This is crunch time for the Virginia women's lacrosse team. Yeah, the Cavaliers are the third-ranked team in the country. Yeah, they already won the ACC regular season title for the first time in school history. They've got the makings of, as we say in the business, a "special" team, and they've got the best chance of anybody playing right now, with the possible exception of men's lacrosse, to bring an NCAA title home to Charlottesville.
But all of that won't amount to diddly squat if the Cavaliers don't beat Maryland on Friday in the first round of the ACC tournament.
Now, now. I know I'm looking ahead. Tonight, Virginia plays George Mason at home in its last game before the ACC tournament starts this weekend. George Mason is no slouch - it's a top 20 program - but the game's only meaning, win or lose, is that it could determine Virginia's mood and momentum going into Friday's game against Maryland.
So what's the big deal?
Here's the big deal: Maryland women's lacrosse is the most dominant team running in Division I college sports. The program has won eight of the last 10 NCAA titles and seven straight, which means most of the players that now play for the Terps weren't even in high school the last time a team other than Maryland won the national championship.
Right now, the Terps aren't favored to win their eighth straight. They've lost six games this season, a lot for a team that came into the year not losing a game since March 5, 2000. Not 2001. They were undefeated that season.
But the coach, Cindy Timchal, who has lost only 18 games in 11 years, is still there. So are most of the players from last year's team, players that haven't even heard of Maryland losing in the postseason.
Playing Maryland right now in a postseason setting is like staring down a poker player whose got all the chips and a full house. She thinks she can't lose.
But, for Friday's game, Maryland, the fourth and highest seed in the tournament, is expected to do just that: Lose. It's up to Virginia to make sure that happens.
Talent vs. tradition
Here's the argument for the Cavaliers: they've got their best lineup since the early 1990s. Midfielder Lauren Aumiller is a goal-scoring machine. Goalkeeper Andrea Pfeffier is as solid as they come, though she hasn't been tested much lately because the Cavs' back line is so good. And, also in the midfield, Virginia has freshman Amy Appelt, the most exciting player I've ever seen in women's lacrosse. If you haven't seen Appelt play, you should. She's electrifying.
The team's coach, Julie Myers, told me she thinks this could be the best team she's ever coached.
"I like the chemistry we've got. I like our players. We've played consistently," Myers said.
If they keep it going, they could beat Maryland and win the national title.
But here's the argument for the Terps: They've got the winning attitude and the history behind their program. On Thursday, Timchal can take her players after practice to see eight NCAA banners from the last decade. That's quite a sight, one that will give them enough confidence to forget about a sub-par record.
Hey, no one said it would be easy.
A decade-changing affair
But it will be important. Beat Maryland Friday and Virginia might actually knock the Terps out of contention for an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. This means that, for the first time in seven years, a new school will be the NCAA champion in women's lacrosse.
That's huge for the sport, particularly for coaches like Myers, who says, "it's nice to think that we could be that next dominant team."
Every other team in women's lacrosse feels the same way, and, this Friday, they'll all be rooting for Virginia.
(Sam's Le column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at samle@virginia.edu.)
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