Taylor Cummings is a three-time Tewaaraton winner, a member of Team USA, the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse champion and the head coach at McDonogh (Md.). “Taylor’s Takes” is presented by Gait Lacrosse. Be legendary.

I’m the first to admit that I’ve been less than satisfied with the number and quality of women’s lacrosse games being televised and streamed over the years. It’s an issue that is near and dear to my heart because I know first-hand the work that these athletes put in to be great at their craft.

I believe wholeheartedly that their talents deserve to be showcased every game day and know of many others who feel the same.

In years past, I would dread the day that ESPN would announce the men’s and women’s televised games, as the number of women’s games were always half of the men’s. But this season, it finally feels like ESPN, BTN and other networks have heard our outcries because we have never-before-seen access to games, both televised and streamed.

The first weekend of the 2022 women’s lacrosse season had it all — prime time games, huge upsets and outstanding individual performances — all of which we were able to watch and access across various TV channels and streaming devices. At one point in the weekend, I had four different games occupying my computer screen and another game playing on TV because there were so many happening at the same time for the world to see!

What a welcome problem to have — that there was just too much lacrosse to watch at once. 

It’s been too many years in the making, but now that we finally have this opportunity, we need to take full advantage. Watch the games. Stream the games from your laptop, even if you can’t watch until later. Have viewing parties with your teammates and encourage non-lacrosse playing friends to watch. If we all do our part and get the views that we need, the sky is the limit for our sport. The little girl in me is screaming with joy and the adult in me is hopeful that our sport continues to move in this right direction.

With so much lacrosse this weekend, there were many outstanding performances I’d like to highlight. Some are from individual players, others from specific sides of the ball and entire teams.

Howard University players and coaches perform well on the field in the face of racist comments and threats.

• On a weekend that should have been full of nothing but excitement, Howard University players, coaches and staff not only had to compete on the field for the first time but face racist comments and threats while doing so. Being subject to this horrible behavior is a current reality for Black athletes and lacrosse players and is something that we as a lacrosse community need to eliminate immediately. This sport is for everyone, and we all need to do our part to make sure that every player, coach, fan, parent, referee and person feels welcome. While enduring such unwarranted hate from the stands, the Bison were able to kick off their inaugural season with two impressive games and saw unrelenting success on the offensive end from midfielder Josie Mallory, who tallied four goals, and Sydney Saunders who added three assists. Although this team has many young players, there’s an obvious passion for the game and belief in one another that will help the Bison continue to improve throughout the season. I’m confident that there is plenty more exciting lacrosse to come from this year’s Howard team.

• For more on the incident, head here.

The Meg Show is back at the Carrier Dome.

• Meaghan Tyrrell and Megan Carney were the offensive leaders for the Orange in their two games against Stanford and Binghamton this past weekend. Combining for 16 goals and five assists, Carney and Tyrrell were forces on the offensive end, as they used their superior stick work and fast footwork to evade defenders time and time again. It was especially awesome to see Carney flying around on the field after an ACL injury took her out at the end of last season. The pure joy on her face as she whipped BTBs and celebrated with teammates was the cherry on top to a double victory weekend for Cuse.

Boston College vs. Northwestern was as entertaining as expected.

• Although the score may indicate otherwise, this top-4 matchup was an exciting one to watch from start to finish. Two heavyweight contenders playing each other in the first game of their seasons can provide a ton of learning opportunities for both squads as they look to improve and advance to championship weekend.

• Charlotte North picked up right where she left of with seven goals, one assist and 12 draw controls. Northwestern’s Ally Palermo did a great job with her face guard on North early in the game, but North proved too much for the Wildcats. A stout defensive performance and solid goalkeeping from Rachel Hall rounded out a successful 60 minutes for the Eagles, but I’d be remise if I didn’t mention the bright spot for Northwestern in Jill Girardi. The midfielder tallied four goals and eight draw controls in the game and is clearly the spark for the Wildcats this season. She will be someone that Northwestern will continue to rely on, especially with the absence of Izzy Scane.

William & Mary, Mount St. Mary’s and Michigan pull huge road upsets in Week 1.

• William & Mary faced a tough Villanova squad on the road and won in overtime thanks to game-tying and winning goals from freshman Serena Jacobs. From Vienna, Va., Jacobs stepped up in her first-ever collegiate game with help from a savvy stick and pure confidence to help her team secure a huge victory. Senior Lauren Russell was also integral to the win for W&M, as she scored seven times and added an assist. Coach Colleen Dawson saw her senior take over the game and make her presence known all over the offensive end of the field.

• In similar fashion, Mount St. Mary’s pulled off an upset over Towson in their first game of the season. With an offense that saw six different players contribute multiple times, the Mount was able to chip away at a first-quarter deficit and answer back to every Tiger goal. An 18-10 edge on draw controls thanks to midfielders Beanie Colson, Addison Malone, Zoe Hurlburt and Abigail Zeigenfuse, along with a defensive strategic change in the second half, settled the Mount’s nerves and helped them keep composure as Towson tried to claw back.

• Michigan took down then-No. 7 Notre Dame during a primetime game on Super Bowl Sunday. The three-headed monster of Mead, Muir and Garvey was all over the field for the Wolverines, as they continually dodged hard to cage and shot rockets to the upper 90 against talented Irish keeper Bridget Deehan. What stood out to me most was the suffocating ride that the Wolverines implemented. Their players swarmed all over the field and consistently took off 30 seconds from the Irish shot clock. This tired out the Irish offense and led to the even more stellar goalkeeping performance from Arielle Weissman. She rounded out the evening with seven ground balls and saving 65 percent of the shots she saw.

• Beating storied programs so early in the season brings a confidence boost to Michigan, William & Mary and Mount St. Mary’s as each looks to head back to the NCAA tournament in May.

Another JMU-UNC classic ends in favor of the Tar Heels.

• This is a February game that I constantly circle on my calendar because it’s almost always a close battle until the last whistle. Both programs are known for their solid goalkeeping, suffocating defenses, superiority at the draw circle and balanced offenses that match up nicely against one another. Unfortunately for the Dukes, UNC proved to be a little too much to handle early in the season and was humming on all cylinders. The Tar Heels saw 11 players notch at least one point (a feat in itself), had a 14-12 edge in draw controls and limited JMU star Isabella Peterson to just one goal late in the game. A leader for UNC on the defensive end and a Tewaaraton Award favorite, Emma Trenchard matched up with Peterson all game and made it difficult for the Dukes to get into a rhythm. Balance and poise were the themes for UNC in Game 1, and if that continues, the Tar Heels will be a monster come May.

TAYLOR’S TOP 10

1. Boston College
2. North Carolina
3. Syracuse
4. Maryland
5. Stony Brook
6. Duke
7. Northwestern
8. Florida
9. Loyola
10. Virginia