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.

COLLEGE LACROSSE IS FULLY BACK. FOR REAL THIS TIME.

Consider last weekend the soft launch. It was an exciting weekend, sure. It was a busy one, too — just ask our USA Lacrosse Magazine staff. But something was still missing.

That something was the Ivy League, which makes its much-awaited return to a lacrosse field near you this weekend. Speaking of soft openings, Princeton, the No. 13 team in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20, isn’t slow rolling its schedule.

The Tigers’ opening weekend takes them to Charlottesville to take on a hot No. 10 Virginia team. While we’ll be intently watching Princeton and other Ivy teams this weekend, Virginia’s one to watch, too.

This is a big weekend for the Cavaliers. That might seem premature to say, but UVA tested itself in its non-conference schedule, and both No. 5 Maryland and No. 13 Princeton are on the docket over the next few days. We will know a lot more about Virginia come Monday.

There’s so much more to talk about in a weekend that has marquee matchups evenly dispersed throughout the weekend. Let’s dive right in.

GAMES TO WATCH
ALL TIMES EASTERN

* Game at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md.

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 4 Stony Brook at No. 3 Syracuse

This has become something of a budding rivalry. There are only four lifetime meetings between these two programs (two were NCAA tournament games), but this will be the third straight February that Stony Brook makes the trip up north to the Carrier Dome.

In 2020, the first time these teams played in the regular season, Stony Brook wowed a national audience with a thrilling 17-16 win. The following year, it was Syracuse that toppled the Seawolves 16-6.

Any top-five matchup warrants discussion, but it’s hard to not look at Stony Brook as the underdog here. (Joe Spallina will certainly appreciate that sentiment.) Syracuse has a veteran-laden offense for its rookie coach, Kayla Treanor. Lock off one weapon, another three emerge. Even with Emily Hawryschuk not firing on all cylinders just yet after recovering from ACL surgery, the Orange offense has looked crisp.

Stony Brook will lean on sophomore Ellie Masera to be its next emerging star, and she has support in Siobhan Rafferty, Kailyn Hart and Jaden Hampel. Kyla Zapolski, an Albany transfer, has experience playing against Syracuse, and Spallina expects a big year from her.

For either team, this game isn’t an end-all-be-all result. Both can recover from a loss. But a win for Stony Brook, at least this early, would be monumental.

UPSET WATCH

No. 8 Loyola at Johns Hopkins

Every season’s different, but lest we forget the incredibly slow start Loyola got out to in 2021. Losing to Syracuse wasn’t necessarily a shock, but the 18-6 margin was. The Greyhounds followed by losing to Towson four days later, and they were outscored 31-13 in those two games.

That’s not a guarantee that Loyola will start slowly again. But a Johns Hopkins team that saw time in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20 last season certainly has the chops to give the Greyhounds a run, especially as the home team in the Charles Street rivalry.

Hopkins’ offense will be different without Aurora Cordingley, who graduated and is now at Maryland. Shelby Harrison had a team-high four goals last weekend against VCU, with support coming from Georgia Esmond (two goals, four assists) and Maeve Barker (three goals, one assist). This by-committee approach could work well against a Loyola team that employs the same strategy.

Led by Livy Rosenzweig, Loyola also has a bevy of offensive options. Jen Adams returns her top five scorers and has an emerging star in Sydni Black (more on her below). Because of this, Loyola could very well thump the Blue Jays — but we also wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t.

BEST GAME NO ONE’S TALKING ABOUT

No. 13 Princeton at No. 10 Virginia

Virginia has been electric to open its season, outscoring Elon and Cal by a combined 38-16. UVA will test itself against Maryland on Friday before it hosts Princeton on Sunday, an incredible tune up before playing a Tigers team that’s opening its season and playing for the first time since March 2020.

Virginia’s offense has thus far been balanced with Jaime Biskup and Rachel Clark tied for the team lead with seven goals. Morgan Schwab leads with 10 points (seven assists). Mackenzie Hoeg has five goals.

Princeton will lean on Kyla Sears offensively, as well as a handful of other players who took a leave of absence from the school last year to maintain an extra year of eligibility. They haven’t played NCAA lacrosse since March 2020, though, so who knows what type of rust — if any — there will be.

The Tar Heels are about as motivated as ever. The consensus No. 1 team in the nation until the final ranking of 2021, UNC lost in the NCAA semifinals after running roughshod through its competition for most of the campaign. Both sides should be juiced up for this one.

UNDER-THE-RADAR STARS

Tessa Queri, Syracuse

A totally reworked Syracuse defense after a slew of impactful graduations has put Harvard transfer Tessa Queri in the lineup, and she’s responded with four ground balls through two games. She played more of an offensive role at Harvard, even totaling 46 points as a freshman in 2018, but Syracuse clearly isn’t lacking on offensive options. If nothing else, Queri is a solid defender who adds experience in transition and between the 30s, if needed.

Sydni Black, Loyola

“People have started to take notice. Sydni is one of the most dynamic and athletic attackers I’ve ever coached,” Jen Adams told USA Lacrosse Magazine contributor Jeremy Fallis for the season preview on Loyola. Black scored three times against Hofstra in the first round of the NCAA tournament, often representing Loyola’s most dynamic offensive option in that game. Look out for her to have a much larger role early on this year.

Eva Greco, Duke

You might have forgotten about Greco. She started nine games as a freshman in 2019, contributing 18 points (14 assists). She played one game in 2020 before suffering an injury, and then with the presence of Gabby Rosenzweig at X, Greco wasn’t heavily utilized in 2021. With Rosenzweig out of the picture, Greco is back to her giving ways, dishing out six assists in Duke’s 2-0 start. She’s chipped in two goals and ranks third on the team in points.

FOLLOW US

Follow @USALacrosseMag on Twitter and Instagram for highlights, results and stories from across the college lacrosse landscape, and check back to USALaxMagazine.com for gameday roundups.