The Maryland and Virginia men's lacrosse teams know each other well — both coaches say they’re familiar with the other's strengths, strategies and stars. They also know what’s at stake when the squads meet Saturday in the NCAA men's lacrosse championship semifinals: a national championship game berth.
Saturday’s highly-anticipated matchup at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will be the 98th game between the two lacrosse juggernauts. It also marks the third tournament clash for the historic programs after the Cavaliers emerged victorious in the 2011 and 2021 championship games.
“I’ve coached a team or two that’s more talented,” Virginia coach Lars Tiffany said of this year’s squad. “But man, we’re indomitable right now.”
The No. 6 seed Cavaliers entered the tournament on the heels of a four-game losing streak. After coasting through a first-round win over St. Joseph’s, Virginia needed late heroics from All-American attackman Connor Shellenberger to eke out a double-overtime victory against Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals.
“Anytime you win in overtime, that’s an extra juice of confidence," Tiffany said. "But now moving forward, how do we propel from this."
The two-time champion also compared his squad to the rival Terrapins, who hold the No. 7 seed. Both rosters dealt with losing skids at the end of the regular season but rebounded during the season's most important games.
“It’s interesting, we’re playing a team … that had also lost a couple of games before this one, just like us. We lost four [consecutively],” Tiffany said, pointing out that the two teams have now won back-to-back elimination games. “Is that enough? Is the confidence there?”
Despite the bumps in the road this season, Maryland coach John Tillman said he trusts his veteran captains to lead the team on the field. They’ve been here before.
“In these games, obviously everybody’s good. In those moments, you really feel like those [veteran] guys, they’ve been through it. You trust them, you believe in them,” he said. “It’s a comforting thing to know that those guys will be on your sideline.”
The impending duel between Shellenberger and Maryland defenseman Ajax Zappitello, a pair of Premier Lacrosse League draft picks, has drawn the most attention in the lead-up to Saturday’s showdown.
“That’s going to be a King Kong versus Godzilla-type battle …” Tiffany said, noting that he’d rather use picks to free up his star on offense. “This [Maryland] defense, they are just as good as anybody at keeping that matchup.”
The two teams faced each other in March in College Park when Virginia went home with a 14-10 win. Shellenberger won his individual matchup too, racking up two goals and an assist despite Zappitello’s coverage.
“Both teams are different, that was mid-March … ” Tillman said, referencing Virginia’s ever-changing lineup. “Both teams have been through a lot of war since then. We do see some things that are different, so we’re trying to prep our guys for that as we reacquaint them.”
The biggest question mark heading into the Final Four lies in Virginia’s goal — the Cavaliers have not said who will start at goalie.
In Saturday’s quarterfinal win against Johns Hopkins, starter Matt Nunes was benched after allowing four goals in the first seven minutes. Redshirt freshman Kyle Morris filled in admirably, giving up six goals over the rest of the double-overtime affair.
“I love how Kyle came in and made the saves you really need your goalie to make …” Tiffany said. “It just calmed the defense down, there’s a symbiotic relationship between the defense and the goalie.”
The coach won’t pick a starting goalie until Friday, saying there’s an advantage to keeping that information under wraps.
Tillman agreed but noted that he doesn’t want his players to overcomplicate the game by focusing on which shot-stopper will take the field.
“We just have to prepare for two guys, knowing that they’re both very talented …” Tillman said. “We’ve got to get good shots … and not overthink it and be prepared for either guy and potentially both guys.”
A Final Four trip would be a successful season for most teams, but not for Virginia and Maryland. They want to bring home a trophy.
“Hopefully we’re not looking back on this year saying, ‘Wow, that was an incredible quarterfinal win and that was the peak of the season and we maxed out, we gutted it out,’” Tiffany said.
The winner of Saturday’s game will play either Notre Dame or Denver for the national title on Monday.
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