The Virginia men's lacrosse team will put its seven-game win streak on the line this weekend as it hosts Maryland Saturday at Klöckner Stadium.
The Cavaliers (7-1) held on to the nation's longest winning streak last Saturday with an emotional 7-5 victory in Baltimore over Johns Hopkins. Senior defenseman Ricky Smith truly understands the significance of the big win.
"Being able to win at Homewood, where we hadn't won since 2001, I think it's a huge confidence booster, especially for the younger guys," Smith said. "That's the only way to get better, keep building their confidence."
Despite gaining confidence after their last win, the Cavaliers still need to focus on what lies ahead: the ACC opener.
After playing a big part in last Saturday's win, sophomore attackman Danny Glading is ready to square off against Maryland this weekend.
"We are definitely looking forward to it," Glading said. "It is one of those games that you circle on the schedule at the beginning of the season."
Glading joined junior attackman Ben Rubeor in leading an offensive onslaught against the Blue Jays in the first half Saturday. That task may prove to be more difficult this weekend, as Maryland is considered one of the top defensive teams in the country.
The Terrapins (7-2, 1-1 ACC) picked up their first conference win last Saturday, defeating North Carolina 17-8.
Despite the fact that Maryland's schedule hasn't been as strong as Virginia's so far, Virginia coach Dom Starsia is well aware of the Terps' potential.
"They have preseason All-Americans at all three close defense spots and they have a young kid in the cage who is playing very, very well," Starsia said. "I think the storyline for us is going to be being able to create offensive opportunities ... and then being able to finish them because clearly we are going to be playing against one of the best defensive teams in the country here."
The numbers Maryland has put up this season help illustrate Starsia's point. The Terrapins are averaging 12.2 saves per game and a 63.2 save percentage to Virginia's 7.5 saves and 53.6 save percentage. Also, the Terp defense causes 13.4 turnovers per game -- four more than the Cavaliers' average.
The Cavaliers will undoubtedly need yet another big game from Rubeor, but will also look for other players to step up.One of those players might be junior midfielder Will Barrow. Barrow suffered an injury earlier in the season but proved that he is improving when he notched a goal against Hopkins last weekend.
Although Virginia will have its hands full with the Maryland defense, Barrow believes that containing the Terp offense is the key this weekend.
"I think the matchups will be important again, but I think [moreover], it's going to be how we play ourselves as a team -- our team defense," Barrow said."I think their offense will be more like Towson's than Hopkins' where they will be more about how we play off the ball and worrying about the cutters."
The Cavaliers will look to combine the right amount of offensive and defensive power to secure their first conference win this Saturday at 3 p.m.
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