The men’s NCAA lacrosse season gets underway in earnest this weekend with No. 3 Duke hosting Robert Morris on February 4 at 5 p.m. ET in a game that will be broadcast by the ACC Network. Mercer picked up the first win of the 2022 season with a victory over Bellarmine on January 29. Thirteen games wait for us on Saturday, including the season-opener for two-time reigning champion Virginia.
The Cavaliers won the title in 2019 — the first for head coach Lars Tiffany — and repeated in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season. Virginia enters 2022 as the No. 1 team in the nation with returning stars Connor Shellenberger, Matt Moore, Petey LaSalla, and Cade Saustad.
Squads like Maryland, Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Georgetown will be looking to unseat the Cavaliers, and that means fans are in for an incredible ride this season.
On the women’s side, game action doesn’t start until February 11. Boston College finally won the program’s first National Championship last season season after making the title game in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Superstar Charlotte North returns after winning the Tewaaraton Award last season and setting a new NCAA record with 102 goals.
Boston College is one of six ACC teams ranked heading into the season, unsurprisingly opening at No. 1. North Carolina and Syracuse take the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively, so it looks like potentially another ACC-dominated season. Big Ten squads Northwestern (No. 4) and Maryland (No. 9) look to change that.
Let’s take a look at some of the must-see games for this 2022 season!