When No. 14 North Carolina travels to No. 3 Maryland this weekend for a US Lacrosse Magazine Game of the Week, two teams with three losses by a combined four goals this season look to establish superiority in this historic rivalry.

Maryland enters 7-1, while UNC is 6-2. Maryland lost 14-13 in overtime to Notre Dame on March 3, and UNC’s two losses were 11-10 and 12-10 to Johns Hopkins and Denver, respectively. Quality losses, but losses all the same.

In Terps coach John Tillman’s opinion, this game should prove as a barometer for where both squads stand with a week left in March.

“Games like this are a good measuring stick for, where are you?” said Tillman, whose team defeated UNC last March, 11-7. “How much better have you gotten since early February?”

NO. 14 NORTH CAROLINA AT NO. 3 MARYLAND
WHEN: Saturday, March 23, 4 p.m.
WATCH: ESPNU

When it comes to UNC, Tillman said the Tar Heels have so much offensive depth that, “If you get fixed on your guy or one guy, it’s going to open up something for somebody else.”

Roman Puglise, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this month, will be one of Maryland’s many defensive keys. The unit must be at its best against an offense that can run 10-12 players deep based on which matchups UNC coach Joe Breschi chooses to exploit.

Five players on the roster have tallied at least 15 points, headlined by the trio of Andy Matthews (12 assists), William Perry (17 goals) and Timmy Kelly (nine goals, 11 assists). The UNC ride creates opportunities for UNC to shoot a high percentage. Tillman said the Tar Heels can catch defenses out of sync because of their aggression.

“If they’re getting unsettled opportunities, your team defense isn’t going to be the same,” Tillman said. “Clearing is important.”

At the same time, that aggression can lead to open windows on offense that must be capitalized on, Tillman said.

Over the last 15 meetings, Maryland holds an 8-7 edge. With 20 combined national championship appearances and seven combined national titles, there’s a rich history in this rivalry.

“I think there are enough guys on the roster that grew up going to these games and dreaming of playing in games like this,” Tillman said. “Both programs have great teams and great tradition.”

Another chapter will be penned on Saturday.

Other games to watch this weekend include:

• No. 5 Ohio State at No. 7 Notre Dame
  Saturday, 1 p.m., ACC Network
  
  Two top-tier defenses will test to see which breaks first. Ohio State, 12^th in the nation allowing 9.33 goals per game, has given up double-digit goals twice in six games. Notre Dame, 13^th nationally allowing 9.5 goals per game, rode its defense to an overtime win over Maryland and an impressive 10-7 win over Denver. Both teams excel at doing the dirty work, fighting for ground balls. Josh Kirson anchors the Buckeyes’ defense as a stalwart between the pipes, having saved 67 shots for a .593 save percentage. Scoring should be at a premium here, so possession could very well be the key factor. Ohio State has won 60 percent of its faceoffs with Justin Inacio leading the charge, while Notre Dame has won nearly 56 percent behind Charles Leonard.

• No. 12 Virginia at No. 17 Johns Hopkins
  Saturday, 6 p.m., ESPN3
  
  Ranked fifth (Virginia) and seventh (Johns Hopkins) in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20 preseason poll, these teams have slipped slightly down in the national rankings. This still represents a high caliber matchup. It pits potent offensive talents against each other in Hopkins’ Kyle Marr and Virginia’s Michael Kraus, both of whom lit up scoreboards last season. They have help, as Marr teams with Joey Epstein and Cole Williams. Virginia counters with a “Big 3” of its own in Kraus, Matt Moore and Ian Laviano. Whereas Ohio State-Notre Dame figures to be low scoring, this could be much different. With so many talented offensive players on the field, this will be fun.

MORE GAMES ON OUR RADAR

All times are listed in E.T. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV/Streaming listing page.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23

Noon

No. 2 Penn State at Cleveland State
No. 10 Denver at No. 8 Towson (Lax Sports Network)
No. 11 High Point at Jacksonville
Marquette at No. 15 Georgetown (Big East Digital Network)
No. 16 Lehigh at Navy (Patriot League Network)
Colgate at No. 18 Army (Patriot League Network)
Delaware at Michigan (MGoBlueTV)
Lafayette at Boston University (Patriot League Network)

1 p.m.

Penn at No. 6 Cornell (ESPN+)
No. 9 Loyola at Bucknell (Patriot League Network)
Brown at No. 19 UMass (UMass Sports Network)
Hofstra at No. 20 Rutgers (BTN Plus)

3 p.m.

No. 1 Yale at Princeton (ESPN+)

SUNDAY, MARCH 24

2 p.m.

No. 4 Duke at No. 13 Syracuse (ESPNU)