CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Terrapin women’s lacrosse players had seen this scenario before. They were well aware of their blunder from last season and vowed to overcome it.

But they let it happen again.

The Terps came out firing and took a commanding lead against Virginia in the ACC finals. But Virginia rallied to defeat the Terps 10-9 in overtime for the ACC title.

“We came out strong,” senior midfielder Kelly Kasper said. “We took them off guard, and they didn’t know what to expect. But in the second half, they did that same thing to us.”

Last season, the Terps were in an eerily similar scenario. They blew a 7-4 lead against Virginia, and the Cavaliers went on to win the ACC championship.

The Terps started the game with an offensive onslaught and controlled the first half. They mixed up their offense and moved the ball quickly in transition to set up quick shot opportunities while still controlling half-field play.

The Terps’ strategy worked, just as it did in their 8-5 win against Virginia earlier this season. By the end of the first half, the Terps had built a 7-3 lead.

Senior midfielder Dana Dobbie had a first-half hat trick, while senior attacker Lauren Cohen added two goals in the surge.

But in the second half, the Terps offense slumped, and the Cavaliers took control.

“[In the first half] we just ran our offense really well,” sophomore midfielder Caitlyn McFadden said. “We were really controlled, and we finished all our shots. Obviously, we didn’t do that in the second half, which was a big difference. We weren’t as disciplined in the second half and turned the ball over when we needed it.”

The untimely turnovers left the Terps unable to control the pace of play as they had done in the first half. Virginia used quick transitions for goals, but they also held the ball on offense for most of the half, and their methodical offense worked.

“We just had to win the draw and get possession of the ball,” Kasper said. “We just needed to have the ball in our sticks. We got it. But then we just kept losing it.”

Kasper scored the first goal of the second half to put the Terps up 8-3, but the Cavaliers went on a 6-0 run to take a 9-8 lead with just 4:27 to go.

Terps’ McFadden tied the game at nine to force overtime, but Virginia won two draw controls in the extra period. The Cavaliers scored on their first overtime possession and iced the game with a keep-away second possession.

The loss snaps the Terps’ 13-game winning streak, and although the Terps beat Virginia 8-5 in College Park earlier this season, it also extended the Terps’ losing streak to Virginia in Charlottesville.

But even with that streak extending back to 2003, the Terps credited Virginia’s strong play, not the location, for the loss.

“They were so disciplined and controlled. They are a very tough team,” coach Cathy Reese said. “It wasn’t about location; it was about playing against a team that does the right things.”

In Sunday’s second half, that team wore blue and orange.

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