since opening day and put their 13-game winning streak to the test on an otherwise lull of a Sunday slate.