Best NCAA women's lacrosse championship streaming options: How to watch 2024 DI women's lacrosse tournament live for FREE without cable (2024)

The 2024 NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse championship is about to begin. With the top 29 teams in college lacrosse, including No. 1 Northwestern and No. 3 Syracuse, set to clash across five rounds of play, here’s a look at the best ways to watch the NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament for free, starting Friday, May 10 through Sunday, May 26. That includes a list of the best streaming services, and which ones have free trials or promotions for new customers looking to avoid paying for cable.

• You can watch all five rounds of the 2024 NCAA DI women’s lacrosse championship on ESPN Plus, and since all 21 games in the first two rounds are exclusive to the service, it’s the best place to watch the complete tournament. You can watch the later, televised rounds for free with DirecTV Stream (free trial) or fuboTV (free trial), or on the cheap with Sling Orange (promotional offers, lowest monthly rate).

Where can I watch the 2024 NCAA women’s lacrosse championship for free? What networks or TV channels are the 2024 women’s lacrosse tournament on?

The final three rounds of the 2024 NCAA women’s lacrosse championship will air on the ESPN family of networks, including ESPNU and ESPN.

The opening rounds are on exclusive to ESPN+, and ESPN+ will also simulcast all televised games.

Track down your local channel listings for ESPNU and ESPN with our channel finder: Verizon Fios, Xfinity, Spectrum, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DirecTV

Where can I stream the 2024 NCAA women’s lacrosse championship free without cable? Which service is best?

• Multiple streaming services carry the ESPN networks required to watch the tournament, but due to the streaming exclusivity of the first two rounds, the best bet is subscribing to ESPN+ ($10.99/month), which will carry all 28 games live. The only downside is that ESPN+ does not offer a free trial, but it does have the cheapest monthly rate, compared to other comprehensive TV services, and can be bundled with Hulu and Disney+ with the Disney Bundle for just $14.99 per month. It’s also packed with other exclusive sports content, including UFC Fight Nights and a huge selection of college and professional sports.

• DirecTV Stream Choice is the next best option. It offers a 5-day free trial and 125+ channels, including ESPN and ESPNU. Plus, right now you can add the Sports Pack ($14.99/month), which includes channels like NFL Network and NBA TV, and save $44.55 on your first month of service. You can watch starting with the quarterfinal round of the tournament for free, and then decide if it’s worth paying for the rest throughout the month of May, plus other exciting upcoming sporting events, like the PGA Championship, Preakness Stakes, and more.

• The next best streaming service option is fuboTV, and honestly, this one is nearly an even match with DTV, above. fubo starts at $79.99 per month after a 7-day free trial, and offers 199 channels, including its own exclusive fubo Sports lineup. It includes ESPN in its basic package, but fans will need to add the $7.99 fubo Extra pack in order to get ESPNU. Still, that makes it cheaper than DirecTV Stream on a monthly basis, but fubo starts with a 1,000 hour limit on DVR storage and 10-screen limit, vs. unlimited on both for DTV.

• Sling is worth considering too, especially if you already plan on sticking around, and a free trial isn’t important to you. Sling Orange, which includes ESPN and 30 other channels, only costs $40 per month, and new subscribers get their first month half price ($20). That’s a 50% cost reduction over the more premium live services above. You just might want to purchase an HDTV antenna to get local channels like ABC and CBS, since Sling doesn’t typically carry them, and you’ll need the $15/month Sports Extras pack to add ESPNU.

Cable customers can also login on ESPN.com or ESPN apps with their cable credentials to stream all games on cable TV for free.

When does the NCAA women’s lacrosse championship happen? What is the schedule of rounds?

The NCAA DI womens lacrosse championship begins with the first round on Friday, May 10 at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT, with and continues to the second round on Sunday, May 12 starting 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday, May 16, semifinals on Friday, May 24, and the championship takes place Sunday, May 26. Here’s a look at the complete schedule for the 2024 NCAA DI women’s lacrosse championship.

Friday, May 10 — First round | ESPN+

• (4) Maryland vs. Robert Morris, 12 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• (6) Yale vs. Binghamton, 1 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• (7) Notre Dame vs. Coastal Carolina, 1 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• (8) Penn vs. Richmond, 1 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Stony Brook vs. Niagara, 2 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• (5) Virginia vs. LIU, 3 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Penn State vs. James Madison, 3 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Denver vs. Stanford, 4 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Loyola Maryland vs. Duke, 4 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Johns Hopkins vs. Fairfield, 4 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Michigan vs. Mercer, 4 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Princeton vs. Drexel, 4 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Florida vs. North Carolina, 6 p.m. ET (STREAM)

Sunday, May 12 — Second round | ESPN+

• Teams TBD, 12 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• (2) Boston College vs. TBD, 12 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Teams TBD, 12:30 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Teams TBD, 1 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Teams TBD, 1 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• (3) Syracuse vs. TBD, 2 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• (1) Northwestern vs. TBD, 2 p.m. ET (STREAM)
• Teams TBD, 2:30 p.m. ET (STREAM)

Thursday, May 16 — Quarterfinals | ESPNU

• Quarterfinal 1, TBD (STREAM)
• Quarterfinal 2, TBD (STREAM)
• Quarterfinal 3, TBD (STREAM)
• Quarterfinal 4, TBD (STREAM)

Friday, May 24 — Semifinals | ESPNU

• Semifinal 1, TBD (STREAM)
• Semifinal 2, TBD (STREAM)

Sunday, May 26 — Championship | ESPN

• National championship game, TBD (STREAM)