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

The Division I schedule is in something of a lull this week. You don’t see the juggernaut, top-five matchups we saw two weeks ago — and will again soon. But this weekend’s slate offers a chance to cross some teams off your viewing bucket lists.

For example, No. 20 UMass is off to a hot start but hasn’t played that tough of a schedule. Do the Minutewomen pass your personal eye test? Elsewhere, the Big East opener between Villanova and Denver features two teams having next-level years (relative to their histories).

The season may be slowing down, but it’s mostly so it can gear back up. It’s hard to believe, but we’re less than a month from the start of the ACC championship, and the world “lull” will not be uttered that week.

No. 3 North Carolina (9-1) at No. 12 Notre Dame (7-3), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ACC Network)

UNC leaves Dorrance for just the fourth time this season for a date with a Notre Dame team that pushed the eventual conference champs to the brink in a one-goal game during last year’s ACC semis.

Pitt (4-8) at No. 5 Boston College (8-3), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ACCX)

Things got a little dicey for the Eagles last weekend against VaTech, but they romped Dartmouth Wednesday night and host Pitt on Saturday.

Penn (5-3) at No. 9 Florida (7-3), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Unbelievably, Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between the two brand-name lacrosse programs.

Game of the Week: No. 20 UMass (10-1) at Davidson (9-2), Saturday, 12 p.m. (ESPN+)

Perhaps an under-the-radar pick for game of the week, but expect offensive fireworks as Davidson has hit double-digit goals in all but two games, and UMass ranks sixth in Division I in scoring offense (15.82).

Drexel (7-3) at No. 7 Stony Brook (7-2), Sunday, 1 p.m. (FloSports)  

Defending CAA champion Drexel takes on the conference newcomer and favorite to win this year in Stony Brook in an NCAA tournament first-round rematch.

Upset Watch: Virginia Tech (5-6) at No. 16 Duke (6-5), Saturday, 1 p.m. (ACCX)

Virginia Tech challenged fifth-ranked Boston College and travels to Durham to take on the up-and-down Blue Devils.

Villanova (8-2) at No. 4 Denver (10-0), Saturday, 1 p.m. (FloSports)

Two teams off to their best starts in program history square off in the Big East opener for both.

No. 11 Virginia UVA (8-3) at No. 1 Syracuse (12-0), Saturday, 6 p.m. (ACCX)

Virginia appeared to be on the doorstep of moving up earlier in the season, though Syracuse has created a new tier for itself in the first half of 2023.

No. 17 Michigan (9-4) at No. 8 Maryland (9-3), Sunday, 12 p.m. (Big+)

The Terps have won six straight, most recently downing Princeton, and are set to host a Michigan team riding Jill Smith, who already owns the school’s single-season goals record (45 goals).

USC (8-2) at Stanford (4-5), Sunday 4 p.m. (Stanford Live Stream)

The Pac-12 may have lost a bit of luster during the first half of 2023, but the Stanford-USC rivalry is a fun watch in any sport.