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

And then there was one.

Denver is the only undefeated team remaining in Division I. On a night when Meaghan Tyrrell, a likely Tewaaraton finalist, passed Katie Rowan to become Syracuse’s all-time points leader, Boston College used a seven-goal fourth quarter to steal the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament.

And that was just what women’s lacrosse had in store on Thursday night. (Rutgers also rallied to beat Ohio State on a Lily Dixon overtime winner, and North Carolina rallied late to beat Duke.)

The Orange will have a beat to lick its wounds. It’s off until Wednesday’s quarterfinals. But the ACC championship tournament starts this Sunday with a pair of opening-round games.

Meanwhile, the rest of Division I is still in regular-season mode, albeit one look at this weekend’s slate, and you’ll start getting playoff vibes. Case in point: All eyes turn to Evanston Saturday night when a pair of blueblood Big Ten rivals collide. Could a Northwestern win put the Wildcats in the No. 1 spot in the rankings? Ask me on Monday.

In the meantime, don’t discount some other games on the slate, including additional intrigue in the Big Ten and the Ivy League and a chance to catch the women’s lacrosse version of the storied Army-Navy rivalry. Undefeated Denver rolls on, too.

Game of the Week: No. 10 Maryland (12-4) at No. 2 Northwestern (14-1), Saturday, 8 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

The home team has the decided upper hand on paper, but it’s always fun to see what really happens when these two rivals clash for (at least) 60 minutes — in primetime, no less.

No. 12 UMass (13-1) at St. Joseph’s (9-6), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

The schedule’s hidden gem is a rematch of last year’s A-10 title game, won by St. Joe’s in a stunner. 

No. 12 Penn State (11-4) at No. 20 Johns Hopkins (6-7), Saturday, 12 p.m. (Johns Hopkins Stream)

A pair of teams that scored B1G upsets last week clash in the regular-season finale for both.

Upset watch: Cornell (6-7) at No. 19 Yale (9-4) Saturday, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

Last Saturday, Big Red pushed a Penn team that blew out Yale the previous weekend, so keep your eyes on this Ancient Eight matchup.

Navy (12-3) at Army (12-2), Saturday, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Michelle Tumolo’s teary-eyed celebration after the Black Knights’ first win over Navy last season was unforgettable, and a victory this season would be the best way to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to Loyola.

Georgetown (6-9) at No. 3 Denver (15-0), Saturday, 2:30 p.m. (Pioneers All-Access)

Denver is two wins away from completing its first-ever perfect regular season, but first, Georgetown.

No. 14 Penn (9-4) at Brown (5-7), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

With a win over Princeton Wednesday, Penn became the clear favorite in the Ivy League.

No. 4 James Madison (14-1) at Rutgers (7-7), Sunday, 12 p.m. (BTN+) – Rutgers plays 6 pm Thursday

A late out-of-conference test for James Madison sees the Dukes play a Rutgers team with a ton of talent despite its sub-par record.

Pitt (4-12) vs. Virginia Tech (9-8), Sunday, 12 p.m. (ACC Network)

This year’s No. 10 seed Pitt knocked off Louisville in the ACCs last year as part of a feel-good inaugural season but faces a tough task in a seventh-seeded Virginia Tech team with dark horse potential.

Duke (7-9) vs. Louisville (5-11), Sunday, 2 p.m. (ACC Network)

Ninth-seeded Duke has been on the receiving end of two-straight one-goal losses — Thursday to UNC and last weekend to none other than the eighth-seeded Cardinals — and needs a deep run in the ACCs to have a shot at the NCAA tournament.