🌰 Unranked Ohio State upsets UNC

🥍 34 teams receiving votes

Two weeks and change into the college lacrosse season, and the Top 20 is starting to shuffle.

Newcomers this week: Ohio State, Michigan and Princeton.

Let's recap the Ivy League's return, Chris Kavanagh's debut, and Ohio State's upset over UNC.

🐯 Longpole low-to-high?! Koby Smith is insanely skilled

Low-to-high with a longpole is ridiculous. Towson co-captain Koby Smith is lethal in transition as both a shooter and a passer. And he received the first-ever 100/100 player fit rating from Alex Poole.

Watch the highlights of Virginia-Towson on the TLN YouTube channel:

📚 Welcome back, Ivy League

After a shortened 2020 and a lost 2021 season, the Ivy League is back. Here's how 

• #7 Yale survived a tough Villanova squad at home, 17-14

• Harvard routed NJIT, 17-4, in Gerry Byrne's debut as head coach

• Chris Brown (3G, 4A), Christian Ronda (5G, 1A) and Alex Slusher (5G, 1A) led the way for Princeton against Monmouth, 22-6

• CJ Kirst (4G, 3A) led #17 Cornell over UAlbany, 16-8

• #11 Penn lost to #3 Georgetown, 10-8

• Dartmouth lost to Merrimack, 8-6

• Matthew Gunty (65% at the stripe) fed the Brown offense possessions in a 19-13 victory over Quinnipiac

☘️ Super Kav Bros

Pat (4G, 4A) and Chris (4G, 2A) Kavanagh combined for 14 points in a 24-2 win over Detroit Mercy on Saturday night.

Chris's long-anticipated debut did not disappoint. The five-star prospect, ranked 4th in the 2021 class by IL, is the fourth Kavanagh brother to play DI and the third to don the golden dome. Three years of the Super Kav Bros in South Bend will produce tons of highlights. When you mention the great siblings of lacrosse -- Gaits, Powells, Thompsons -- you need to include the Kavanaghs.

🥍 Hopkins' 1,000th win in program history

Powered by Joey Epstein (2G, 3A) and a career-high 14 saves by Josh Kirson, Johns Hopkins captured its 1,000th win in program history. The Blue Jays rallied late; they only led for 3:13 through three quarters. A three-goal fourth quarter run capped by defenseman Scott Smith put the Jays on top.

Head coach Peter Milliman was seen sporting a Howard University hat in support of the Howard women's lacrosse team, who were targets of racist and misogynistic abuse last weekend.

❄️ Nickerson Field or Hardhome?

February lacrosse at its finest. The second half of Boston University's win over Bryant featured colder conditions than last week's Beanpot.

Shoutout to the Terriers for finishing the upset. Now, they prepare for an in-state matchup with UMass on Saturday.

❤️ Honoring Z

Maryland attackman Eric Malever wore #11 to honor the late legendary John "Z" Zulberti.

Malever, a sophomore from Atlanta, was mentored by Zulberti. Read Kevin Brown's feature on their relationship on Inside Lacrosse:

🌰 Film Study: Ohio State's run game

The unranked Ohio State Buckeyes went into Chapel Hill to knock off #5 UNC, 20-8.

Justin Inacio (18-for-26) and Drew Blanchard (3-for-4) dominated at the stripe to give head coach Nick Myers' squad a possession advantage. The Buckeyes dominated pace of play by turning to their "run game" and put 35 shots on goal.

Myers breaks his offense into the running game (deliberate big-littles and inverts to attack mismatches) and the passing game (motion offense).

With Jack Myers (2G, 7A) at X, those big-littles behind the cage were unstoppable. Notice how quickly UNC slides to this short-stick matchup for Myers, leaving a 5-on-4 for the Buckeyes above GLE -- and a wide open Johnny Wiseman.

This 2-2-2 shape looks like UVA's set we previewed in preseason; and Ari Allen looks like Ian Laviano cutting inside. A freshman from IMG Academy, Allen sets this cut up perfectly. As Myers pump fakes to the high wing, Allen explodes toward the pipe for the finish.

Here's another well-timed cut by Allen. This time, assisted by Connor Cmiel. Ohio State's two interior players consistently created opportunities through cuts. Jackson Reid's initial cut here draws two defenders to free up Allen. Cmiel misses Allen, but re-dodges, so Allen re-cuts.

One more clip! The party starter here: Ed Shean. As Shean drives off the invert, Myers mirrors him to X, making himself available for the throwback. Count the UNC defenders within five yards of GLE when Myers catches! Colby Smith has plenty of time and room off Myers' skip.