At the midway point of the 2018 NCAA season, Duke looks the most dominant team in the ACC, a conference that featured five ranked teams as of Monday. 

But the Blue Devils fell to Syracuse at home last weekend, opening the door for teams to take hold of the ACC lead. Two teams that have a shot to steal Duke’s thunder in the ACC are Notre Dame and Syracuse. The Irish opened the ACC season with a 12-11 win over Virginia and the Orange own wins over the Cavaliers and Blue Devils.

The two undefeated ACC teams will meet Saturday, with the winner sitting in the driver’s seat for the time being.

Both teams have had their downs — Notre Dame at home against Michigan last week and Syracuse being blown out in the Carrier Dome by Albany and Johns Hopkins. However, each has picked up a few quality wins along the way.

NO. 7 NOTRE DAME AT NO. 10 SYRACUSE
WHEN: Saturday, March 31, 5 p.m.
WATCH: ESPNU

Notre Dame enters the Carrier Dome fresh off a grueling 9-8 win over Ohio State. Mikey Wynne, Ryder Garnsey and Brendan Gleason each had two goals to fuel the road win.

That’s been the story of the Irish offense this season — with Wynne, Garnsey, Gleason and Bryan Costabile leading the way. Each has between 15-20 points so far, evidence of Notre Dame’s ability to spread the wealth. 

But it’s been an improved faceoff unit and a strong defense that has held this team intact. While the Irish sit 40th in total offense, they make the top 25 in scoring defense (9.00) and feature faceoff man John Travisano Jr., whose 58.6 win percentage ranks 19th in Division I.

The defense, led by All-American John Sexton and junior Hugh Crance, has held opponents to under 10 goals in its five wins. The two losses? Maryland’s 12 goals and Michigan’s 13 goals.

The number to beat for the Syracuse offense is 10. Luckily for the Orange, they’ve scored 10 or more goals in all but two games. They dropped 11 goals on the top-ranked Army defense and added 15 goals against Duke last weekend.

The problem for Syracuse hasn’t been it’s potential, rather the inconsistency of this offense. The Orange dropped 21 on Binghamton in the season opener but followed it with three goals at home against Albany. Although they scored the most goals on Duke since last season, the Orange managed just seven goals against Johns Hopkins.

But Syracuse has found a knack for scoring clutch goals, just as it did last season. It was Ryan Simmons who got a pass from goalie Dom Madonna to beat Army. Then, Tucker Dordevic scored the game-winner with four seconds left to beat Virginia. Last week, it was Jamie Trimboli getting the final goal against Duke for the second straight year.

The offense will be looked to step up against Notre Dame, as the defense has struggled in 2018 allowing 12.29 goals per game, ranking near the bottom at 59th in Division I. 

Maybe the Duke win is a turning point for Syracuse. Maybe it was another outlier. 

What we do know is that the winner of Saturday’s matchup will control their own destiny in the ACC.

Other games highlighting the weekend include:

• No. 6 Johns Hopkins at No. 9 Rutgers

Sunday, 7 p.m., Big Ten Network 

Johns Hopkins might be playing some of the best lacrosse in the nation right now. Winners of five straight, including victories over Syracuse and Virginia, the Blue Jays head out for their Big Ten opener against an equally hot Rutgers team. After an overtime loss to Princeton, the Scarlet Knights have rallied off wins over Lehigh, Syracuse and Delaware. Jules Heningburg is sneakily moving up the Tewaaraton list with 25 goals and 21 assists. It’s a big conference game, and Rutgers of all teams should know that. The Scarlet Knights started last season 8-0, but struggled in Big Ten play and missed out of both the conference and NCAA tournaments.

• No. 20 North Carolina at No. 3 Duke 

Friday, 5 p.m., ESPNU

Dukes looks to rebound from the loss to Syracuse last week, hosting a North Carolina team that’s in a free fall. The Tar Heels have lost four straight to Denver, Hofstra, Richmond and Maryland and have just gotten by teams like St. John’s and Furman. Both of Duke's losses have come by one goal. Justin Guterding (33G, 26A) and his team will look to keep pace in a competitive ACC race that includes Notre Dame and Syracuse.

• No. 14 Penn at No. 5 Yale

Saturday, 5 p.m., Ivy League Network

Is Yale flying under the radar this season? Save for a season-opening overtime loss to Villanova, the Bulldogs have rolled through a schedule that included Michigan, Cornell and Princeton — all solid teams. However, Yale’s toughest test since week one comes against Penn. The Quakers have experienced an up-and-down season that featured a win over then-No. 1 Duke and a recent seven-goal loss to Cornell. A win for Yale would give the Bulldogs some separation in the Ivy League, while Penn certainly doesn't want another Ivy loss.

• No. 2 Maryland at No. 15 Michigan

Saturday, 12 p.m., Big Ten Network

Michigan picked up the biggest win in school history last week, topping Notre Dame 13-12 on Wednesday. However, the Wolverines, will have to be even better when they host the defending national champions. Kevin Conry, the defensive coordinator at Maryland last year, has done wonders in his first year as Michigan's head coach and now gets ready to face his old team. Connor Kelly comes to Ann Arbor as one of the leading candidates for the Tewaaraton Award, with 22 goals and 21 assists to top the Terps’ scoring list. It’s both teams’ Big Ten openers — crucial in a conference that features four ranked teams and two that were also considered this week. Maryland and Michigan rank in the top 20 nationally in scoring offense and defense, so this game could come down to who has more possessions. The Terps own a 57.8 faceoff win percentage while the Wolverines sit at 50.9.

MORE GAMES ON OUR RADAR

All times are listed in ET. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV listing page, presented by Nationwide.

FRIDAY, MARCH 30

Bryant at Robert Morris (NEC Front Row)

SATURDAY, MARCH 31

12 p.m. 

No. 16 Bucknell at Army (Patriot League Network)

No. 4 Denver at No. 19 Georgetown (Fox College Sports Atlantic)

1 p.m.

Princeton at Brown (ESPN3)

No. 11 Loyola at Colgate (Patriot League Network)

No. 13 Cornell at Dartmouth (Ivy League Network)

Vermont at Hartford (ESPN3)

Towson at Hofstra (Pride Productions)

No. 8 Villanova at Marquette (GoMarquette.com)

St. John’s at Providence (Friars.com)

UMass at Drexel (Lax Sports Network)

3 p.m.

Penn State at Ohio State (ESPNU)

Richmond at No. 12 Virginia (ESPN3)

3:30 p.m.

No. 18 Lehigh at Boston U (Patriot League Network)

4 p.m.

Stony Brook at No. 1 Albany (America East TV)