A week ago today, the Virginia men's lacrosse team was focused on preventing the previous week's huge win against Johns Hopkins from distracting it from the task at hand -- defeating Maryland.
Quite unsuccessful against the Terrapins, Virginia (9-1, 0-1 ACC) tallied its first loss of the season and watched as the lacrosse world second-guessed its ability.
After falling from No. 1 to No. 4 in the national rankings, the Cavaliers face a different, but equally difficult, mental challenge in preparing for tomorrow's contest against North Carolina (7-2, 0-2 ACC).
"You need to be able to move on no matter what happens," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "In retrospect there is nothing we can do about Maryland, so we have to turn around and do our best against North Carolina."
While solid leadership from veteran players is always crucial, it is especially key going into situations like the one Virginia will face tomorrow at Chapel Hill.
"The Ben Rubeors, Danny Gladings and Matt Kellys of the world can turn around and help me convince the team that we just need to get back to form and to keep playing," Starsia said. "I am fortunate to have those kind of guys in our program to help me do that."
Starsia noted that the younger players on the team tend to be more emotionally affected by a loss like last week's simply because they are not as accustomed to the disappointment.
The Tar Heels find themselves in much the same position as the Cavaliers did a week ago. North Carolina beat Johns Hopkins 13-8 last Saturday, winning on the Blue Jays' home turf for the first time since 1994.
With North Carolina coming off a huge victory and Virginia a disappointing loss, the question of who has the mental edge is up for grabs.
As Starsia pointed out, both losses and wins have equal potential to affect a team positively or negatively. A loss can deflate a team or grab everyone's attention so the athletes play better the next time. Similarly, a win can provide excellent momentum or make a team overconfident in the next game.
But while the Cavaliers hope North Carolina's win has created an air of overconfidence, they are nevertheless preparing for the Tar Heels' absolute best game. Unhappy with the team's face-off percentage against Maryland, Starsia's practices this week have focused on winning at the "X" and controlling the middle of the field -- a key tactic against a team with many strong players.
Although the Tar Heels do not have a "star" player, they have a deep roster full of very capable athletes and are considered a balanced and mature team. On offense, their three attackmen are veterans. Having played together for a couple of years, they will pose a threat to a young Cavalier defense that is still coming together.
"With regards to their offense, it is kind of chaotic," sophomore defenseman Ken Clausen said. "Their attackmen rotate and don't have designated roles -- they can interchange positions. That will force us to play from all angles on close defense, and so it is going to be a big test for us."
The Virginia attack also expects a challenge. Tar Heel junior goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman and his experienced back line proved their abilities against Hopkins, facing 40 shots and allowing just 8 goals, while Zimmerman made 14 saves.
"Their goalie has been playing very well this year," Clausen said. "Overall, with this being an away game, we have to come out ready to go and determined to get back on the winning side of things"
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