COLLEGE PARK - For all of Domenic Mediate's late-game heroics, all of Abe Thompson's highlight-reel goals and all of Scott Buete and Sumed Ibrahim's hard work in the midfield, the Maryland Terrapins are two games from their first national soccer title since 1968 because of a uniquely concocted defense.

A unit featuring two converted strikers, a former midfielder and two freshmen has been nearly flawless for Maryland on the road to the 2002 College Cup, which opens at 5 p.m. today when the second-seeded Terps (20-4) play third-seeded UCLA (16-3-3) in Dallas.

That game will be followed by Stanford (17-4-2) vs. Creighton (18-3-2). The survivors will advance to Sunday's 4:30 p.m. national-championship game. All games will be played at Southern Methodist University's Gerald J. Ford Stadium.

The Terps-Bruins matchup is clearly the headliner. Maryland hasn't allowed a goal in three tournament games; UCLA has scored 14 during that stretch.

"Sasho [Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski] will have his guys come out and play an attacking style, which is great because that's something we like to do, too," said Bruins first-year coach Tom Fitzgerald.

"It's going to be a chess match. We've been able to score goals in this tournament, but it's going to be very tough to score on them."

Known in soccer circles for his attacking brand of soccer, Cirovski made his boldest stroke with the 2002 Terps in the construction of the defense.

He moved junior Seth Stammler, who had been a striker, to center back and paired him with sophomore Clarence Goodson, who was second on the team in scoring in 2000.

Such players as former Wilde Lake star Michael Dello-Russo, a onetime midfielder, and freshmen Chris Lancos and Kenney Bertz were also slotted into the defensive rotation, which also gets significant help from Buete and Ian Rodway (Wilde Lake), two proven midfield defensive stalwarts.

"At first, it was new and different, but I think everybody was ready for the roles they were given," said Buete. "It took a bit of time, but we're peaking."

More important than the moves, which were motivated by Cirovski's desire to have players in the defensive third who could initiate the Terps' short-passing game, was giving the unit time to learn to work together.

And the Terps' defense, which was burned in midseason losses to Wake Forest and Connecticut, tested its coach's patience.

However, since the loss to the Huskies, which the Terps avenged Saturday, sophomore goalie Noah Palmer and the defense have allowed just five goals in 12 games.

"I knew our back line was going to take a little time to gel, but I give the players a lot of credit because they've accepted the challenge of getting better," said Cirovski.

The Bruins will be a good measuring stick. Athletic, balanced and capable of playing a short-passing, possession or counter-attacking style, UCLA has five players with 15 or more points, led by senior Tim Pierce (12 goals, seven assists) and junior Matt Taylor (11 goals, eight assists).

Goals came easy in the Bruins' 7-1 quarterfinal drubbing of Penn State, although all but one came after the Nittany Lions were forced to play short-handed because of a red card.

"I can't imagine we're going to be able to score that many goals on [Maryland]," said Pierce. "Our confidence is pretty high, but this is going to be our toughest game, due to the circumstances and the team we're playing."

With the memories of a 1-0 loss to Stanford in the 1998 College Cup still fresh in Cirovski's mind, the coach has prepped the Terps for this day all season.

Three seasons filled with injuries and early NCAA exits followed the Stanford loss, leaving Cirovski well aware of the opportunity today.

"It's been a very gratifying run, but I'm staying level-headed this time," Cirovski said. "I'm approaching this the way we've approached everything else this year, with a bit of vengeance. Success can be quite fleeting, so we want to make sure we're ready for this moment."

Soccer final 4

Site: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas

Today's semifinals:

Maryland (20-4) vs. UCLA (16-3-3), 5 p.m., ESPN2

Creighton (18-3-2) vs. Stanford (17-4-2), 8 p.m.