What We’re Watching this Weekend

If you’re anything like me, last Saturday was overwhelming. You weren’t used to having so many games on at once. The second the game you were streaming reached a three-goal differential, FOMO for the rest of the afternoon slate started creeping in. But never fear, we’re here to help you maximize your lacrosse viewership this weekend.

Shoutout to @LaxVegasLines/Twitter for the lines and Inside Lacrosse for the streams

Kicking it off — Robert Morris @ Bellarmine, Friday 3 PM

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RMU brings back talent at every position this year. And when I say every position, I mean they have preseason All-NEC players at Attack, Mid, LSM, Defense and Goalie. They fought hard in their first game, winning the ground ball war in a 7-11 loss to Rutgers. When you play a heavy favorite, it’s important to celebrate those little victories. Expect them to knock off Bellarmine, a middling SoCon team trying to brush off the cobwebs in their first tilt of the year.

Why we’re watching: It’s a mid-major weekday matinee. Duh, we’re gonna watch. Plug in those HDMI’s and call it an early weekend.

Waking up: Vermont at Fairfield, Saturday 12 PM

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This matchup is more than a couple of mid-major teams going at it. We get to see two of the game’s premier offensive players going shot-for-shot. Ian MacKay is coming off a stellar performance in Vermont’s Week 1 win. Collin Burke will look to have a similar coming out party in Fairfield’s opener. We’re in for a treat.

Why we’re watching: Maryland-Navy and Ohio State-BU are behind stupid paywalls. This game on the other hand is being streamed on Fairfield’s Facebook Live, which I’m all in on. We’ve already seen the success of pro lacrosse games streaming live on Twitter. A free way to reach a broader audience could be just what our sport needs.

That being said, if you have a BTN login, DMs are open.

Honorable Mention: Other than the above, Army-UMass could be fun. UNC-Furman and Richmond-UMBC are worth keeping an eye on.

Heating up: #10 Loyola (-1) @ #15 Virginia, Saturday 1 PM

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The opener for a couple of ranked teams should be a blast. Both teams play fast and have headline talent on offense between Michael Kraus and Pat Spencer (If you don’t like talking about the top offensive player on each team so much, this will be a long season for you). This is arguably the best matchup of the weekend. Don’t miss it.

Honorable Mention: Bucknell-Bryant, Jacksonville @ Duke, Rutgers-St. John’s, Syracuse-Binghamton.

Eh, I guess: #4 Denver (-9) @ Air Force, Saturday 3 PM

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Denver are heavy favorites to win the Colorado Cup (not a thing yet but it will be). However, Air Force F/O Trent Harper was one bright spot in last week’s blowout loss to Duke, so it’ll be interesting to see how Trevor Baptiste does in his first test of the year.

Nightcap: #14 Towson @ #13 Johns Hopkins (-1.5), Saturday 6 PM

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This is a really intriguing matchup between two Baltimore powers. Towson brings back its strong defense, while Hop has its offensive leaders back. If you’re a coaching fan, this is a fun one too. Reigning Coach of the Year Shawn Nadelen looks like he’s modeled his coaching style after Dave Pietramala. We’ll call this the intimidation bowl.

CLUB LAX: #20 Missouri State @ #21 UT-Dallas, Saturday 7 PM

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The Comets of UT-Dallas have scored 59 goals (!!) in 3 wins to start the season. They face Missouri State, who are 1-1 after hanging with two MCLA D-I teams. This game has HUGE Lone Star Alliance D-II  implications. Shoutout to SickStar Lacrosse on YouTube for bringing the fans of club lacrosse what they want.

Sunday Funday: Detroit Mercy @ #6 Notre Dame (-5.5), Sunday 1 PM

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Both teams start their season Sunday, which is pretty late. Duke will have played three games before this one’s opening faceoff, which is weird. Will it be weird enough that Detroit Mercy can pull off the upset? Probably not. But you should watch anyway to support Midwest lax.