Maryland versus North Carolina is always a must-watch game every year.

In the past five years alone, the Terps and Tar Heels battled it out in the NCAA championship with North Carolina claiming two of those three titles.

The Tar Heels won 13-7 in 2016, the Terps came out on top 9-8 in 2015, and then in perhaps the most memorable NCAA final in 2013, North Carolina took its then-ACC foe down to the wire with a 13-12 victory in three overtime periods.

Maryland leads North Carolina in national championships with 13 compared to two, with four of those Terp titles coming under head coach Cathy Reese.

NO. 1 MARYLAND AT NO. 11 NORTH CAROLINA
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 24, 1 p.m.
WATCH: ACC Network Extra/ESPN

While North Carolina has had a rough start to 2018 with a double overtime loss to James Madison, it will look to get its groove back against its long-standing rival.

The Tar Heels return one of the top midfielders in the country in Tewaaraton finalist and U.S. gold medalist Marie McCool, as well as attacker Ela Hazar, who set a program record in assists last season. Plus, freshman Jamie Ortega has made an immediate impact with nine points in three starts and sophomore Erin Kelly, a former U.S. U19 defender, is stepping into a bigger role, starting all three games on defense.

But the team traveling south is one of the most potent in the country, standing strong at the top of the rankings waiting for someone to dethrone them.

Maryland is anchored by goalie Megan Taylor on defense, led by England bronze medalist Megan Whittle on offense and bolstered by Louisville transfer and junior Meghan Siverson in the midfield. Junior attacker Caroline Steele will also turn heads as last year’s Big Ten Tournament MVP.

Keep an eye on the draw on Saturday as it could make or break the game for either team.

McCool and Siverson will be an interesting matchup. While Kali Hartshorn also takes the draw for Maryland, having started its two games thus far, North Carolina knows Siverson well from ACC play after being groomed to replace one of the best draw specialists in the nation in Kaylin Morissette. McCool also has learned from the best in the Terps’ three-time Tewaaraton winner and draw specialist Taylor Cummings after playing with her over the summer with Team USA.

Siverson currently leads Maryland with seven draw controls, while McCool has an impressive 23 to top the charts in North Carolina. 

The Terps lead the all-time series 25-13, but the Tar Heels have won three of the last five meetings in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Other games highlighting the weekend include:

• No. 8 USC at No. 16 Notre Dame
  Friday, 6 p.m., ACC Network
  
  USC is looking for a big rebound against Notre Dame. After falling to No. 2 Stony Brook by four, a win over the Irish would be validating. The Trojans are anchored by Gussie Johns in goal, but Notre Dame has several threats including midfielder Andie Aldave, the No. 1 recruit in her class. Since falling to No. 4 Boston College, the Irish too are looking for its first significant win.

• No. 14 Virginia at No. 10 Princeton, 1 p.m.
  Saturday, 1 p.m., Ivy League Network
  
  The Tigers got a hot start to 2018 with a 17-4 thrashing of Temple. Kyla Sears had a team-high six points while former U.S. U19 midfielder Tess D’Orsi led with five goals. The Cavaliers, whose leading scorers are Sammy Mueller and Kasey Behr, have also dominated so far with a 17-4 rout of Elon and 15-7 win over Richmond. This will be the first Top 20 game for both teams and a chance to make moves in national rankings.

• No. 17 Cornell at No. 18 Penn State, 3 p.m.
  Saturday, 3 p.m., LionVision
  
  Penn State rebounded from its season-opening loss to Towson by one goal with wins over unranked Lehigh and Duquesne, but will be facing another tough battle against Cornell. Meanwhile, Cornell is just getting things started after defeating Villanova 13-7. This game will be a good test to see how evenly matched these two teams are – or not.

• No. 8 USC at No. 15 Northwestern
  Sunday, 1 p.m., FloLive.TV​
  
  USC has one of the toughest weekends with two games against Top 20 teams. Friday’s result against Notre Dame could either propel the Trojans into a confident performance Sunday, or dwindle their hopes for a strong season. Northwestern is coming off its first loss of the season, a disappointing one-goal loss to Duke, and will want to start its six-game homestand strong, which features four Top 20 teams in USC, Stony Brook, North Carolina and Syracuse.

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, FEB. 23

7 p.m.

Ohio State at Jacksonville (ESPN3)

10 p.m.

Harvard at Stanford

SATURDAY, FEB. 24

12 p.m.

Brown at No. 4 Boston College
Johns Hopkins at No. 13 Penn (ESPN3)

1 p.m.

No. 5 James Madison at High Point (Big South Network)

3 p.m.

No. 12 Duke at Virginia Tech, 3 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

No. 19 UMass at Yale (Ivy League Network)

SUNDAY, FEB. 25

12 p.m.

Denver at No. 2 Stony Brook (Stony Brook Live Stream)
Loyola at No. 6 Florida (YouTube)

1 p.m.

Michigan at No. 7 Navy
Elon at No. 16 Notre Dame (ACC Network)

2 p.m.

San Diego State at No. 20 Colorado (Colorado Live Stream)