When you consider that just one goal separated Virginia and Johns Hopkins when they last met during the regular season, it’s a near certainty that one of the most important players on the field for the rematch this Sunday in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals will be the smallest guy.

Virginia’s end of the field looked like a battle scene from the movie “Braveheart.” Bodies were strewn across the grass playing surface. Goalie Bud Petit lay crumpled and motionless.

In the aftermath of his team’s double-overtime loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Saturday, Virginia coach Dom Starsia became a tad emotional when asked about two of his seniors, Ben Rubeor and Bud Petit.

While Virginia lost to Duke for the fifth straight time on Sunday in the ACC men’s lacrosse championship game, the runner-up Cavaliers may have gained a jolt of confidence should they meet for a third time this season.

One nightmarish memory erased. One more to go. On Friday night at Klockner Stadium, Virginia — behind four goals apiece from Ben Rubeor and Garrett Billings — atoned for a dreadful loss to Maryland earlier this season with an 11-8 victory over the Terrapins.

Virginia’s players claimed they blocked any thoughts about Duke from their minds all week leading up to this weekend’s ACC Men’s Lacrosse Tournament. First, the Cavaliers had to deal with Maryland, a team that had beaten them soundly a month ago at College Park.

The fourth-ranked Cavaliers, behind four goals from senior Ben Rubeor, closed out their regular season with an 11-7 win over Dartmouth in front of a crowd of 2,157.

According to Virginia senior Ben Rubeor, there has been a noticeable difference in practice this week.