Welcome to the Gameday Guide.
Every weekend during the college lacrosse season, US Lacrosse Magazine staff will riff here on the juiciest matchups, trendiest topics, biggest storylines and hottest takes.
The late-starting Ivy League finally joins the fray Saturday, with notably difficult road matchups out of the gate for No. 3 Yale (at No. 20 Villanova), No. 9 Penn (at No. 4 Maryland), and No. 11 Cornell (at Albany).
TEN TO WATCH
All times Eastern
Time |
Away |
Home |
TV/Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 a.m. | Michigan | Hofstra | LSN |
| 12 p.m. | No. 16 Rutgers | No. 14 Army | PLN |
| 1 p.m. | No. 18 Lehigh | No. 2 Virginia | ACCNX |
| 1 p.m. | No. 3 Yale | No. 20 Villanova | Nova Nation |
| 1 p.m. | No. 9 Penn | No. 4 Maryland | BTN Plus |
| 1 p.m. | UMass | No. 13 Ohio State | BTN Plus |
| 1 p.m. | No. 11 Cornell | Albany | ESPN+ |
| 2 p.m. | No. 12 Duke | No. 8 Denver | All-Access |
| 2 p.m. | No. 15 Air Force | Utah | Pac-12 Plus |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 7 Johns Hopkins | No. 17 Loyola | PLN |
[Nike/USL Division I Men’s Top 20]
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Marist at Richmond (6 p.m. EST on ESPN+)
Before we get into Saturday, two reigning conference champions go toe-to-toe Friday in Virginia. The Red Foxes (1-0) defeated Binghamton 12-4 in their season opener. The Spiders (0-1) had Maryland on the ropes, a showing that earned them a No. 19 ranking in the USILA coaches and Inside Lacrosse media polls.
GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 9 Penn at No. 4 Maryland
These two teams staged a thriller last year at Franklin Field, where Maryland escaped with a 13-12 win in overtime. Roman Puglise delivered the knockout punch, signaling a breakout season for the short-stick defensive midfielder in which he scored seven goals to go along with his yeoman’s work in the box and on the faceoff wing.
UPSET WATCH
No. 3 Yale at No. 20 Villanova
It’s not exactly a stretch. The Wildcats have upended the Bulldogs in overtime in each of the last two seasons — a 10-9 neutral-site victory in Dallas and an 11-10 road win in New Haven. Yale was the higher-ranked team both times. Villanova got blasted by No. 1 Penn State 19-10 in its opener.
BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Michigan at Hofstra
It looks like Pride head coach Seth Tierney and new coordinator Michael Gongas are opening up the offense. Hofstra’s 21 goals in a season-opening over Wagner were its most since 2006, John Danowski’s last season in Hempstead. And the Pride may have discovered their next Canadian gem in Justin Sykes, the freshman attackman who debuted with four goals and two assists.
The Wolverines also opened the season with an impressive victory, handling easily a Cleveland State team that took Marquette to overtime a week earlier. Michigan has steadily stepped up its recruiting game under Kevin Conry, which bore out in three freshmen — Jake Bonomi, Josh Zawada and Dylan Gardner — scoring two goals apiece in their debuts. Another newcomer, redshirt-freshman Nick Rowlett, went 14-for-23 on faceoffs.
MILESTONE WATCH
Richie Meade’s Return to Annapolis
Furman at Navy might not move the needle for a lot of people, but Saturday’s game (12 p.m. EST on Patriot League Network) marks Paladins coach Richie Meade’s first game back at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since he was forced to resign after the 2011 season. Meade coached the Midshipmen for 17 years, notably leading Navy to the 2004 NCAA championship game. Emotions surely will run high, even though the Midshipmen are now two coaches removed from Meade. Former Marquette coach Joe Amplo took the reins from Rick Sowell and led the Mids to a 9-4 win over Manhattan in their season opener.
UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS
Ryan Gallagher, Rutgers: The third wheel of the Scarlet Knights’ attack alongside All-American Kieran Mullins and Adam Charalambides, Gallagher emerged as a starter on the unit last year after spending much of his first two seasons in the midfield and has eight goals in two games so far this year.
Jakob Patterson, Albany: Tehoka Nanticoke grabs the headlines and highlights, but it was Patterson who proved to be the Great Danes’ most productive player last season, earning America East Offensive Player of the Year honors with 25 goals and 32 assists.
Logan Wisnauskas, Maryland: The redshirt-junior attackman has nine goals and five assists through two games. We’ll quote ESPN’s Anish Shroff here: “By Memorial Day, you’ll get tired of us saying how underrated Wisnauskas is.”
LAX OUT LOUD
Nick Myers, Ohio State
“When you play UMass, the will of your team will be tested. I love that. People don’t realize how hard it is to go into Garber Field in February and get a win. That’s as tough as it is.” — Ohio State coach Nick Myers, whose 13th-ranked Buckeyes defeated the Minutemen on the road last year. The series returns to the Horseshoe on Saturday, where temperatures are currently in the 20s.
GROUND BALLS
24: Since Rutgers acknowledged it, so will we. Adam Charalambides celebrated his 24th birthday earlier this week. A redshirt junior, Charalambides has missed three different seasons due to injuries. He will be a 25-year-old seventh-year senior by the time his college career ends in 2021.
For #RUMLax captain Adam Charalambides, today is just another year older and another year wiser @bides8
— Rutgers Men's LAX (@RUmlax) February 12, 2020
(Via @USLacrosseMag) pic.twitter.com/kcj9k6P0g3
816: Career wins combined between coaches John Danowski (412) and Bill Tierney (404) of Duke and Denver, respectively. Saturday’s game in Denver will mark the first time in NCAA men’s lacrosse history that two Division I coaches with 400-plus wins go head-to-head.
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