From top to bottom, men's lacrosse in the ACC provides challenging opponents, especially on the road. Thus, when a team faces the nation's fourth-ranked team on the road with an undefeated season on the line, most people would call that a big game; however, the Virginia men's lacrosse team sees its upcoming contest against Maryland in a different light.
"We preach the philosophy 'no big games,'" Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "And all it really does is remind guys that we have to be ready every game, and if you put one game ahead of another in terms of its importance, then what do we do the next week when we have to play another game."
The mantra seems to be serving No. 1 Virginia (9-0) well, as the Cavaliers are the only undefeated team in the top 20. After the overtime thriller against Johns Hopkins, Virginia will need to keep its upcoming game against Maryland (6-2) in perspective Saturday.
The Terrapins are coming off a 13-8 upset victory against North Carolina and threaten with their athleticism and aggressive defense. In three games this season, Maryland has held its opponent scoreless for more than 20 minutes, including the North Carolina game. The matchup between Virginia's offense and Maryland's defense should prove competitive, as Virginia has averaged almost 16 goals per game, compared to the 7.6 goals per game allowed by the Maryland defense.
"We need our defense to keep playing well and keep creating opportunities for our offense," senior attacker Ben Rubeor said. "We ask them [the defense] to kind of press out and create ground balls and transitions and offensive opportunities. On the offensive end, we have to shoot well because they are a solid defensive team."
Rubeor shared the honor of ACC Men's Lacrosse Co-Player of the Week with Maryland's junior midfielder Jeff Reynolds, as both players were influential in their teams' wins this past weekend. Both players scored three goals, and Rubeor's third goal forced the game into overtime.
Virginia's strong play has come from a number of other players, as well; depth has proved to be one of the team's biggest assets. Earlier in the season, the Cavaliers were without the talents of Rubeor and senior midfielder Will Barrow, and junior Danny Glading is currently recovering from a sore hamstring. Additional help has come from junior attack Gavin Gill and freshman midfielder Shamel Bratton, who had a career-high three goals against Johns Hopkins.
"I think we have fairly steady progress at the offensive end but we haven't had Danny and Ben healthy at the same time," Starsia said. "It's sort of the same at the defensive end. We have a number of young players contributing. I don't think we have put together our best game yet."
Maryland also features many young players, including freshman attack Ryan Young, who leads his team in assists and has contributed in every game except the North Carolina matchup.
Virginia beat Maryland twice last season and is anticipating a very physical game. Byrd Stadium also is a particularly hostile environment, as the Terrapins have compiled a 37-13 record at home since 2002.
"These conference games, these next three games, are the most physical games of the year for us," Starsia said. "You have to strap your helmet on tightly when you are playing Maryland and Carolina and Duke"
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