Mike Chanenchuk

Moments after the Terrapins men’s lacrosse team’s 7-4 loss to Johns Hopkins on April 13, midfielder Mike Chanenchuk sat in a makeshift press room in the corner of Byrd Stadium and glanced down at a stat sheet in front of him with a puzzled look.

Coach John Tillman’s squad prides itself on playing with overwhelming energy and motivation. But the rival Blue Jays — a team determined to improve its middling NCAA tournament resume — outhustled the Terps that day.

The No. 1-seed Terps will face a similar challenge in the ACC tournament opener tonight against No. 4-seed Virginia in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Cavaliers will likely need to win the conference championship to qualify for the NCAA tournament, while the Terps already have a firm grasp on one of the top seeds.

The Terps aren’t shrugging off Virginia’s added incentive. They’ve learned from experience not to overlook a desperate team.

“It’s a concern, knowing what’s at stake [for Virginia],” said Tillman, whose team will play the winner of Duke and North Carolina in the conference title game Sunday if they win tonight. “If your opponent’s going to come in and have the sense of urgency and you don’t match that, you’re going to put yourself behind the eight ball.”

The Terps (9-2) beat Virginia (6-7), 9-7, on March 30 in Charlottesville, Va., but their border-state rival’s offense has come together in recent weeks. They posted a season-high goal total in a 19-16 loss at Duke on April 12 and followed that up with a 12-7 victory over Bellarmine.

Virginia attackman Mark Cockerton, who notched 10 goals over the past two games and leads the ACC with 42 tallies on the season, presents a particularly tough challenge.

Chanenchuk, by comparison, leads the Terps with just 18 goals.

“Virginia is a good team; they’re finally finding their stride,” defender Michael Ehrhardt said. “Their offense is picking up some production.”

The Terps feel confident countering that attack with All-ACC goalkeeper Niko Amato and the nation’s third-ranked scoring defense. The offense, however, has struggled lately.

The squad enters ACC tournament play with just 23 goals in its past three games combined. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, scored 28 times in their past two contests alone.

The Terps likely need to produce more points this weekend than they have recently to win their second ACC title in three years. So Tillman’s squad is simplifying its approach.

“We really emphasized stick work and shooting,” midfielder John Haus said. “We’ve emphasized a lot of the little things that will lead to the big things and the scoring.”

Still, the No. 2 Terps are facing an unranked team they’ve already bested this season. They’re hardly playing the underdog against a Virginia team that hasn’t earned a top-20 win all season.

The Terps’ stingy defense, which allows just 7.27 goals per game, figures to give the Cavaliers trouble and could be the game’s deciding factor.

But the Terps are still cautious. The memory of the humbling loss to then-No. 15 Johns Hopkins still lingers.

“There are a lot of teachable moments. … I think we experienced that two weeks ago,” Tillman said. “[Johns Hopkins] had excellent urgency and provided great effort.”

While Tillman’s talented bunch may not be concerned about NCAA tournament seeding, Haus said the prospect of winning a conference title alone serves as plenty of motivation.

But will it be enough to match Virginia’s drive?

“They’re going to do anything; they’re going to fight and claw,” Haus said. “They’re going to try and pull out a win because they need it.”

sportsdbk@gmail.com