The Terrapin men’s lacrosse team has a familiar road to the final four ahead of it in the NCAA tournament.

And after reaching that stage the previous two seasons, the No. 7-seed Terps are comfortable with the path.

“I felt we had a good first-round matchup,” sophomore midfielder Dan Groot said. “I like our spot right now. Really, seeds don’t matter, because everyone’s equal.”

The first-round matchup comes against in-state opponents University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The Terps (10-5) defeated the Retrievers 11-7 on March 17, and now are set up for a rematch. And, as far as familiarity goes, if the Terps do defeat UMBC (10-5), they will likely face No. 2 seed Virginia for the third time this season.

After an 11-10 loss in the ACC tournament on April 27, the Terps have gained confidence that they can finally take down the Cavaliers after four consecutive losses to their ACC foe.

“After looking at the [potential] second-round games that I saw, I thought they were going to be our best matchup,” senior defender Ray Megill said. “I’d love to get a rematch for the third time. I’m just pretty excited about that.”

The adage “familiarity breeds contempt” comes to mind with the Terps and Cavaliers. And with the Cavaliers winning five of the past six games in the rivalry, senior midfielder Travis Holmes said before the ACC tournament that Virginia has taken the role as the Terps’ biggest rival.

The prospect of a third matchup against Virginia in the NCAA tournament was something the Terps were one win away from last year, when they lost to Massachusetts in the final four only to watch Virginia win the national championship. The Terps faced Duke three times in the 2005 season, but had split the first two matchups that year before losing to the Blue Devils in the final four.

Junior attackman Max Ritz scored an overtime goal as a freshman in 2005 to lift the Terps over Virginia in the ACC tournament, the last time the Terps have beaten the Cavaliers. Now, he and his teammates are looking forward to an opportunity for redemption.

“When you play a team two or three times, you know each other so well that anything can happen,” Ritz said. “The matchups are so intense just going off previous games. So if we see them at Navy in the quarterfinals, it will be a blast.”

For now the Terps must keep their minds focused on UMBC. Coach Dave Cottle said this is one of the most even tournament fields in recent memory.

He fully expects a number of upsets and unseeded teams to experience success this year, an issue that worries him. And he said UMBC may be overlooked by the Terps, but could pose a threat, saying he has “tremendous respect” for the Retrievers.

“I think that the field is consistent,” Cottle said. “Anybody can win this tournament this year. This is one where you might see a few upsets in the first round.”

As a member of the NCAA tournament selection committee, Cottle gained an insider perspective on the selection process. He believes the Terps benefitted greatly from their strong schedule, and that rigorous competition will help his team as they prepare for the tournament.

No. 1-ranked Cornell, on the other hand, was given the No. 4 seed by the selection committee. Cornell is an example of what can happen to a team when they do not set a difficult enough schedule.

“Of the 20 teams being considered for the tournament, Cornell had the 15th best schedule,” Cottle said. “If you didn’t learn from that, then clearly the NCAA lacrosse committee is telling you to play the best schedule you can possibly play.”

The Terps enter the tournament trying to use their rigorous schedule as a point of growth. All of the Terps’ five losses came to teams ranked above them in the tournament, and the Terps will probably have to avenge one or more of those losses in order to return to the final four.

But first, they must fend off a team trying to do the same. And the Terps recognize the task at hand is not Virginia, but rather a UMBC team that would love to gain revenge for an earlier loss.

“We know we can beat them because we have already,” Megill said. “But every team comes out during playing time with a lot more energy and a lot more vigor to them. And they’re just as ready to play, and they’re probably going to put some new things in to try and go up against us.”

Contact reporter Adi Joseph at ajosephdbk@gmail.com.