WASHINGTON — In the seasons since Virginia was able to begin effectively applying coach Lars Tiffany’s frenetic, physical and unrelenting vision of the game, speed has almost always been the program’s friend.
On Saturday, Maryland matched the Cavaliers’ strength with even greater strength, outrunning Virginia 23-12 before 10,480 at Audi Field.
Keegan Khan had four goals and three assists, Anthony DeMaio had two goals and four assists and Jonathan Donville and Logan Wisnauskas both recorded hat tricks for the Terrapins (7-0), who remained undefeated by pulverizing Virginia (6-1) in the teams’ first meeting since the Cavaliers’ 17-16 triumph in last year’s national title game.
But most striking about how it unfolded wasn’t the margin --- though that stood out. Maryland faceoff man Luke Wierman began a dominant day by assisting on a goal eight seconds into the game. Short stick defensive midfielder Roman Puglise scored twice. Brett Makar deposited a pole goal on the run in the second quarter. And defenseman Matt Rahill bested a 10-man ride with a 60-yard shot into an open net.
“Whenever Brett or Matt or any of those guys score, it’s definitely a big bench-lifter,” DeMaio said. “It gets everyone going and everyone definitely feels confident and is super-excited for those guys when they get one.”
For as much as Virginia usually thrives in transition, there was never much doubt which team was more comfortable with a quick pace Saturday.
“It was startling, the transition game and the number of goals they had from that. …,” Virginia coach Lars Tiffany said. “They seemed to have answers for everything with that tempo, and we usually dictate the tempo.”
Matt Moore and Connor Shellenberger both scored three times for the Cavaliers, who had won 10 in a row dating back to last season. The 23 goals were the most Virginia has allowed in a game since a 24-19 loss to N.C. State in 1978.
It was the first regular-season meeting between the old ACC rivals since Maryland left for the Big Ten after the 2014 season. The teams memorably played in the last two NCAA tournaments — Virginia scrambling from a late four-goal deficit to beat the Terps in overtime in the 2019 quarterfinals, then the rollicking Memorial Day showdown to secure an unorthodox successful title defense.
These teams may yet see each other again this May, but Maryland clearly got the better of a Cavalier defense still sorting things out. Chalk a bunch of that up to the Terps’ ability to move the ball; they had 14 assists while dissecting Virginia from start to finish.
The Cavaliers’ health or lack thereof was also a variable. Virginia defenseman Cade Saustad returned from an injury that cost him last week’s game against North Carolina, but found himself in a difficult matchup with Khan.
“I admire Cade Saustad coming back from an injury in two weeks and giving us a gutsy performance out there,” Tiffany said. “But also give credit to Keegan Khan for going at that matchup and winning that matchup. They recognized that maybe they could take advantage of someone who isn’t 100 percent but is gutting it out.”
It does, however, provide one definitive answer.
“There is no question who the No. 1 team in the country is right now,” Tiffany said.
Virginia couldn’t get any sort of grasp on Maryland’s offense until the second half. The Terps led 5-3 after a quarter, then pushed the advantage to 12-6 by the break. Initially, the Cavaliers tried to rotate in transition, only to be stymied by the Terps’ pinpoint passing. When they went with a different approach, it left them vulnerable to a defensive midfielder creating problems.
That’s what happened when Puglise responded to Virginia’s only run of the game. The Cavaliers cut an eight-goal deficit in half when they pulled within 15-11, but Puglise collected a ground ball off a faceoff and ran unimpeded down the middle before firing a bouncer past Matthew Nunes (14 saves). Rahill’s goal followed moments later, and Maryland was on its way to a victory.
“Roman’s one was big,” Maryland coach John Tillman said. “That kind of got us going. He came down and got that one to get it to five. Rahill’s was big as well. You get to that spot --- and I’ve been in that spot where we’ve been behind --- and you know you have to pick it up and start sliding and create things.”
For its part, Maryland created a bar that won’t be easy to replicate. It shot 23 of 53 for the game, and Wierman (24 of 36) continued the strong faceoff play that has defined his breakout season. Wierman’s faceoff attempts and victories both rank second in program history, behind only Andy Claxton’s 27 of 38 outing against Towson in 1991.
Virginia, meanwhile, absorbed its most lopsided loss since the first round of the 2015 NCAA tournament, when it was thumped 19-7 by Johns Hopkins.
“It’s easier to learn from a loss than it is from a win,” Moore said. “This is a really bad loss for us and we’re forced to learn from this one.”
Ultimately, a regular-season game — even one that’s lopsided or in a festive environment that Moore described being “like a playoff game” — probably isn’t going to provide a lasting impression of either team’s season.