MIKEY POWELL 🐐 'CUSE TO RAISE 22

Another loaded Saturday of college lacrosse is coming your way, and we've got all the TV/streaming info you need at the bottom of this newsletter. While you scroll, check out our Game of the Week, an update on PLL free agency and an interesting international nugget.

👀 Must Watch: Hopkins at Syracuse

Arguably the two most storied names in college lacrosse will clash at The JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday, as the Syracuse Orange (3-3) play host to the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays (4-3). Syracuse is looking to avoid a fourth loss in a row, while Hopkins leaves the state of Maryland for the first time in over a month.

Neither of these blue blood programs appears primed for a title run this season, but this is a game everyone should be watching. Even if you hate these two teams, you should probably watch. And that’s because Mikey Powell is having his No. 22 banner raised into the rafters, which means they’re going to show his highlights at some point during the broadcast.

We can only hope the highlight package includes this moment:

Powell’s banner will hang alongside Gary Gait’s, which was raised last year. Meanwhile, current No. 22 Joey Spallina has a tough test to find the back of the net. Hopkins goalie Tim Marcille has a .519 save percentage and was just added to the Tewaaraton watch list.

💪 Sam Handley Powers Cardiac Quakers

Penn started the season 1-2, and that’s largely because the team's best player — 6-foot-5-inch, 230-pound human missile Sam Handley — was in a shooting slump. Through his first three games, Handley scored just three goals on 20 shots. But on Wednesday night in a slugfest with St. Joe’s, he finally broke though and scored four goals.

The biggest of Handley’s four goals was a walk-off game-winner in overtime.

Handley was dominant when it mattered, but he still has more turnovers (15) than points (12) on the season. If Penn wants to be a contender this year, it's clear that the Cardiac Quakers' star midfielder will have to keep them from flatlining.

His next test is to prove that he's at least the most dominant force in the greater Philadelphia area by taking down Villanova on Saturday.

🛠 Cannons LC Aggressively Rebuilding

Of all eight PLL teams, the Cannons have been the busiest during free agency. This is partly due to necessity as new head coach Brian Holman recently took over the team and has to rebuild the roster without a first-round pick in this year's draft.

The Cannons brought in a trio of former Archers in attackman Marcus Holman, goalie Adam Ghitelman and midfielder Jeff Trainor. They've also acquired former Redwoods LSM Kyle Hartzell and former Chaos defender Matt Rees. They still have a handful of their own free agents sitting on the open market, but midfielder Chris Aslanian is one they've managed to lock up through 2023.

This wasn't a free agency move, but the Cannons also traded for former Redwoods attackman Matt Kavanagh last fall. Overall, Brian Holman has a lot of fresh pieces to mix in with his most established stars, Lyle Thompson and Asher Nolting.

The Cannons finished in last place with a 1-9 record last summer, but this year's team is going to look much different.

😨 Zed Williams...Playing Long Pole!?

The Haudenosaunee Nationals revealed their full roster for the 2023 World Lacrosse Men's Championshio in San Diego this summer, and there was one striking detail: Zed Williams was listed under "DEFENSE."

It's true. Williams will play pole this summer. Here's a look:

Lars Tiffany, who coached Williams at Virginia and also serves as the Haudenosaunee head coach, recently spoke about Williams' peculiar decision to pick up a pole.

"He wants to do this," Tiffany told Off The Crosse Bar Podcast. "It's like a new challenge in life."

Williams is 6-foot-2, 230 lbs. and was the MVP of the league as an attackman in 2020. This summer, we'll see if he's equally dominant on the defensive half of the field.

📺 Lacrosse On TV This Weekend

All times Eastern (streaming links via Inside Lacrosse/USA Lacrosse Magazine):

Friday, March 10:6:30 p.m. — Army at Lafayette (ESPN+)7 p.m. — Loyola at Duke (ACCNX)

Saturday, March 11:11 a.m. — VMI at LIU (ESPN+)11:30 a.m. — Denver at Yale (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Canisius at Quinnipiac (Quinnipiac All-Access)12 p.m. — Penn State at Cornell (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Monmouth at Delaware (FloSports)12 p.m. — Richmond at Georgetown (FloSports)12 p.m. — Drexel at St. Joe's (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Michigan at Harvard (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Manhattan at Mount St. Mary's (ESPN3)12 p.m. — Maryland at UAlbany (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Mercer at UMBC (AmericaEast.tv)12 p.m. — Lindenwood at NJIT (AmericaEast.tv)12 p.m. — Brown at North Carolina (ACCNX)12 p.m. — Robert Morris at High Point (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Stony Brook at Providence (FloSports)1 p.m. — Cleveland State at St. Bonaventure (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Navy at Colgate (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Binghamton at Fairfield (FairfieldStags.com)1 p.m. — Jacksonville at St. John's (ESPN3)1 p.m. — Bellarmine at Marquette (FloSports)1 p.m. — Princeton at Rutgers (BTN+)1 p.m. — Sacred Heart at Siena (SienaSaints.com)1 p.m. — Boston U at Bucknell (ESPN+)2 p.m. — Bryant at Air Force (YouTube)2 p.m. — Lehigh at Holy Cross (ESPN+)2 p.m. — Ohio State at Notre Dame (ACCN)3 p.m. — UMass at Vermont (AmericaEast.tv)3:30 p.m. — Villanova at Penn (ESPN+)4 p.m. — Johns Hopkins at Syracuse (ACCNX)4 p.m. — Towson at Virginia (ACCN)7 p.m. — Wagner at Marist (ESPN3)

*No Division I men's games on Sunday, March 12