CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Coming into the season, the Maryland men's lacrosse team was picked to finish fourth of four teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and coach Dave Cottle said his young team deserved the ranking.

But in last night's game against No. 3 North Carolina, the Terps made it known that they can compete with higher-ranked teams in the ACC.

The No. 9 Terps shut down the Tar Heels' offense and built a big lead that became a 13-8 win.

"It's huge, especially this year because all the teams in the ACC are playing well," Terps midfielder Jeff Reynolds said. "We really needed this win, and it's important to us."

After a tight first quarter, the Terps (6-2, 1-1 ACC) scored nine of the next 11 goals, taking a 12-5 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Senior midfielder Will Dalton gave the Terps a 4-3 lead with 8:33 remaining in the second quarter, and the Terps led the rest of the way.

North Carolina (6-2, 0-2) cut the Terps' lead to 7-5 early in the third quarter, but the Terps did not allow another goal for the next 20:13.

The Terps scored five goals in that span for a 12-5 advantage.

Jeff Reynolds (Calvert Hall) led the Terps with three goals, and freshman Brett Weiss (Boys' Latin) scored twice.

"We were so prepared for this team," senior defenseman Joe Cinosky said. "[Defensive coordinator Dave Slafkosky] had a great game plan. We had three or four defenses we wanted to throw at them to mix them up and knock them off their game plan. Obviously, it worked and we got the win."

That included some zone defense, which helped thwart numerous Tar Heels chances in front of the net.

"Our kids got their sticks up," Cottle said. "When you play zone, you're going to have to intercept some passes or knock some down. We did a good job of that in the second half."

The win might show that the Terps can stack up with anyone in the ACC heading into a home game against undefeated Virginia on Saturday, but Cottle preferred to put it more simply.

"We got a win in a tough place to win against a very good team," Cottle said. "We're just going to enjoy this one, and I'm not smart enough to figure out what it proved."

Maryland 3 4 2 4 -- 13

North Carolina 2 2 1 3 -- 8

Goals: M--Reynolds 3, Weiss 2, Ritz, Groot, Catalino, Sieverts, Reed, Evans, Sear, Dalton; NC--Hunt 2, Delaney, Wagner, McAuley, DiPietro, Hunt, Burns. Assists: Catalino, Groot, Ritz, Sieverts; Delaney, Driscoll, McAuley, Wagner. Saves: M--Phipps 5, Carter 1; NC--Zimmerman 9.