UVA Lacrosse: Five Keys to a Virginia Victory Against No. 1 Maryland

After a defensive-ladened win over the Towson Tigers in the Lone Star State, Virginia men's lacrosse will host No. 1 Maryland this Saturday, a golden opportunity for the Cavaliers to put themselves back on the map after a tough start to the season. The game also presents a chance for the Hoos to exact some revenge after the Terrapins sent the Hoos packing from the Final Four last May. Here are five keys to Virginia pulling the upset against its former ACC foe.

Win the Goalie Battle

Logan McNaney is sitting at a 65.6 save percentage in 2025, a key reason Notre Dame is the only team to score double-digit goals this season against the Terrapins, who are sporting a 6-0 record. If the Cavaliers want to upset Maryland, who has defeated No. 2 Princeton, No. 7 Notre Dame, and No. 9 Syracuse, it will start with the Virginia netminder outplaying McNaney.

So, who will be?

Matthew Nunes, the likely starter, is coming off a 15-save, 71.4 save percentage game against Towson and will need to bring that momentum to Klöckner this Saturday if the Hoos want any chance at upsetting the so-far impenetrable Terrapins. Not so long ago, Alex Rode made an outstanding save to seal Virginia's seventh National Championship in 2021 against Maryland.

WHAT. AN. ENDING.

Virginia upsets Maryland to win the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse National Championship 🥍
pic.twitter.com/pJqy21vBvz
— DraftKings (@DraftKings) May 31, 2021

Clamp the Terrapin Offense

The win over Towson was also due to the strong performance of the Virginia defense in front of Nunes. The Maryland offense is a true product of its depth and team cohesion, with the ball constantly whipping around with pace to find what UVA head coach Lars Tiffany describes as the "perfect shot."

So, where does success start against this unit?

It starts with the SSDM unit led by Noah Chizmar, winning their matchups, making slides few and far between. With the problems for Virginia finding consistency on the offensive end, a low scoring game may be Virginia's best chance at victory.

Play Fast: Push Transition

It's no secret that the Virginia offense has struggled this season, and it will be tough to turn it around against the No. 2 scoring defense in the nation with 7.17 goals allowed per game. So what the Cavaliers can do is what they've done best in recent years: push transition. Against Colgate, the Hoos were fierce in their transition game, anchored by Ben Wayer pushing the ball down the field and McCabe Millon playing point for the UVA attack unit, something they need to emulate on Saturday.

Shoot Efficiently

As mentioned earlier, Logan McNaney is one of the top goaltenders in college lacrosse, and the Virginia offense has struggled this season. More specifically, the Cavaliers have struggled shooting the ball this season, sitting at a 28% clip, also not great. But as Coach Tiffany has always emphasized, it's "a race to improve." If Virginia wants to defeat the Terrapins, the Hoos will need to value their shots to give Logan McNaney his third loss to the team from Charlottesville.

No More Mistakes

A massive reason for Virginia's slow start has been turnovers and sloppy mistakes. Starting with Richmond, two offside penalties in the fourth quarter likely cost the Hoos the comeback. Compared to Johns Hopkins, poor passes proved costly. Despite the slow start, Virginia showed improvement and will need to have everything tidied up to upset the number one team in the country, a team that does not make many mistakes.

Opening faceoff is set for 4pm ET on Saturday at Klockner Stadium and the game will be televised on the ACC Network.

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