This week many teams are playing “tune-up” games this weekend in hopes to get that last out of conference win of the season. Besides Syracuse-Duke, Hopkins-Virginia, Maryland-North Carolina, Notre Dame-Ohio State and Towson-Denver, there are no other ranked matchups to note.
Many of the smaller conferences start their conference play recently, so lets update some of the conference races.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
Patriot
The Patriot League started conference play a few weekends ago, with Loyola taking a big step forward in their win over Navy. Right now, Loyola and Lehigh lead the conference at 3-0 and 2-0 respectively. My preseason champion, Lehigh, lost a few of their players early to injury, but I think should still compete in conference for the championship, although I believe Loyola is too dominant this season. With 9 teams in the conference, it should be a battle for the 2, 3 and 4 spot with Lehigh, Army and Navy, who have all been floating in and out of the rankings throughout the year.
Games this weekend:
Lafayette @ Boston U
Colgate @ Army
Lehigh @ Navy
Loyola @ Bucknell
America East
The America East also already started conference play, with Vermont, Albany and Hartford getting wins last weekend. With two teams that should be more evenly matched this year, Albany and Vermont should be able to make two games competitive—their regular season and championship matchups.
Games this weekend:
UMBC @ Stony Brook
Albany @ Binghamton
Hartford @ Vermont
SoCon
The SoCon is led right now by Richmond, High Point, Air Force and Jacksonville, all who sit undefeated early. High Point has pulled off a couple big upsets, as well as Richmond. Air Force is 5-2 on the year, and should battle with the two as they try to shake up what many believe is a battle of two.
Games this weekend:
Mercer @ VMI
Richmond @ Bellarmine
Air Force @ Furman
High Point @ Jacksonville
NEC
The NEC began play last weekend, with Hobart, Sacred Heart and the Mount winning early conference games. My two finalists lost, and early in the conference slate, I may be a little worried about that pick. Robert Morris sits at 1-6 and Bryant at 2-6. Although those records are preliminary and do not write their seasons off, they did not start well against some higher and lower quality competition, the end of the season should shake out a little differently. Hobart and Sacred Heart are looking like the new frontrunners, but time will tell.
Games this weekend:
Saint Joseph’s @ Bryant
Robert Morris @ Mount St Mary’s
Hobart @ Sacred Heart
MAAC
MAACtion started a little bit ago as well, as many teams will be able to compete for the championship here. The MAAC is balanced, with every team having a few wins and a few loses. Siena leads the conference as of now, while Quinnipiac, Marist, Canisius and Detroit lurk in the back. Expect results that might “wow” some of the fans as the MAAC is “up for grabs” this season.
Games this weekend:
Siena @ Canisus
St. Bonaventure @ Quinnipiac
Marist @ Manhattan
Monmouth @ Detroit
All of these conferences get automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Tournament come May, and although many teams shouldn’t get written off for being down in a smaller conference, we have seen how March Madness brings fans anything. On any given day, upsets happen. And with the college lacrosse landscape changing, different teams might not only be able to make upsets happen, but make unprecedented runs in the tournament, just like we saw Towson do just a couple years ago. Every team is worth it to watch going down the stretch, as college lacrosse just gets more exciting every weekend. Here are a few of the top non-conference matchups of the weekend:
Top 20 Matchups This Weekend:
Towson-Denver
After rattling off five straight wins to jump out to 5-0 and the #1 ranking, Towson has dropped two straight and is in danger of losing their third in a row to a tough Denver team this weekend. Denver is 4-2 with losses to Duke and Notre Dame. This should be a close game, obviously, as both teams have tough defenses and offenses that can make plays on any given day. I have to go with the hometown Towson Tigers, as they’ll take a close one. Towson 12, Denver 11.
Notre Dame-Ohio State
Another big non-conference matchup comes from these two. The Irish have been on and off, losing to Richmond but beating Maryland and Denver. Ohio State is still undefeated, sitting at 6-0. The Buckeyes have 6 wins, but none over a real quality opponent thus far. That is one of the reasons I see Notre Dame taking this one. It may become an offensive battle, but the Irish have a more balanced scoring threat in Gleason, Costabile, Willetts and Morin. They will take a close one, 15-14.
Maryland-North Carolina
Former ACC rivals and storied programs come together again. A rematch of the 2016 Championship game, which was UNC’s only win over Maryland in their last six matchups. North Carolina has yet to beat a quality opponent in 2019, while Maryland has been dangerous in their last two wins over Albany and Villanova. North Carolina hasn’t been tested since March 2nd against Denver, a game they lost by two. I don’t see them keeping up with the Terps this weekend. Maryland will take this one as the offense will continue to click. 15-11 Maryland.
Hopkins-Virginia
These are two teams who have had their ups and downs in 2019. Virginia sits at #9 while Hopkins is at #16. This is the 73rd consecutive year the two have met. This should be another good one at Homewood on Saturday. Virginia has won four straight while Hopkins has won four of five. Both teams have their struggles (for UVA at the X and in the cage, for Hopkins their depth and shooting). Which will be the bigger weakness on Saturday? I think Hopkins will get another key win moving into B1G play. Hopkins 12, UVA 10.
Syracuse-Duke
This game crazily was moved mid week to Cicero-North Syracuse High School as the women’s basketball team is hosting the NCAA tournament. This should be a tough test for the Orange, as Duke is on fire, winning seven in a row. Syracuse is coming off a big eight goal fourth quarter in their 4 goal win over Rutgers. Not only is Duke’s offense clicking, their D has only allowed double digit goals twice this season. Duke will want to make it a low scoring affair, but Syracuse will want to run and gun. This is the biggest matchup of the weekend, and each team would love to get their first ACC win this weekend. The atmosphere will be electric, and I think the Orange have enough to knock off the Blue Devils. 16-15 Syracuse in……Overtime.
Lacrosse Analyst
Sam Kuhn currently is the graduate assistant for the men’s lacrosse program at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio and is working to complete his Masters of Business Administration in 2020. Sam graduated from the College of Wooster in 2018, where he received his Bachelors Degree in English and played lacrosse as well. In his four years, Sam was a two time All-NCAC selection, a first team All-Region selection in 2018, and surpassed 100 goals for his career, one of seven members in program history to do so. Sam has interned with Inside Lacrosse, and wrote for the sports section of The Wooster Voice.