Welcome to the Gameday Guide.

Every weekend during the college lacrosse season, USA Lacrosse Magazine staff will riff on the juiciest matchups, trendiest topics and biggest storylines.

Check out the rankings and TV listings for more.

IF THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF THE COLLEGE LACROSSE SEASON WERE APPETIZERS, this weekend serves as the main course. Taking a look at the weekend slate, and you’ll find a slew of ranked matchups and under-the-radar games that could make this one of the better weekends of the 2022 season.

There are five meetings between ranked teams on Saturday and Sunday combined, headlined by No. 3 Georgetown’s trip to Philadelphia to meet No. 8 Penn. In addition, we’ll see games with upset potential like Villanova at Yale, Albany at Cornell and Drexel at UMBC.

Basically what we’re saying is: Grab your laptop, turn on the television, make sure you’re hydrated and enjoy a weekend full of high-level lacrosse and early season drama.

GAMES TO WATCH
ALL TIMES EASTERN

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 3 Georgetown at No. 8 Penn

This matchup has everything a lacrosse fan has been waiting for this season — a top 10 showdown, two high-powered offenses and the return of Ivy League lacrosse.

Let’s start with that last point. Saturday will be the Quakers’ first game against a Division I opponent (they played Cabrini last April) since March 8, 2020. Since then, Penn has seen some of its stars graduate and others transfer out of the program. But 2019 freshman phenom Sam Handley, who is now a senior, is back and ready to show college lacrosse what made him a budding star three years ago.

The opening game provides an extremely difficult challenge in Georgetown, a team that dropped 16 goals on a quality Johns Hopkins team. The Hoyas can attack in a variety of ways from a variety of weapons. Pick your poison: Dylan Watson, Declan McDermott, Graham Bundy Jr., Alex Trippi, etc. Georgetown is loaded. Not to mention that defense.

BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Villanova at No. 6 Yale

Another Ivy League team takes the field for the first time since 2020 and faces a familiar foe in Villanova.

Yale and Villanova have meet four times prior to this weekend, splitting the series. The Bulldogs won both games in Philadelphia by a combined 11 goals, and the Wildcats picked up two overtime wins in New Haven — both major upsets.

Villanova opened its season last weekend with a victory over Penn State at Panzer Stadium, with Patrick Daly scoring six goals and Will Vitton making a last-second save to seal the 13-12 win. The Wildcats will head to New Haven fully capable of pulling an upset, but Andy Shay’s program will have plenty of motivation to get this season started on the right note.

UPSET WATCH

No. 19 Drexel at UMBC

It may not be reach to put the No. 19 team in the rankings on upset alert, but the opening game for Drexel features an interesting matchup with a UMBC team that went undefeated in the regular season at home last year.

UMBC allowed just under 10 goals a game in the shortened 2021 season, cruising through the America East slate and falling in the conference semifinals to Albany. Drexel, too, had a successful 2021 campaign, winning the CAA and pushing Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament.

The golden number for the Dragons last year was 12 goals — they won all but one game when scoring more than 11. The UMBC defense held opponents under 12 goals in seven out of its 11 games last year.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Josh Zawada, Michigan

Zawada has continued to grow since leading all freshmen in scoring in 2020. Michigan swept its first two games over Bellarmine and Detroit Mercy, and Zawada has 10 goals and 11 assists. He’s shooting 70 percent on shots on goal and currently leads the nation with 10.5 points per game. He’ll have a chance to continue that pace against a Holy Cross team that allowed 28 goals to Syracuse last weekend.

Griffin Turner, Hofstra

Griffin Turner, who had a hat trick coming off the bench in Hofstra’s win over Sacred Heart, is an MCLA transfer from TCU. A California product, Turner came highly recommended by Kyle Harrison. Strangely enough, Turner has Harrison listed as one of his favorite players.

Connor Davis, Bucknell

Davis enters Week 3 of the college lacrosse season as the leading scorer among freshmen in Division I. He’s scored 10 goals and added an assist in two Bucknell victories and will look to keep his strong start going against St. John’s on Saturday. A member of a football family — including cousin and legendary punter Dustin Colquitt — Davis is looking like a budding star for the Bison.

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