🔙 ACC RETURNS TO MARYLAND

When the Maryland Terrapins left the ACC and bolted for the Big Ten following the 2014 season, the NCAA's strongest lacrosse conference lost its foothold in one of the country's biggest hotbeds.

On Saturday, the ACC is returning to Maryland for a special showcase, as Syracuse and North Carolina will square off at a neutral site in Olney, Md. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 4 p.m. ET.

"We have tremendous success recruiting in the Baltimore-Washington area over the last couple years," Syracuse head coach Gary Gait said when the event was announced back in December of last year. "The opportunity to play UNC at Good Council [High School] will allow us to showcase our style of play to our fans and alumni in the area. We expect to have incredible crowd support for an exciting match-up."

Syracuse and North Carolina met at the JMA Wireless Dome in late February, and the Tar Heels won that game by a final score of 19-13. UNC was able to control the contest despite committing 11 penalties and surrendering five man-down goals.

The Orange, who are leaning heavily on freshman talent, have started to come of age since then. They are coming off a 16-13 road win over Princeton in which reigning TLN Player of the Week Joey Spallina racked up nine points (4 goals, 5 assists).

The Heels, on the other hand, suffered a 19-12 beatdown at the hands of Virginia last Friday night. At 7-4 overall (1-2 in ACC), this is a must-win game to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Let us know who you think will end up winning this game by answering the poll below.

💥 CJ Kirst vs. The Army Defense

While most teams around the country are locked into conference play at this point in the season, Cornell's trip to West Point on Saturday is a non-conference battle worth watching.

The focal point of this matchup will be Cornell attackman CJ Kirst against the Army defense.

Kirst has been one of the toughest individual players to shut down in 2023. He has scored a hat trick in every game except for one this season (2 goals in a 10-6 loss to Penn State), and he has eclipsed six goals four times. Even though the Big Red lost to Harvard last weekend, Kirst had five points (4 goals, 1 assist) in the 10-8 defeat.

Army has the stingiest defense in the country this season, and as a result, the Black Knights have not lost since their season opener against UMass on Feb. 11. During their nine-game winning streak, only two teams (Rutgers and Lehigh) have scored double-digit goals against Army.

When these two teams met in Ithaca last season, Army pulled off a stunning 17-10 victory. Kirst had a hat trick in that game, so he may need to produce another sock trick on Saturday for Cornell to win this rematch on the road.

🔝 Gavin Adler Tops PLL Big Board

Another player to watch in Saturday's Cornell-Army clash is Big Red defender Gavin Adler. With the PLL Draft less than a month away, his stock is spiking. ESPN Analyst Paul Carcaterra recently named Adler his No. 1 prospect in this year's draft.

Adler is an All-American defender, but putting him at No. 1 over Penn midfielder Sam Handley is a little shocking. Adler and Handley went head-to-head on March 26, and to let you in on a little secret, TLN is working on a film breakdown of that matchup to release in the coming weeks.

Through the first 10 games of the season, Adler has scooped up 46 ground balls and caused 16 turnovers. He routinely erases the other team's best player, and does it in a totally clean fashion — Adler has not been flagged for a single penalty in 2023.

Look for No. 77 on the field against Army this Saturday.

🧐 Changes Coming To Women's Game?

North Carolina and Team USA head coach Jenny Levy sent shockwaves through the lacrosse community this week by proposing a list of somewhat radical rule changes to the women's game, including the elimination of the eight-meter penalty shot.

Here are some bullet-point changes Levy wants to see, via Unleashed:

This proposal has sparked some serious debate. Levy's Tar Heels are the reigning National Champions, and opponents seem to be taking an overtly physical approach against her team this season. In a 16-12 loss to Notre Dame earlier this month, officials called a whopping 47 fouls against the Irish. Levy sees that as excessive and would like to see a foul-out rule established, similar to men's and women's basketball.

Where do you stand on rule changes in women's lacrosse? Click the button below to join the debate.

📺 Weekend TV/Streaming Info

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

Friday, April 14:7 p.m. — Merrimack at UMass Lowell (ESPN+)

Saturday, April 15:11 a.m. — Wagner at Canisius (ESPN3)11 a.m. — Denver at St. John's (FloSports)11 a.m. — Hofstra at Drexel (FloSports)11 a.m. — Robert Morris at Queens (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Cornell at Army (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Colgate at Lehigh (CBS Sports Network)12 p.m. — Virginia at Duke (ACCN)12 p.m. — Hampton at Towson (FloSports)12 p.m. — Jacksonville at Lindenwood (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Loyola at Boston U (ESPN+)12 p.m. — Mount St. Mary's at Sacred Heart (ESPN3)12 p.m. — Villanova at Providence (FloSports)12 p.m. — Quinnipiac at VMI (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Princeton at Dartmouth (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Penn at Harvard (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Hobart at St. Joe's (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Bucknell at Holy Cross (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Siena at Manhattan (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Mercer at Utah (Pac-12.com)1 p.m. — St. Bonaventure at UMass (ESPN+)1 p.m. — Brown at Yale (ESPN+)2 p.m. — Detroit Mercy at Air Force (YouTube)2 p.m. — Ohio State at Johns Hopkins (ESPNU)2 p.m. — Marist at LIU (ESPN+)2 p.m. — Delaware at Stony Brook (FloSports)3 p.m. — NJIT at Albany (ESPN+)3:30 p.m. — Monmouth at Fairfield (Stags Sports Network)3:30 p.m. — Georgetown at Marquette (FloSports)3:30 p.m. — Lafayette at Navy (ESPN+)3:30 p.m. — Binghamton at UMBC (AmericaEast.tv)3:30 p.m. — Bryant at Vermont (ESPN+)4 p.m. — North Carolina vs. Syracuse (ESPNU)5 p.m. — High Point at Richmond (ESPN+)

Sunday, April 16:12 p.m. — Bellarmine at Cleveland State (ESPN+)6 p.m. — Penn State at Michigan (ESPNU)7 p.m. — Maryland at Rutgers (BTN)

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