Welcome to On the Run. Here's what you need to know about what happened in college lacrosse this weekend, plus some little things that I loved. Quick and easy to read while you're on the run!

Today’s writeup in a snapshot 📸:

• 👀 The Headliner: OSU Upsets ND

• 🤝 Supporting Cast: Penn State Pulls Off Miraculous Comeback

• 🎯 Quick Hits: BTB’s and Bar Downs

• 📈 On the Rise: Lehigh’s Dakota Eierman

• 😎 Calling My Shot: Sam King is Still Your Tewaaraton Winner

👀 The Headliner: Ohio State Beats Notre Dame

The storyline that stole the show this weekend.

It’s not in writing anywhere, but I’m going to be that guy; I thought Ohio State might upset Notre Dame this weekend.

The warning signs for Notre Dame were there offensively in past weeks.

To be honest, this was kind of expected given the graduation of Pat Kavanagh.

They still have plenty of talent, and I’m nowhere close to being that worried about them, but they were never going to be the offensive juggernaut they were in 2023 and 2024.

So what’s the solution for Notre Dame?

I like what they did sliding Devon McLane to X, because you have to let Chris Kavanagh do Chris Kavanagh things. Kavanagh’s amazing at creating his own shot, but he’s not the quarterback of the offense his brother was (basically no player is).

McLane could be the connector between the attack and midfield. His IQ and versatility (feeding, dodging in the pick game) make him a natural option behind the net.

And then they just need consistent production from their midfield. They have experienced players there.

Notre Dame will figure it out. But it might take some time.

But let’s focus on the victors in Ohio State.

I wrote two weeks ago that Ohio State was the hottest team in lacrosse, powered by some graduate transfers like Shane O’Leary (UMass) and Ryan Donnery (Quinnipaic).

So it was cool to see O’Leary put away the winner with 7 seconds left to give the Buckeyes massive win.

I’m not ready to call Ohio State contenders, but they’re definitely on the right track.

Bobby Van Buren is playing some of his best lacrosse ever, leading a stout defense with some nice players like Cullen Brown and Jonny Cool. Offensively, the Buckeyes have a plethora of options they can turn to, and Alex Marinier is one of the nation’s best shooters.

But I think a lot of it boils down to how their specialists play later in the season.

Jack Oldman got the best of First Team All-American Will Lynch and went 13-22 (59%) while Caleb Fyock made 13 saves in the win.

If Oldman and Fyock can play every game above or close to 50%, then you can never count out the Buckeyes.

 🤝 The Supporting Cast

The things that weren't maybe the star of the weekend, but still important.

1. Penn State Stuns Cornell in Thrilling Comeback

Down 12-9 with 2:27 to play, the Nittany Lions rattled off three straight goals on the EMO after Cornell’s Jack Cascadden’s hit on Jon King was deemed a 2-minute non-releasable penalty.

After Jack Aimone tied the game up with 17 seconds left, then Ethan Long scored the OT winner for Penn State.

Playing without their starting attack line of Matt Traynor, Kyle Lehman and Ryan DiRocco (for reasons I am not sure), Penn State was still able to pull out a miraculous win, but I’m not putting much stock into this game.

Cornell wins if not for a two-minute unreleasable penalty, but credit to the Nittany Lions for taking advantage of it.

Both teams are legit, that’s still my takeaway from this game, and are both serious Memorial Day weekend contenders.

2. Syracuse Gets Back on Track with Win over JHU

Contrary the Cornell vs Penn State game where I came away still very much liking both teams, I came away from Syracuse vs JHU agreeing with the tweet below.

Both offenses just looked ‘meh’.

The two offenses are similar, as they are predicated on quick ball movement, so it was no surprise to see both defenses be slow to slide, daring offensive players to go to the goal.

And what we saw was the neither offense has a ton of players that can beat their matchup clean. There’s not a ton of dodgers that strike fear into a defense for both sides.

Sure, there are some, like Michael Leo for Syracuse and Matt Collison for JHU, but until other players prove they can score unassisted goals consistently against ranked opponents, I’d expect both offenses to see a lot of slower sliding defenses.

I’m still pretty high on Syracuse because the talent they have on paper, but they need to pick it up offensively.

🎯 Quick Hits

The weekend's standout plays, hustle moments, and everything in between.

📈 On the Rise

Spotlighting players and teams who are setting themselves up for big things ahead.

1. Ryan Croddick (Goalie - Princeton)

Replacing a goalie who like Michael Gianforcaro is a tall task, but Croddick is averaging 15 saves a game for the #2 ranked Tigers, including a 24 save outing in a 11-5 win over Rutgers on Saturday evening.

2. Dakota Eierman (Midfield - Lehigh)

Eierman has always been a go-to midfielder for the Mountain Hawks, but with the graduation of Scott Cole, Eierman has become the go-to option on offense. His five goals against Navy on Friday evening propelled them to their second win of the year, an important one at that.

3. Richie LaCalandra (Attack - Saint Joseph’s)

LaCalandra is an interesting story.

After racking up 160 points at LIU, LaCalandra was a big ticket transfer who decided on Ohio State. Only scoring 6 points in 2023 at OSU, LaCalandra then transferred to Saint Joseph’s. After not playing in any games in 2024, LaCalandra has back to back hat-tricks for SJU and it’s just great to see a talented player like LaCalandra back in the fold.

😎 Calling My Shot

Bold predictions and takes, because who doesn't look a good guess?

1. Sam King Will Still Win the Tewaaraton

In my “10 Predictions for the 2025 NCAA Season” story, I named King as my Tewaaraton winner. I still think he’s a frontrunner, especially after a 6 goal outing against Michigan, but he’ll need to outperform players like CJ Kirst and Coulter Mackesy in the Ivy League.

2. Hunter Aquino is a Top 3 Midfielder in College Lacrosse Right Now

Aquino has 23 points (10G, 13A) for the Nittany Lions as a freshman. He’s as two-handed a midfielder as they come and is playing with so much confidence right now.

Is he a Top 3 midfielder in the nation on paper? Probably not. Is he playing like one? Absolutely.

3. My NCAA Lacrosse Broadcast Power Rankings

Embrace debate.

Read previous week’s here:

• Read Week 0

• Read Week 1

• Read Week 2

• Read Week 3

• Read Week 4