If the No. 3 Virginia men's lacrosse team is to win the 2008 ACC Tournament, it will most likely have to defeat the only two teams it has lost to thus far this season -- No. 8 Maryland and No. 2 Duke.
Although Virginia is ranked ahead of the Terrapins in the national polls, the Cavaliers finished behind Maryland in the ACC standings. Seeded third in the tournament, Virginia (11-2, 1-2 ACC) squares off against the No. 2 seed Maryland (8-4, 2-1 ACC) Friday night at Klöckner Stadium. Top-seeded Duke (13-1, 3-0 ACC) will play No. 4 seed North Carolina (8-4, 0-3 ACC) earlier in the afternoon, with the winners of each semifinal facing off Sunday in the championship.
The regular-season meeting between the two teams March 29 was a rude awakening for the Cavaliers. Going into the game as the No. 1 team in the country, Virginia had not expected to lose 13-7 to Maryland at College Park.
"We are really focused on Maryland," junior attackman Danny Glading said. "Since they played a lot better than we did the first time, we are all excited about it and it is not intimidating at all, because we know that on any given day you can play better than your opponent."
Meanwhile, Virginia hopes to take the lessons it learned during that regular-season contest and make the necessary adjustments before Friday's game. Glading emphasized the need for the Cavaliers to take better care of the ball offensively and in the midfield this time.
"In that game, when we had the ball, we tried to force some things on offense," Glading said. "We also need to do better on the groundballs in the middle of the field so that we can have some more possessions than the last time."
As for practice this week, Glading said he has noticed a difference in the focus and intensity the team has brought. With the knowledge that from here on out it is win-or-go-home, every Cavalier wants to make the most of the clean slate the postseason provides.
That is certainly the mindset of senior goalkeeper Bud Petit. The starting goalie since the Maryland upset, Petit is eager to have his turn against the Terrapins' offense.
"I know a couple guys on the Maryland team and so it will be fun to play against them," Petit said. "I have played Maryland a couple times before, but this is the first time when I will be in against them and it will really count -- that's exciting."
While Maryland's principal attackmen are mostly freshmen, the Terrapins are considered one of the deepest teams in college lacrosse, making them a serious offense threat. Because it is nearly impossible for the Cavalier defensemen to pin down how Maryland will come at them, the Terrapins pose quite a challenge for Petit and his back line.
"We have made a few defensive adjustments regarding player personnel," Petit said. "But other than that I think we are doing mostly the same stuff. We know them a little better now so hopefully those adjustments will help us prevent them from scoring as much as last time."
While the ACC is small in terms of the number of teams, it is nevertheless a lacrosse powerhouse, as last place North Carolina sits at the bottom of the conference with a No. 12 national ranking.
While the probability is high that the winner of Friday evening's contest will face Duke in the championship Sunday, Glading and the rest of the Cavaliers refuse to count their chickens, or their Blue Devils, before they hatch.
"I am just thinking about Maryland because they cannot be overlooked -- they really handed it to us the last time," Glading said. "Right now we are focused on them and if we end up playing Duke again, I think everyone will be excited for that as well."
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