With Duke on its half of the ACC tournament bracket, the Terrapin field hockey players had revenge on their minds as they traveled to Durham, N.C.

But the Terps won’t get their chance at retribution, as the Blue Devils – one of two teams to beat the Terps during the regular season – lost to Virginia in the first round.

“We would like to play Duke again,” said goalie Alicia Grater after the Terps’ final practice in College Park on Wednesday. “We want to prove to them that really they didn’t deserve to beat us and that we are a better team.”

The No. 1 Terps (16-2, 4-1 ACC), who have little to prove after a dominant regular season, are the top seed in the tournament. With a first-round bye, the Terps practiced and scouted the two first-round contests yesterday.

Now, the task is getting psyched up for the No. 12 Cavaliers (13-7). Memories of the Terps’ 4-3 overtime win in Charlottesville should help them get ready.

The Terps needed a last-minute goal to send the game into overtime and finished the escape act when back Emma Thomas scored her first goal of the season in the extra period.

“That was not one of our better games,” coach Missy Meharg said. “We were very unfocused, and we really had a lot of individual players playing their own game.”

Sporting the nation’s second-best goals against average at .88, The Terps are well equipped to stop a swift Virginia attack. The Cavaliers wasted no time getting on the board against Duke, scoring just 2:12 into the game en route to a 5-2 win.

The three goals Virginia scored in the teams’ first meeting matched the most the Terps allowed all season.

“They’re a fast team,” Meharg said yesterday from the stands as Wake Forest was taking on Boston College in the other first-round match. “We’re going to have to try and keep up with their speed [on defense].”

The Terps are hoping to capture their seventh ACC title, their first since 2005. Last season, they fell to Wake Forest 2-1 after a first-round bye.

And while a win over Duke would have been sweet, the Terps wasted no time in shifting their focus to Virginia. They may not have lost to the Cavaliers the first time around, but that doesn’t mean they can’t teach them a lesson.

“Last time we went to their place, and they took us to OT. We still feel that,” forward Nicole Muracco said. “We don’t want any team to think they can beat us at any time. They didn’t see how we could play the first game, so we’ll have to show them.”

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