No. 1 Virginia Set to Renew Storied Lacrosse Rivalry With No. 4 Maryland

Virginia and Maryland enjoyed a heated and competitive rivalry for decades across several sports, but particularly in lacrosse, with the Cavaliers and Terrapins going head-to-head in countless epic battles. When Maryland left the ACC for the Big Ten in 2014, one of lacrosse's greatest rivalries went dormant, as the Hoos and the Terps didn't meet for the next five years. 

In 2019, a chance meeting in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament lit a spark that has reignited the rivalry. Virginia erased a five-goal fourth-quarter deficit and defeated Maryland 13-12 in overtime en route to earning its sixth national title and first under Lars Tiffany. In 2021, Virginia and Maryland met again in the National Championship Game, with the Cavaliers prevailing 17-16 in another instant classic to win their seventh national championship. In this new era of the rivalry, UVA clearly had the upper hand, but the Terrapins responded last year with one of the most dominant seasons in the history of college lacrosse, a season that included not one, but two resounding blowouts against Virginia. In the regular season, Maryland cruised past UVA with a 23-12 beatdown at Audi Field and then picked up a convincing 18-9 win against the Cavaliers in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament as Maryland completed the undefeated season to capture its fourth national championship. 

Now, the two programs responsible for winning each of the last three national titles and four out of the last five get set to meet for the 95th time in history, but for the first time at Klockner Stadium in almost a decade. 

Read on for a full preview of the regular season battle between No. 1 Virginia and No. 3 Maryland, including details on the game, an opponent scouting report, and keys to the game.

Game Details

Who: No. 1 Virginia (6-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. No. 3 Maryland (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten)

When: Saturday, March 18th at 2:00pm ET

Where: Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia

How to watch: ACC Network

All-time series: Maryland leads 49-46

Last meeting: Maryland defeated Virginia 18-9 on May 22, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio in the NCAA Quarterfinal.

Opponent Scouting Report: Maryland

2023 record: 4-2

The Maryland Terrapins are coming off of one the most dominant seasons in college lacrosse history, going undefeated and claiming their first national championship since 2017. This season, it has been quite different for Maryland, who has already lost two games and is still trying to establish a new identity early in the season. After losing Tewaaraton winner Logan Wisnauskas and a few other All-Americans and a combined 297 combined points amongst several players, the Terrapins are still trying to steady the ship early in the season.

After a 15-4 win over Richmond to start the season, Maryland was upset by now No. 11 Loyola 12-7 in an anemic offensive performance by the Terrapins. Maryland then defeated Syracuse and Princeton led by outstanding faceoff man Luke Wierman, who is currently ranked No. 9 in the country with a 65.8 faceoff win percentage, giving the Terrapins a healthy advantage in possessions and shot opportunities. Last year, Wierman dominated the faceoff battle against Petey LaSalla (and the now-redshirted Gable Braun), going 24/36 in the first matchup and 20/29 the second time around. In the NCAA title game back in 2021, LaSalla got the upper hand, going 21/37 compared to Wierman who went 14/30. Wierman has been the centerpiece of Maryland’s success and the matchup between LaSalla and Wierman will play a pivotal role in the outcome of Saturday's game. 

Maryland’s second loss this season came at the hands of No. 2 Notre Dame in a 12–11 triple-overtime loss. The game demonstrated that despite losing, the Terrapins were more than capable of playing at a high level, limiting the Irish to only 12 goals for an offense that ranks third in the country in scoring offense.

Offensively, Daniel Maltz leads the charge with 21 points this season. Maltz is complemented by Daniel Kelly, Kyle Long, and Owen Murphy, who have begun to step up into more prominent roles after losing the bulk of their offense last season. Midfielder Kyle Long leads the team in assists with ten and has served as the primary distributor this season, and will test UVA's defensive midfielders Noah Chizmar and Grayson Sallade.

Maryland may not be returning a lot of its offense, but does return the majority of a very strong defense led by Brett Makar and Ajax Zappitello. Last season in the quarterfinal, Zappitello held Connor Shellenberger scoreless, and Makar limited Matt Moore to only two points. With Moore gone, it will be interesting to see if Maryland opts to put Zappitello or Makar on Shellenberger and more importantly, how well Shellenberger will fare in either of those matchups. UVA has several weapons on offense, but given Maryland's strong team defense, the Cavaliers will likely need more from Shellenberger this time around in order to win. 

Like Virginia with former Stanford linebacker Ricky Miezan, Maryland has also added a football player to its roster this season, as Dante Trader Jr. is suiting up as a defensive midfielder for the Terps this spring and is also a starting defensive back for the Maryland football team. So far, the experiment is working brilliantly for the Terrapins, as Trader has been a nightmare for opposing offenses, causing five turnovers this season. Trader is also talented in transition, an area which the Cavaliers have struggled defending at times this season.

Maryland's lone significant loss on the defensive end is senior goalie Logan McNaney, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL against Loyola. McNaney was the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament in 2022. True freshman Brian Ruppel has taken over in between the pipes and has actually posted a higher safe percentage than McNaney this season at 58.5%. 

Maryland ranks 7th in the country in scoring defense, allowing only 55 goals this season through six games. The stout defense deservedly gets a lot of credit for that, but Wireman's dominance at the x to keep the ball out of the defensive end also contributes to Maryland's impressive defensive numbers. On the flip side, Virginia ranks 1st in scoring offense with 20.17 goals per game so it will be interesting to see how this strength-on-strength matchup plays out. 

Keys to the Game

Ground Balls Win Games

Virginia ranks first in ground balls per game, and Maryland ranks second. In tight matchups, earning extra possessions will be the key to victory. Whether on a faceoff or a loose ball, if one team gains an edge in this category, the winner will likely coincide.

Maryland

For Maryland, the key will be possessing the ball and keeping the game low scoring. The Maryland offense is good, but not great, and will not be able to keep up with Virginia’s high-powered offense if it gets hot. Defensively, Maryland needs to have a strong first quarter and establish itself early as the Cavaliers have been known for their strong first-quarter starts. The key is having long possessions and hoping Wierman once again rises to the occasion against LaSalla at the x. 

Virginia

For Virginia, winning the individual matchups and keeping the ball moving on offense will be key. Maryland's defense isn't going to beat itself, so the Cavaliers will need to win their one-on-one matchups, especially in the midfield, allowing for their offense to flow naturally. Payton Cormier has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, but if he returns, he will certainly help disrupt Maryland's slide packages. The other thing for the Cavaliers is to limit the turnovers, something they have done a brilliant job of so far this season. Virginia ranks third in turnovers per game this season and will need to limit the mistakes come Saturday. 

Defensively, the key is goalie Matthew Nunes, who isn't having his sharpest season so far and endured a bit of a slump over the last two games against Johns Hopkins and Towson. The Cavaliers have been able to get away with it since their offense has continued to put up otherworldly numbers, but Virginia cannot rely on its offense to score 20 goals against Maryland's strong defense. If UVA's defense can limit the Terrapins to mostly low-percentage outside shots, then it will be up to Nunes to see the ball well and make those "easier" saves on Saturday. 

Virginia has dominated each of its opponents so far this season, winning by an average margin of eight goals per game and frequently having the game well in hand by halftime. The next three games should offer much more of a challenge for the Cavaliers, as they will face No. 3 Maryland, No. 2 Notre Dame, and No. 4 Duke in consecutive games. This stretch will show how good UVA really is in all phases of the game and will reveal how the Cavaliers fare in close games and when facing adversity. 

It should be a great atmosphere on Saturday, as Virginia and Maryland meet at Klockner Stadium for the first time since 2013 to write the latest chapter of this storied and legendary rivalry. 

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