Hook: Penn has the nation's top-ranked defense and has made a habit of humbling strong teams this season. The No. 2 Quakers have allowed just 45 goals in nine games, including just two goals each in wins over No. 4 North Carolina and No. 20 Cornell. Dartmouth is 3-0 in the Ivy and ranked 13th in the nation, but you have to wonder if the Quakers will be looking ahead to Wednesday's showdown with No. 7 Princeton. That would be foolish. Dartmouth has already taken another unbeaten, No. 3 Maryland, to overtime.

Making picks from the vantage point of last place is like going after unattainable women at the bar -- it's been so long since you've gotten an affirmative response that the unattainable suddenly seems, in your blurry eyes, at least, within grasp. Thus, you stab at every potential upset eying the 10-0 week, only to come up emptyhanded. Desparation is an ugly thing. That said, I'm going with Army here. The Black Knights are long overdue. Five of their six losses have come by two goals or less. They'll step up to the challenge.

WD1: No. 4 North Carolina at No. 3 Maryland - Satruday, 12 p.m.

Count me among the preseason doubters of the Maryland women since proven wrong by the third-ranked Terrapins. I watched Maryland in some exhibition games at the Champion Challenge, a US Lacrosse event, in Orlando at the end of January. I thought the Terps were the third-best of three ACC teams there (Duke, Virginia). Instead, unbeaten Maryland (13-0, 3-0) can clinch no worse than a share of the conference's regular-season title if it holds off surging North Carolina (11-2, 3-0) Saturday in College Park. Seven Terrapins have scored at least 19 goals this season, and they'll need another balanced effort for 60 minutes against a team unafraid of playing on the road. The Heels are 5-1 away from home.

MD1: No. 7 UMBC at No. 18 Albany - Saturday, 1 p.m. 

Hook: Talk about revenge games. Anytime these two America East juggernauts meet, revenge seems to be at hand, but the Great Danes have got to be salivating over this one -- a rematch of the 2008 America East championship game in which the Retrievers rallied from nine goals down to win 14-13 and advance to the NCAA tournament.

Looking for a darkhorse to advance to Foxboro next month? Consider UMBC, which is hoping to claim its third America East title in four years. The Retrievers have won five straight heading into Saturday's game at Albany, including wins over Maryland and Ohio State, and their only two losses came in close games against Johns Hopkins and Princeton. Coach Don Zimmerman's squad features a balanced offense led by senior middie Alex Hopmann (23g) and five others with between 11 and 18 goals, and a solid defense anchored by veteran goalie Jeremy Blevins (40 career wins), who is capable of carrying a team in the postseason.

MD1: No. 15 Loyola at No. 19 Georgetown - Saturday, 1 p.m.  

Hook: The season is pretty much on the line for the Hoyas (5-5 overall, 1-2 ECAC) Saturday. A loss eliminates them from contention for the conference crown and casts a tall shadow on an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament with a trip to ECAC front-runner Massachusetts next week. The good news for the Hoyas is that if they can get this one, they'll have won three straight heading to Amherst and then finish with pedestrian Rutgers and Penn State on the Hilltop. Entering the season, we thought the Hoyas' lack of a single standout on offense could be a blessing. Ten games in, only three players, led by Ricky Mirabito (19g, 5a) and Andrew Brancaccio (16g, 3a), have scored in double-figures in goals for a squad that averages just over nine tallies per game. The Greyhounds (6-4, 3-1) have come back to the pack somewhat after a 3-1 start, but they've avoided stubbing their toes against an inferior opponent - which Georgetown hasn't. This is likewise a big game for Loyola, which can strengthen its NCAA hopes with a road win followed by home games against league rivals Fairfield and Hobart. For the ‘Hounds, offense has come mainly from its attack unit of Shane Koppens (17g, 12a), Collin Finnerty (16g, 11a) and Cooper MacDonnell (22g, 4a). How those three fare against a traditionally strong Hoya D will be key, and Loyola could certainly use a repeat ECAC Player of the Week performance by freshman midfielder Mike Sawyer, who scored four goals in last week's win at Rutgers.

Fun with typos! Georgetown's pregame notes identify Loyola's points leader as "Shank Koppens." That's a pretty apt nickname for a guy who will (metaphorically) stab you between the ribs if you give him room to maneuver near the crease. Still, my favorite Greyhound is do-it-all longpole PT Ricci, who leads the team with 35 caused turnovers and is third in the country on ground balls per game (6.8). He's not afraid to shoot, either.

The ECAC looks very much like a one-bid league for the NCAA tournament this season and with UMass sitting at 3-0 in the league, Saturday's Loyola-Georgetown game is very much a must-win game for both teams. Loyola is just a half game back of the Minutemen, but has already lost the head-to-head battle. Georgetown is just 1-2 in the league, but a win puts them very much back in the picture. They still have UMass to play and already beat Fairfield (3-1).

MD1: No. 10 North Carolina vs. Ohio State (at Calvert Hall, Baltimore) - Saturday, 1 p.m.

Hook: The obvious, emotional hook here is UNC head coach Joe Breschi's first game against his former team, the one he built from the ground up and with which he endured the death of his son. There's also the mentor-protege element between Breschi and OSU first-year coach Nick Myers, who was promoted in Columbus when Breschi left for his alma mater. Ohio State has an opening -- UNC goalie Grant Zimmerman is likely out for the season after suffering a right knee injury in the second quarter of the Tar Heels' loss to Virginia in last week's Big City Classic.

For the second time in as many years, Salisbury and TCNJ will play a 1-v-2 match-up during the regular season. Last year, No. 1 Salisbury edged No. 2 TCNJ by a goal in overtime, 11-10. This year, the rankings are flipped and it's the Lions who enter the game as No. 1, ending the Gulls' two-week reign at the top of the charts this week. While TCNJ is relatively untested this year - their biggest game was a one goal win over No. 5 Gettysburg - this is already Salisbury's second top-ranked match-up, as the Gulls, then No. 2, upended former No. 1 and defending national champion Hamilton in San Antonio. In total, this will be the fourth Top 6 game of the year for the home team. Regardless, expect the game to be close: the last six times these teams have met dating back to 2005, no more than two goals have separated the two squads at the end.

WD1: No. 8 Notre Dame at No. 9 Syracuse - Saturday 1 p.m.

MD1: No. 9 Johns Hopkins vs. No. 12 Maryland (at M&T Bank Stadium) - Saturday, 2 p.m.

WD1: No. 10 Vanderbilt at No. 15 Ohio State - Sunday, 12 p.m.

Last Week	5-5	5-5	5-5	6-4	7-3	4-6
Overall	56-24	53-27	52-28	51-29	51-29	47-33
M: Army vs. Navy	Navy	Navy	Navy	Navy	Navy	Army
W: Dartmouth @ Penn	Penn	Penn	Penn	Penn	Penn	Penn
W: UNC @ Maryland	Maryland	Maryland	Maryland	Maryland	Maryland	UNC
M: UMBC @ Albany	UMBC	UMBC	UMBC	UMBC	UMBC	Albany
M: Loyola @ Georgetown	Loyola	Loyola	Georgetown	Georgetown	Loyola	Georgetown
M: UNC vs. Ohio State	UNC	UNC	UNC	UNC	UNC	UNC
W: TCNJ @ Salisbury	TCNJ	Salisbury	Salisbury	TCNJ	TCNJ	Salisbury
W: Notre Dame @ Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse	Syracuse	Notre Dame	Syracuse	Syracuse
M: Hopkins vs. Maryland	Maryland	Hopkins	Hopkins	Maryland	Hopkins	Maryland
W: Vandy @ Ohio State	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt	Ohio State	Ohio State