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Good morning. Here's the latest from around the lacrosse world:

1. Penn State doubters will have a difficult time explaining away the Nittany Lions after Sunday night’s 9-4 victory over Ohio State in front of a school-record 3,172 fans in Happy Valley.

Lauded all season long for its explosive offense, Penn State rode its defense and freshman goalie Colby Kneese (13 saves), holding the talented Buckeyes scoreless for more than 37 minutes during one stretch. It also flashed midfield depth, with five different middies scoring on a quiet night for the vaunted attack. The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 1 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 since March 13, could make it a clean sweep of the major polls Monday.

If not, they’ll take solace in being one of just two undefeated teams remaining (Hofstra) and 10-0 with their Big Ten opener behind them.

2. Duke is doing that thing Duke does, getting warmer with the weather and peaking at the most important juncture in its schedule. The Blue Devils, who had a five-game winning streak snapped last week in an overtime thriller against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, rebounded with a 12-8 win Sunday at North Carolina. Duke dug itself out of a 5-1 hole, then dominated the fourth quarter with five unanswered goals, including three by Justin Guterding. Faceoff man Kyle Rowe played a prominent role in the turnaround, going 17-for-24, including a perfect 6-for-6 fourth quarter, as the Blue Devils outshot the Tar Heels 26-9 in the second half.

3. In a season of upsets and upstarts, score this weekend as a win for the establishment. Johns Hopkins doubled up Rutgers 12-6, Maryland dominated Michigan 15-8, Syracuse survived another one-goal affair at Notre Dame, Princeton walloped Brown and Virginia defeated Richmond 8-7.

4. On the women’s side, Stony Brook had a huge weekend, dealing then-No. 4 Colorado its first loss of the season Friday night and then throttling its top America East challenger, Albany, on Sunday. The Ohlmiller sisters are unstoppable right now, with freshman Taryn Ohlmiller assuming a more prominent role in the offense in the wake of Courtney Murphy’s season-ending injury. And, ho hum, Kylie Ohlmiller scored on another behind-the-back beauty.

5. The Ivy League might be the best conference in women’s lacrosse right now. Not only are Cornell, Princeton and Penn all ranked in the top 10, but Yale also made some noise by taking down Stanford 15-12 on the back end of a rare Saturday doubleheader. Brown (4-6) is the only Ivy team below .500. Princeton appears to be a cut above the rest. The Tigers have responded to their first loss of the season (March 21 vs. Penn State) with 50 goals in their last three games, including 16 each in victories over Syracuse and Delaware. Penn, meanwhile, renewed its rivalry with Northwestern by scoring the last five goals in a physical 10-7 win Sunday in Evanston.

6. Two-time defending NLL champion Saskatchewan became the first team to clinch a playoff spot. The Rush got nine points from MVP candidate Mark Matthews despite his bout with pink eye in a big win at Buffalo. Neil Stevens has the latest on the NLL playoff race and previews an abbreviated Week 15 slate.

What We’re Reading

  • The South China Morning Post reports how “stick net ball” could become more than just a niche sport in Hong Kong.

  • Newsday took a deep dive on the availability and adoption of protective headgear in high school girls’ lacrosse on Long Island.

  • Navy women’s lacrosse coach Cindy Timchal, who mentored Army coach Kristen (Waagbo) Skiera, thinks Air Force should add the sport next.

  • Syracuse keeps winning despite a subpar season from Ben Williams. Do faceoff guys wither as their careers progress?

  • The inspiration behind Notre Dame’s “Daughters for Dads” fundraiser coinciding with Saturday’s game against North Carolina.

  • Former Northwestern and Team USA star Kristen Kjellman Marshall couldn’t find a children’s book on girls’ lacrosse for her daughter. So she wrote one.

  • New England Patriots wide receiver and former Penn State lacrosse player Chris Hogan — an active and avid supporter of the Nittany Lions and lacrosse organizations like Thompson Brothers Lacrosse and the Headstrong Foundation  — will sign a one-day contract with the NLL’s New England Black Wolves.

  • Casey Powell's cruel April Fools' Day joke, for fans holding out hope the 41-year-old legend will unretire. (This tweet originally made it to the top of this article.)

What We’re Watching

Another OMG moment from Georgia Swarm forward Miles Thompson, looking more amazing with every new angle of his circuslike goal in the Swarm’s 21-13 victory over the Colorado Mammoth.

What’s On Tap

  • New Nike/US Lacrosse college rankings come out today. Find them here. Look for the most movement in Division III. On the women’s side, previously undefeated Gettysburg, TCNJ and Brockport — the top three last week — all suffered losses. On the men’s side, top-five teams Ithaca and St. Lawrence each lost for the first time this season , with a few other surprise results to muddy the mix.

  • We’re releasing more content this week from our April edition, featuring Penn State attackman Nick Aponte on the cover for a little told-you-so emphasis.

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