College Park (Map, News) - Maryland coach Cathy Reese was reluctant to call her team’s loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference final nearly two weeks ago a wake-up call.

But she did say the team learned from it.

“I felt like we competed hard in the ACC Tournament,” Reese said of her team’s 10-9 overtime loss to Virginia. “A loss is a loss, but we learned from it and learned there were things we could do different as coaches. Winning ground balls, hustling a little bit more.”

But the Terrapins (17-2) did more than just hustle, pasting Princeton, 18-9, and Loyola, 20-4, to secure the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a home game against Atlantic 10 champion Temple in College Park on Sunday afternoon at 1 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Maryland, which won seven national titles between 1995 and 2001, hasn’t reached the Final Four since 2003. It’s senior class, led by midfielders and Tewaaraton Award finalists Dana Dobbie and Kelly Kasper, is one of the most talented in school history, but has never advanced past the second round of the tournament.

“Every game we are getting better and every play we are getting better,” Dobbie said. “We are building on the strengths we have. We are where we need to be and hopefully we will keep improving.”

Dobbie set an NCAA record with 114 draw controls this season and leads the team with 66 goals. Kasper, a two-time All-American, is first on the team with 81 points on 41 goals and 40 assists.

“We wanted to be our best at the end of the season and right now we are playing our best lacrosse,” Dobbie said. “As much as we wanted that ACC championship, we had to have that in order to be where we are today and you kind of have to look at [the loss to Virginia] in a positive manner.”

The Terrapins look to continue their success against the Owls (13-6). Temple is led by a trio of 40-goal scorers: midfielder Whitney Richards (44), midfielder Berkley Summerlin (41) and attacker Nicole Caniglia (40). If Maryland is to advance to next week to face the winner of sixth-seeded Georgetown (12-6) and Duke (11-7), it must find a way to stop the Owls attack.

“In order to be the best you have to beat every team in your way and you have to be strong and be ready to play,” Reese said. “It's not about who you play or what bracket you end up in. Anybody can beat anybody and with the top 15 teams it can go either way.”

NEXT UP

No. 3 TERRAPINS (17-2) vs. TEMPLE OWLS (13-6)

Faceoff: Sunday, 1 p.m

Where: Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, College Park

Tickets: Available

dcarey@baltimoreexaminer.com