First Weekend Power Moves: Three Programs That Looked Like They Belong and One That Didn’t

The D1 lacrosse first weekend power moves are already separating the programs that came ready from the ones still finding themselves. For most programs, the schedule was light — exhibition work, scrimmages, early-season tuneups against lower competition. But early-season performance still tells you things if you’re watching the right stuff. It’s not about the scoreboard. It’s about whether a team looks like it knows what it’s doing.

D1 Lacrosse First Weekend Power Moves: Who Looked the Part

Program That Looked Like It Belongs: Penn State

Penn State came out with a purpose and a system that looked installed, not installed-in-progress. Their offensive transition was sharp, their defensive communication was loud and deliberate, and you could see the carryover from what they built in the second half of last year. This is a program that enters 2026 knowing exactly what it wants to be. The early-season version of Penn State looked like the tournament version, which is usually not the case for anyone in February.

The specific thing that stood out: their riding scheme was aggressive and organized in a way that suggests they drilled it relentlessly in the offseason. Riding is one of those program details that tells you how obsessive the coaching staff is about total-game preparation. Penn State’s riding looked like a weapon, not an afterthought.

Program That Looked Like It Belongs: Virginia

Virginia’s offensive pace is real and it showed early. The Cavaliers run a system that punishes defensive fatigue and mental lapses, and they already looked two steps ahead of the competition in terms of how fast they’re moving the ball. Lars Tiffany has built a program identity — go fast, create chaos, make teams play a brand of lacrosse they haven’t prepared for — and the current roster is the best physical fit for that identity in years.

Their young attack players are not playing like freshmen or sophomores. That’s the detail that sticks. When your non-veterans look comfortable, you’re either in great shape or the competition was too easy. Virginia’s looked comfortable against quality opposition. That’s meaningful.

Program That Looked Like It Belongs: Cornell

Cornell is doing the thing that good Cornell teams always do: making you earn every single inch. Their defense is systematic and physical in a way that makes offenses reset more than they want to, and their patience on the offensive end suggests a team that trusts its process more than it trusts individual improvisation. That’s a coaching-culture thing, and it’s hard to build and easy to lose. Cornell has it right now.

The Big Red are also doing something smart with their early-season scheduling — they’re finding competitive games that test their depth without risking brutal losses that could hurt confidence early. Deliberately building team cohesion through early-season scheduling is underrated, and Cornell’s staff has always been smart about the long game.

Program That Raised Flags: Georgetown

Georgetown came out looking like a team that hasn’t resolved its identity questions from last spring. The offensive scheme looks caught between two different systems — there’s a version of them that wants to play fast and a version that wants to slow it down and grind — and when a team can’t commit to one, you end up with neither working well. That in-between style creates hesitation in players who should be playing with confidence.

The defensive communication was also inconsistent in ways that suggest personnel changes haven’t fully settled. Some of the slide packages were late and uncoordinated — the kind of thing that gets punished by good offenses. This isn’t a talent problem at Georgetown. They have talented players. It looks like a system problem, which is a coaching staff accountability item.

Georgetown has time. February is early. But if these patterns look the same in three weeks against better competition, the questions about this program’s direction are going to get louder. The talent is there to be better than this. Someone has to figure out how to deploy it.

The Broader Takeaway

First weekend teaches you about preparation and systems, not outcomes. The programs that looked sharp weren’t just winning early scrimmages — they were playing identifiable, disciplined lacrosse that you could put a name on. That’s the standard. Be recognizable in February. If people can’t tell what kind of team you are in the first week, you’re behind.