BALTIMORE — You want to hate Maryland, you really do.

You want to find its picture in the yearbook and draw devil horns on it.

But for all of the envy-inducing success the Terps have enjoyed in their storied women’s lacrosse history, you can’t bring yourself to deride them so. Because, well, they’re just so gosh-darn likable.

The cast of characters that carried Maryland to its 14th NCAA championship Sunday — at the expense of sentimental favorite Boston College — had been here before. But they celebrated with the pure exuberance of a group that had never experienced this feeling.

In College Park, you see, the ethos is not so much do your job as much as just do you.

No one embodies that better than goalkeeper Megan Taylor, the happy-go-lucky heart and soul of a Terps defense that seldom receives the credit it deserves.

Taylor, a Tewaaraton finalist, played like one throughout championship weekend. She made 10 saves, including seven in the first half, in the Terps’ 12-10 victory over BC in the final Sunday after making 14 saves against Northwestern in the semifinals Friday.

“She’s just one of a kind and the best goalie in college lacrosse,” Terps coach Cathy Reese said of the four-time Big Ten Goalie of the Year. “She can light up a room with her smile. She can make people laugh around her. And then she has this ability to reset, to just take a deep breath and reset.”

Taylor, who after the game was named the NCAA championship’s most outstanding player, was unfazed by the star power in front of her. Preparing for the final, she focused less on Boston College’s triumvirate of Sam Apuzzo, Kenzie Kent and Dempsey Arsenault and more on her own teammates — having their back, a phrase that reverberated multiple times during Maryland’s post-game press conference.

“My defense today played out of their minds,” said Taylor, while crediting the game plan of defensive coordinator Lauri Kenis. “I don’t think she got any sleep, honestly. She had so much film that we knew and we were prepared.”

When you think of the recent faces of the Maryland dynasty, you think of players who have imposed their will in the offensive two-thirds of the field — gazelle-like midfielders like Katie Schwarzmann, Taylor Cummings and Zoe Stukenberg, or slick finishers like Caitlyn McFadden, Brooke Griffin and Megan Whittle.

It’s easy to gloss over just how good the Terps have been defensively, or to forget that defenders like Iliana Sanza, Megan Douty, Alice Mercer and Nadine Hadnagy have played just as much of a role in the team’s sustained excellence.

Julia Braig headlines the current group. They call her Big J, as she stands 5-foot-10. She drew Apuzzo, the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner, and limited her to three goals on 3-for-9 shooting.

Fellow line defenders Lizzie Colson, Meghan Doherty and Shelby Mercer also had standout games, with Colson reeling in a game-high seven draw controls and Doherty drawing a charge on Kent with 1:10 remaining that effectively sealed the win.

They supported each other with effective slides and frustrated BC with timely doubles. Moreover, they did it without fouling. The Eagles finished with twice as many fouls (36) as the Terps (18).

Kenis, who had coached at Denver under Reese, has been Maryland’s defensive coordinator since 2008.

“What Lauri Kenis has done with our defense is tremendous,” Reese said. “This is probably the best defensive game we’ve had this season, when you know and understand the firepower that Boston College has.”

BC, which came in averaging more than 17 goals per game, scored just five times in the first 41 minutes as Maryland built a 10-5 lead. The Terps-leaning crowd of 9,433 at sold-out Homewood Field became loudest when the Maryland defense induced a shot clock violation with a 90-second stand late in the first half.

You knew the Eagles would make a run. They got to the final by erasing a six-goal deficit against North Carolina in a double-overtime epic Friday.

But the Terps refused to yield. Jen Giles, one of four Tewaaraton finalists on the field Sunday (Apuzzo, Arsenault and Taylor were the others), scored two huge unassisted goals in the second half, the second of which gave Maryland a 12-8 lead with 7:18 remaining.

And while BC is entirely capable of scoring four goals in seven minutes, this Terps defense was never likely to suffer such a collapse.

“Maryland has very strong defense. They stay in and like to play 1v1 defense. Megan Taylor is an awesome goalie, too,” Apuzzo said. “They were prepared.”

Here’s the thing: Maryland didn’t even practice Saturday. Among the Terps’ most likable traits is their ability to stay loose in even in the most pressure-packed environment in lacrosse. It’s not hubris or arrogance. It’s faith and confidence.

“Cathy said it well today when she said the person next to you has more confidence in you than you have in yourself,” senior midfielder Caroline Steele said.

Steele, who helped Maryland get back to the final four with a career-high seven goals in the quarterfinals against Denver, and Taylor cohost “Thumbs Up,” a goofy social media video series produced by the university. She got emotional at the thought of their careers ending.

“Can somebody hug me?” she joked. “Our parents call us the bookends.”

You feel for BC, you really do. Three years in a row now, the Eagles have lost in the NCAA championship game.

But try as you might, you can’t vilify the Terps. Their love for each other was just as palpable. Winning has not eroded their humanity.

“We’re such a family,” Giles said. “We’re having so much fun together and celebrating every moment.”

Asked what she felt in the tense final moments of Sunday’s game, Taylor said she actually wished there was more time.

“I never wanted to take off the jersey. I never wanted it to end,” she said. “I feel like I’m in a dream. I’m just so happy.”