Defense is the signature of any great team. As the Virginia men’s lacrosse team travels back to Charlottesville, they are trying to figure out where theirs was today. While they floundered, the Terps delivered an excellent defensive effort that was key in knocking off the nation’s top ranked team. They were able to shut down an unbeaten Virginia team that came into today’s game averaging 15.6 goals per contest. The game started out with Virginia establishing their offense but failing to create any significant scoring opportunities. Maryland was able to open up the scoring with a goal from Ryan Young who beat his defender as he was running from behind Virginia’s net. The Terps struck again just six seconds later with a goal from Jeff Reynolds after Virginia was whistled for illegal procedure on the face-off. Reynolds added another goal two minutes later to give Maryland an early three goal advantage. Jason Carter was impressive in goal early in the game turning away four shots in the first quarter. Although Virginia had a few opportunities, Carter had the answers and the defense took care of getting the ball out of their own end. It took the powerful Virginia offense almost 12 minutes to get on the board. In the second quarter Maryland began firing on all cylinders. Although Virginia continued to have some opportunities they continued struggling to find the back of the net. The action started with Virginia’s Ben Rubeor hitting the post with a shot. Travis Reed got the scoring started three and a half minutes into the second frame as he beat his defender on a wrap around as he ran towards the front of the goal and flipped the ball past goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman. The Terps struck again six seconds later when Will Dalton won the face-off and barreled down the middle of the field before ripping his eighth goal of the season. Virginia was able to close the gap with a man-up goal from Brian Carroll. Once again, Maryland responded immediately. Travis Reed fired in his second of the game just seven seconds after Carroll’s goal. Reed finished off his hat trick a minute later with his eighteenth goal of the year. Rob Morrison and Tony Mendes each scored to extend the Maryland lead to seven. Virginia did not answer back until 1:15 left in the quarter on a goal from Peter Lamade to make the score 9-3 at halftime. Virginia came out very flat throughout the first half. Although they were able to keep up with Maryland in terms of ground balls, they won just four of 14 face-offs. The Cavaliers’ Achilles heel was their inability to play defense in transition. Will Dalton’s goal was a prime example of this as no one shifted over to get in his way as he had a clear path to the goal. Virginia came out in the second half with a little more energy as Ben Rubeor tried to pull his team back into the game by scoring an early goal. Rhamel Bratton cut into the lead further with a goal at the ten minute mark. The opening five minute stretch of the third quarter was only time Maryland really struggled during the game was during where their offense was ineffective. Just when it looked as if Virginia was going to mount some sort of comeback, Jeff Reynolds capped off his hat trick. Two minutes later Grant Catalino scored to put the Terrapin lead back out to six. Bratton added another goal before the end of the third to cut Maryland’s lead back down to five. Although Virginia was able to beat Maryland in both in ground balls ten to four, and out shot them 13 to nine, they could barely make a dent in the hole that they dug for themselves. Jason Carter was a big part of this as he came up with four more saves. In addition to this Maryland’s defense did a great job of knocking the ball out of the sticks of the Virginia players’ sticks. Grant Catalino started off the fourth quarter with a bang as he was able to score his second goal of the game as he was falling forward after being hit from behind. This back breaking goal took away whatever momentum Virginia had. Each team struggled to get shots on goal for a majority of the fourth quarter. Ryne Adolph had the crowd buzzing as he completely embarrassed a Virginia midfielder by faking a pass. The teams exchanged late goals from Brian Farrell and Virginia’s leading goal scorer Garrett Billings. After Billngs’ goal, Jason Carter was replaced by Brian Phipps. As he left the field the crowd loudly applauded his 15 save performance in one of the biggest games of the season. When the clock hit zero, the Maryland sideline rushed onto the field to celebrate a well earned win. Although the offense was strong today, a lot of credit must go to the defense led by Joe Cinosky and of course the aforementioned Carter. They were able to shut down a talent laden team that came in with four players with at least 16 goals this season. Holding Virginia to just seven goals has significantly helped Maryland solidify their place as one of the top teams in America. Another solid performance was delivered by Will Dalton, who won eight of 14 draws. He was able to shake off the North Carolina game where he lost all five. Maryland as a team won 15 of 23. The intensity that Maryland played with today shows that they have the capability to dominate any game. The question is, can they always come out with the same intensity that they did today? This was the most intense the team has looked this season, but obviously the team was going to be hyped up. They were playing the number one team in America on national television. This was a much different team from the one that got hammer by Duke a few weeks ago. That was a big game and the Terps were dominated. It will be interesting to see which team shows up during the post season. The Terps will have six days to prepare for Navy who is coming to Byrd Stadium on Friday at 8 p.m.