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.

Opening weekend was fun, yes? Let’s do it all again.

It was something of a soft opening, with only a handful of games kicking off our 2021 Division I women’s lacrosse season. At the time of this writing, there are 33 games scheduled — not counting contests that have already been postponed — for this upcoming Friday-Sunday.

We’ll see several quality teams and quality matchups over the next three days, but one team we won’t see is No. 2 Notre Dame. The Irish were forced to postpone Friday’s game against Central Michigan and Sunday’s game against Marquette because of positive COVID-19 tests within the team.

This will, unfortunately, be a trend this season. But there are still games happening. Let’s enjoy the weekend.

GAMES TO WATCH
All times Eastern

GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 4 Syracuse at No. 3 Loyola

This marks two straight weekends to open the season with a top-five matchup. Last weekend, North Carolina dispatched Stony Brook. This weekend, Syracuse heads to Baltimore to take on Loyola.

Both teams appeared headed for Championship Weekend in 2020, and both teams remain largely the same. Syracuse welcomes back a plethora of fifth-year players, headlined, of course, by Tewaaraton candidate Emily Hawryschuk. There’s another Tewaaraton candidate on the other end of the field in Livy Rosenzweig, and this could very well be an offensive slugfest.

There are two All-American defenders in this game, though, and the sturdier defensive unit will influence the outcome. Katie Detwiler (Loyola) and Sarah Cooper (Syracuse) both were both named US Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-Americans in December.

Game No One’s Talking About
No. 20 Virginia Tech at No. 15 Duke

Virginia Tech is just 3-20 against Duke, but this is perhaps the best Virginia Tech team in the program’s history. John Sung speaks highly of his group. It’s one that likes to play a chaotic game in the midfield, anchored by a defense that leans on Angie Benson for support.

Duke’s high-octane offense will certainly test that defense. The Blue Devils exploded for 12 of the 13 goals scored in the second half of Wednesday’s 24-8 win over William & Mary, and with Maddie Jenner dominating the draw — she had 16 in that game — Duke is always a threat.

Maybe Virginia Tech’s chaos is what can get Duke out of sync.

UPSET WATCH
No. 8 Maryland at Penn State

Penn State landed six players on the Inside Lacrosse Power 100 list for incoming freshmen — Kayla Abernathy, Kristin O’Neill, Gretchen Gilmore, Kathryn Toohey, Samantha Dupcak and Alaina Hamood. Four of them ranked in the top 16.

O’Neill has already made her presence felt, leading the team with six points in Penn State’s season-opening 20-11 win over Rutgers. Abernathy and Dupcak combined for three assists. They add even more firepower to an offense featuring Maria Auth and others.

Maryland was vulnerable last year for the first time in the Cathy Reese era, in large part because of an abundance of youth in the starting lineup. That youth has gained some experience, and Lizzie Colson is back on defense after suffering an ACL injury that forced her to miss last year. But the Terps lost Emma Schettig on defense, too.

If there was a year for Penn State to nip the Terps, it might be now

Under-the-Radar Stars

Sam Fiedler, Loyola

She was a US Lacrosse Player of the Week last year, and she’s the real deal on offense. Rosenzweig grabs many of the headlines, but it was Fiedler who posted a team-high 20 points (16 goals) in Loyola’s final three games of 2020. She’s scored one goal in at least 38 consecutive games.

Caroline Allen, Virginia Tech

Allen is a redshirt-senior who transferred in from Cornell, where she was a first-team All-Ivy performer in 2019. She led Cornell is goals (18) and points (21) in 2020, and Sung said she’s someone who can make an immediate impact on the attack or in the midfield.

Olivia Dirks, Penn State

Dirks controlled 12 draws against Rutgers, and the sophomore midfielder is just picking up where she left off after seven games in 2020. She controlled 32 draws as a freshman, and she’s shaping up to be a menace on the circle for the rest of the Big Ten.

MILESTONE WATCH
Alyssa Parrella, Hofstra

Parrella needs just three goals to break the CAA’s career goals record of 221, set by Loyola’s Stacey Morlang from 1999-02. She dropped three goals Wednesday night in a 10-9 win over Saint Joseph’s and is averaging 3.65 goals in her 60 career games.

SMALL SCHOOL GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 1 Lindenwood at Northern Michigan

The main intrigue of this game is that it provides the first look of the season at Lindenwood, the preseason No. 1 in our Nike/US Lacrosse Division II Top 20. The Lions have a deep and restocked roster that coach Jack Cribbin says is the most talented group in his 15 seasons. Lindenwood has easily handled the Wildcats in both prior meetings (2018 and 2019) but will have to overcome the toll of a nearly 700-mile bus trip to the UP amidst some of the harshest weather of the year. — Paul Ohanian