🔥 GEAR UP FOR RIVALRY WEEK

What is THE Rivalry? Among most college lacrosse fans, it’s when Maryland plays Johns Hopkins.

There are many other traditional rivalries that take place throughout the season. This past weekend, we had the annual Army-Navy game. Earlier this month, Cornell and Syracuse had an epic battle for Upstate N.Y. supremacy. Next week, Yale and Harvard go head-to-head in what is probably the Ivy League’s fiercest rivalry.

But when Maryland and Hopkins play each other, it’s officially rivalry week. This newsletter will preview that matchup and two other rivalry games to watch on Saturday.

In the meantime, you may want to turn on alerts for this merch drop…

💥 Maryland vs. Hopkins

This will be the 137th all-time meeting between Hopkins and Maryland. The Blue Jays lead the all-time series 75-50-1. Last year, Hopkins won the regular-season rivalry game at College Park and took home The Crab.

The celebration only lasted a week, though. After a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, the Jays dropped their rematch against Maryland, 14-9, in the conference semifinals.

Heading into this year’s matchup, both teams are ranked in the top five nationally. Hopkins is undefeated in Big Ten play, while Maryland’s only loss came against Michigan last month.

The Jays have been great in late-game situations recently, picking up a pair of overtime victories against Penn State and Ohio State. Midfielder Matt Collison scored each of those game-winners, so the Terps will have to watch out for him if this game goes down to the wire.

The key matchup throughout the game will be Hopkins attackman Jacob Angelus against Maryland defenseman Ajax Zappitello. Angelus leads Hopkins with 52 points and is the team’s primary distributor, so shutting him down will force guys like Garrett Degnon and Russell Melendez to create for themselves.

One thing to monitor is the impact of Maryland attackman Braden Erksa, who appeared to injure his left hand while scoring a first-half goal against Rutgers on Saturday night. Although Erksa returned to the game, he did not record a second-half point. He is the team’s leading scorer.

💥 Michigan vs. Ohio State

Maryland and Hopkins may be the biggest college lacrosse rivalry, but nothing in sports compares to the vitriol Michigan and Ohio State fans have for each other. These two Big Ten programs also face-off this weekend.

Ohio State is starved for a big win. The Buckeyes are 6-7 on the season, but all seven of their losses have come against quality opponents: Virginia, Cornell, Notre Dame, Denver, Penn State, Maryland and Hopkins.

Michigan is just as hungry heading into this matchup. The Wolverines started the season 5-1 and have gone 1-5 since. After winning the Big Ten Tournament and making it to the NCAA Quarterfinals a season ago, Michigan needs a spark to prove that last year’s run wasn’t just a fluke.

Ohio State is pretty decent on defense, but Michigan’s starting attack is explosive and super balanced. Michael Boehm, Ryan Cohen and Justin Tiernan each have 40+ points on the season. Ohio State’s freshman netminder Caleb “Big Tasty” Fyock will have to be at his best on Saturday.

Last year, Michigan swept Ohio State with two wins in the span of nine days. The Buckeyes had all offseason to stew on those losses and finally have a chance to avenge them this weekend.

💥 Virginia vs. Syracuse

This rivalry is a distant third compared to the first two, but it features two of the most successful programs in college lacrosse. Syracuse (10*) and Virginia (7) rank first and third, respectively, in NCAA Division I titles.

For the first time in a while, both teams have legitimate title hopes heading into this matchup. In Year 3 under coach Gary Gait, Syracuse has surged back onto the national stage. Virginia, on the other hand, has won two national titles under coach Lars Tiffany and appeared in the NCAA semifinals last year.

Syracuse will return to The Dome for this matchup with Virginia, after spending the past month on the road. The last time the Orange played at home, they trounced Duke by a final score of 10-4. Virginia just lost to Duke, 18-12.

After starting the season 10-1, could the Hoos really drop two straight in ACC play?

This matchup has the potential to be high-scoring, with beautiful offensive plays. Both teams rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense; Virginia and Syracuse rank first and second in assisted goals per game.

*Syracuse’s vacated 1990 National Championship is not recognized by the NCAA.

📺 Midweek TV & Streaming Info

NCAA streaming info courtesy of Inside Lacrosse (all times Eastern):

Tuesday, April 16:
7 p.m. — Yale at Hofsta (LacrosseTV)

Wednesday, April 17:
2 p.m. — Mercer at Air Force (ESPN+)