Playing for Cal Poly’s club lacrosse team three years ago, Brittany Jones felt content with her school, her team and her life.

But after one eight-goal barrage, everything changed.

When Terps’ coach Cathy Reese saw the offensive fireworks in Jones’ televised club championship game, she picked up the phone and called her prized California commit, Brandi Jones.

Reese asked Brandi if there was any way she could convince Brittany, her older sister, to come along to College Park and don the Terps’ lacrosse uniform as well.

The two had difficulty persuading the already comfortable Brittany, but only two months before the start of fall classes she decided to flip coasts, ditching her older sister Janelle at Cal Poly and making the cross-country trip to College Park.

“Some people transfer because they hate their team, but I loved the school environment,” said Brittany, a redshirt senior. “But Maryland was a chance to play Division I lacrosse with the best players in the country.”

In the three years since their arrival, both Jones sisters have played vital roles for the No. 3 Terps (14-1, 4-1 AC) as the team gears up for another run to the ACC Championship and Final Four. Both start at midfield and have combined for 25 goals and 12 assists this season.

While they play the same position on the field and hail from the same Poway, Calif., home, they have distinctly different roles on the Terps’ offense.

Brandi, a junior, is the more traditional two-way midfielder. Her north-south speed opens up scoring windows for the team’s attackers on offense, and her strength on the defensive end makes her an asset in front of goal.

“The reason why I’m open or other people are open is because she’s making space,” attacker Karri Ellen Johnson said. “She doesn’t get enough credit because no one sees the work that she puts into it.”

Brittany plays a more finesse style. Instead of the straight-ahead style her sister employs, the midfielder the team calls “Noodle” darts around the defense, using a quick first step and a long, lean frame to set up her shots.

They don’t just play differently; the two came to Reese with different mindsets and understanding of the game.

Brandi, a 2007 Under Armour All-American, came in like any other self-assured recruit: a talented freshman who hadn’t yet grasped the intricacies of the game.

Brittany, with two years’ worth of college experience at the club level, already had a feel for the college game — but not much confidence.

“I don’t think that Brittany initially realized how good she really was,” Reese said. “It took her a little while to get adjusted, confident and comfortable. She is an awesome college player and it was just believing that.”

Despite growing up together, playing on the same sports teams and going to the same college, the two sisters say they rarely butt heads, if ever.

But Johnson, who lives with both the Joneses, provided a different picture.

“Sometimes they’re enemies and sometimes they’re best friends — I mean, they’re sisters,” Johnson said. “They’re really funny. They definitely look for each other on the field. They have that sisterly sense.”

“I love them both to death, but they’re both such different personalities and people though,” Reese added. “They’re very fortunate to have each other this far away from home.”

Both said their relationship off the field has helped make their play better on the field. In their first season with the Terps, Brandi found Brittany for a goal against Virginia Tech — the first of several scoring connections the sisters have made throughout their careers.

“We know each other really well on the field,” Brandi said. “I know where Brittany wants to challenge. I know where she wants to cut.”

Last season, Brandi earned All-ACC and second team All-America honors after scoring 28 goals and notching 33 assists. Not to be outdone, Brittany received ACC All-Tournament recognition after she contributed four goals and two draw controls in the team’s title run.

Their time together is winding down — this season will be their last as teammates. After this season, Brittany plans to go back to California, work for Northrop Grumman and find a way to coach lacrosse. Brandi, meanwhile, will enter her senior year without the guidance of her older sister.

“We’ll miss Brittany for more reasons than that, but she is very responsible and she looks out for her little sister,” Reese said.

Laughing, she added, “Hopefully Brandi will step up into that role of responsibility next year.”

ceckard@umdbk.com