NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Tournament Opening Weekend Preview

The NCAA Division I women's lacrosse tournament gets underway with 13 first-round games Friday and eight second-round games Sunday all taking place in pods hosted by the eight seeded teams.

Here's everything you need to know. 

All times Eastern. All games on ESPN+.

EVANSTON, ILL.

First Round
James Madison (13-5) vs. Notre Dame (12-5)
Friday 4 p.m.

Second Round
JMU/Notre Dame vs. (1) Northwestern (15-3)
Sunday 2 p.m.

Pod Preview
For a No. 1 seed, Northwestern did not get the easiest draw. James Madison boasts a championship pedigree, while Notre Dame started off the season with wins over Michigan and Boston College and took Syracuse to four overtimes. Whoever advances to the second round will not fear the Wildcats.

Series History
Notre Dame holds a 4-2 edge all-time against James Madison, though the teams have not met since 2009. Northwestern and Notre Dame, should it advance, have played each other frequently in both the regular season and NCAA tournament. The Wildcats have won 19 of 25 in the series.

Storyline to Watch
Maddie Epke vs. former team? The former James Madison star transferred to Northwestern and could face her old program if the Dukes upset Notre Dame. Epke transformed Northwestern’s draw game and adds another elite scorer to an already loaded offense.

— Matt DaSilva

BOULDER, COLO.

First Round
Jacksonville (13-5) vs. (8) Colorado (14-3)
Denver (15-3) vs. Florida (15-3)

Friday 6/9 p.m.
Second Round
Denver/Florida vs. Jacksonville/Colorado
Sunday 3 p.m.

Pod Preview

Colorado’s breakthrough season featured its first-ever win over Northwestern and an upset of Florida for the Big 12 championship. Thus, the Buffs landed an NCAA tournament seed for the first time in program history. They’re playing with a tremendous sense of belief this season. Should they advance past Jacksonville — a team that took Colorado to overtime last month — a rematch also awaits in the second round with either Denver (won 9-6) or Florida (split with 9-7 regular-season loss and 8-6 postseason win). The Dolphins won’t go quietly after their thunderous 16-11 win over Delaware to claim the ASUN championship.

Series History

Denver and Florida played each other annually during the Gators’ four-year run in the Big East. The Gators are 7-0 all-time against the Pioneers.

Storyline to Watch

Top defenses vs. top offenses. Colorado and Denver rank 1-2 in Division I in scoring defense, allowing 6.35 and 6.61 goals per game, respectively. They’d love nothing more than to grind these games into single-digit scoring slogs. Florida and Jacksonville rank fourth and 11th, respectively, in scoring offense with 15.67 and 14.83 goals per game. There’s also the possibility of an all-Colorado or all-Florida second-round encounter, which is cool.

— Matt DaSilva

STONY BROOK, N.Y.

First Round
Stonehill (13-6) vs. (5) Stony Brook (17-2)
Yale (13-4) vs. Boston College (9-7)
Friday 1/4 p.m.

Second Round
Yale/BC vs. Stonehill/Stony Brook
Sunday 12 p.m.

Pod Preview
Yale and Boston College have been two of the most mercurial teams in women’s lacrosse this season. They’ve been up. They’ve been down. They could be final four contenders. They could be one-and-done. That’s what makes this one of the most fascinating matchups of the first round, with the winner turning around less than 48 hours later most likely to face host Stony Brook, which earned its highest seed since 2018.

Series History
Boston College has won nine straight games against Yale dating back to 2011, including an 18-11 triumph in the NCAA quarterfinals last year. Stonehill and Stony Brook have never played each other. The Skyhawks only this year became eligible to compete in the NCAA Division I tournament after reclassifying from Division II.

Player to Watch
Isabella Caporuscio. Seawolves coach Joe Spallina has found another diamond in the rough. She’s indefatigable, a true two-way midfielder who leads Stony Brook with 60 goals while ranking second on the team in ground balls (51), caused turnovers (48) and draw controls (54).

— Matt DaSilva

BALTIMORE

First Round
UAlbany (12-5) vs. (4) Johns Hopkins (14-4)
Fairfield (15-3) vs. Army (14-4)
Friday 3/6 p.m.

Second Round
Fairfield/Army vs. UAlbany/Hopkins
Sunday 12 p.m.

Pod Preview
Army has taken a monumental step in the senior seasons of Allison Reilly and Brigid Duffy, the two most transformative players in program history. The Black Knights beat Fairfield 15-8 back in March, and the expectation is that they’ll advance to take on Johns Hopkins in the second round. Hopkins has been largely consistent this year outside of a Feb. 24 loss to Georgetown. Lacey Downey quietly is one of the top players in the nation — even though her goal celebrations are hardly quiet themselves. An Army-Hopkins matchup would showcase two of the most athletic teams in the country.  The host Blue Jays would be wise not to overlook UAlbany, however, The Great Danes have a history of making noise in the first round of the NCAA tournament, notably in 2023 when they upset Virginia in the first round and gave host Denver a run for its money in the second.

Series History
Hopkins won a pair of regular-season games against UAlbany in 2023 and 2024. Army has handled Fairfield the last two years, including a 15-8 victory earlier this season in West Point. Should they advance, Army and Hopkins have never played each other.

Storyline to Watch
In many ways, this is a “breakthrough” pod. Somebody is going to advance to the quarterfinals and make a bit of history. If Army does it, then it’ll be monumental for the program and further support the team’s emergence this year. If Hopkins advances past the pod, it’ll be the Blue Jays’ first quarterfinal since 2007. 

— Kenny DeJohn

COLLEGE PARK, MD.

First Round
Rutgers (10-8) vs. Princeton (11-6)
Friday 2 p.m.

Second Round
Rutgers/Princeton vs. (3) Maryland (16-3)
Sunday 12 p.m.

Pod Preview
Maryland gets the benefit of resting up and scouting the Rutgers-Princeton game in full. And while the Terps have a clear advantage, would you really be surprised if they didn’t advance? Maryland beat Princeton 16-12 on Feb. 28, but the Tigers are a far different (and far better) team than they were in the season’s first month. Maryland beat Rutgers 18-11 on April 4, but the Scarlet Knights are always game for an upset. They beat Michigan 13-12 five days after that loss. 

Series History
Princeton is 18-5-1 all-time against Rutgers in a series that dates back to 1975. The two teams met earlier this season, a 15-9 win for the Tigers in Princeton. The Tigers never trailed, building an 8-1 run to open the game and never looking back. Regardless the result, Maryland will see a familiar foe which is has dominated. The Terps are 15-2 all-time against Rutgers, a perennial Big Ten opponent, and 22-2 all-time against Princeton since 1999.

Player to Watch
JJ Suriano. The more the postseason goes on, the more it feels like Maryland will go as far as Suriano takes it — and that could be pretty far. We all know a scorching-hot goalie can carry a team in May, and Suriano was named a USA Lacrosse first-team All-American on Thursday. The 5-3 stopper has made double-digit saves in six of the last seven games (and she made nine in the other).

— Kenny DeJohn

ANNAPOLIS, MD.

First Round
UMass (16-2) vs. (6) Navy (18-1)
Loyola (12-7) vs. Syracuse (13-5)
Friday 3/7 p.m.

Second Round
Loyola/Syracuse vs. UMass/Navy
Sunday 1 p.m.

Pod Preview
If you love standout midfield play, then this is the pod for you. Loyola (Mim Suares-Jury), Syracuse (Emma Muchnick) and Navy (Ava Yovino, Mikayla Williams) boast some of the best individual middies in the country. Put them together on the same field, and we could be in store for a track meet. Navy is clearly the pod’s favorite as the seeded host, but Loyola is the only team to beat the Mids this spring, and there aren’t many defenses that can put the clamps on teams like Syracuse. 

Series History
Navy defeated UMass 23-11 in a 2017 NCAA tournament second-round game, making the quarterfinals and eventually the final four for the first time in program history. Syracuse has had Loyola's number going back to their Big East days. The Orange have won the last 12 games in the series, including a 15-7 victory at the Dome in February.

Storyline to Watch
All eyes are on Navy in this pod. The Mids were given a tall task, assuming they advance past UMass, in the second round, as both Loyola and Syracuse represent a stiff test. Loyola beat them 19-14 on March 28, and Syracuse has allowed just 8.06 goals per game. Navy has been a team with high expectations (both internally and externally) due to its incredible amount of talent and depth. This is the time to show it.

— Kenny DeJohn

ANN ARBOR, MICH.

First Round
Mercer (13-6) vs. (7) Michigan (12-6)
Penn State (12-6) vs. Stanford (15-4)
Friday 3/6 p.m.

Second Round
Penn State/Stanford vs. Mercer/Michigan
Sunday 1 p.m.

Pod Preview
The ACC and the Big Ten were the two best leagues this season and this pod figures to test out which league had better depth this season. Michigan’s high-end wins over Maryland, Colorado and Florida, gave them the No. 7 seed, but they’ve won just twice in the last six games. Stanford, ranked as high as No. 2 this year, lost just four times all season – twice to North Carolina – and two games on a tough road trip where they fell to Boston College and Villanova. Penn State’s first season under Kayla Treanor has been gripping, with six games decided by two goals or less, including a 13-12 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. Mercer is no stranger to postseason action. The Bears are playing in their eighth consecutive NCAA tournament. 

Series History
Michigan and Mercer have met just once before, a 17-6 Wolverine victory in the 2024 NCAA tournament at Notre Dame. Penn State and Stanford are meeting for just the third time ever and the first time in a decade. Stanford beat Penn State 16-10 in 2016 in California and Penn State won 17-15 at home in 2015. 

Storyline to Watch
If Michigan and Stanford met in the final of this pod, it will pair two former Northwestern stars against each other. Michigan head coach Hannah Nielsen was a two-time Tewaaraton winner for the Wildcats. Stanford head coach Danielle Spencer arrived in Evanston one year after Nielsen and the two were teammates on national championship teams in 2007, 2008 and 2009.  

— Brian Logue

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

First Round
Davidson (15-4) vs. Clemson (14-5)
Friday 5 p.m.

Second Round
Davidson/Clemson vs. (2) North Carolina (16-1)
Sunday 12 p.m.

Pod Preview
North Carolina seems destined to return to the NCAA championship, but two other Carolina teams will look to derail them. UNC awaits the winner of the Clemson-Davidson first round game. Clemson is playing in the NCAA tournament for the second straight year, but its freshmen have led the Tigers this year with rookies Emma Penczek, Teagan Scott and Alexa Spallina all earning All-America honors from USA Lacrosse. Davidson won the Atlantic 10 championship as the No. 4 seed to advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.  

Series History
Clemson is 3-0 all-time against Davidson in its brief program history, including a 21-5 victory earlier this season. North Carolina has never lost to Clemson (7-0) or Davidson (5-0). 

Player to Watch
Chloe Humphrey. The reigning Tewaaraton Award winner has already broken her North Carolina single-season record with 92 goals so far. Can she break the NCAA single-season record of 109 set just last year by her U.S. national team teammate Madison Taylor (Northwestern)? Humphrey is averaging 5.4 goals per game, so a trip back to the national finals could put the record within reach. 

— Brian Logue