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One priority stands out as a thread for Lars Tiffany’s teams at Brown and Virginia, a subject the coach often invokes as a foundational piece of his programs.

It can seem trite to point to culture over and over, but there’s no question about the sincerity in Tiffany’s when he explains its importance. Which is enough to prompt an only-in-a-pandemic question for the one of college lacrosse’s bluebloods.

How, exactly, is that carefully cultivated culture maintained over Zoom or in the limited practice sessions the Cavaliers had this fall? It’s a concern Tiffany readily admits he has heading into 2021.

“We’re not just Xs and Os on a piece of paper,” Tiffany said. “Our success at Brown and here now in Charlottesville has as much to do with the relationships that we build. Therefore, as the head coach, I need to ensure that we’re able to maintain those relationships and build upon them in this new virtual learning era. I don’t think I did my job well in the fall, and so I need to ensure we squeeze every opportunity we can when we’re in person.”

To be clear, few will cry for Virginia’s lost opportunities. It is still technically the defending national champion, the 2019 winner thanks to a riveting run built on tight victories and an impressive Memorial Day suffocation of Yale. It still possesses an enviable reservoir of talent.

Yet it isn’t quite as old as some other routine contenders. Virginia made its one graduate transfer addition count, picking up former Merrimack star Charlie Bertrand. But just two of last year’s seniors opted to take advantage of an extra year of eligibility, long pole Jared Conners and midfielder Dox Aitken, who took a rollercoaster path back to Charlottesville after a brief stint as a Division I football player at Villanova.

If it felt like at the time Virginia had arrived — or, more accurately, returned — a year early in 2019, in retrospect, it’s fortuitous the Cavaliers claimed that title when they could. Or perhaps that very climb to the top made it easier for those seniors to call it a college career. Either way, Tiffany won’t have Michael Kraus and others to lean on while trying to strengthen the team’s culture.

“Winning a national championship in 2019 allowed most of our seniors last year in the months of April and May to make the decision of, ‘You know, coach, I’m good. I’ve got a job in New York. I’m good. When I looked at my goals that I had when I came to Charlottesville, Va., I’ve checked those boxes, so I’m going to leave,’” Tiffany said. “And I didn’t anticipate that en masse as it’s been.”

The Cavaliers are quite capable on offense, with Matt Moore, Ian Laviano, Aitken returning as offensive headliners. Tiffany will continue to use the program’s “Cultural Thursdays” as a crucial growth opportunity.

But there’s also an acceptance that, like virtual meetings and Zoom scouting reports, it won’t be quite the same as the 2021 season gets underway.

“How do we do that in a Zoom world? It’s certainly doable,” Tiffany said of team-building exercises usually done in small groups. “It’s a good replacement. It’s a good substitute. It’s not a great substitute for the real thing and being in the room. But man, I miss being in the room.”

TOP RETURNERS

Jared Conners, LSM, Sr.

One of the key pieces to Tiffany’s up-tempo approach is a long pole who is both a takeaway artist and a threat on offense. Conners, a first-team All-America pick in 2019, has caused 37 turnovers and scored eight goals over the last two seasons.

Matt Moore, A, Sr.

The Philadelphia-area product set Virginia’s single-season points record (89) in 2019 and already had 19 goals and 16 assists in six games last year. He’ll contend for the Tewaaraton as the centerpiece of the Cavaliers’ offense. “He’s a top-three, top-five guy,” Tiffany said. “I know it’s not a big statement to say, but watching him in the fall, he just does things different from the rest of us.”

Alex Rode, G, Sr.

The most outstanding player of Virginia’s 2019 NCAA tournament run, Rode posted a .552 save percentage last season and heads into his fourth season as a starter.

KEY ADDITION

Charlie Bertrand, A, Gr.

The Merrimack transfer owns 210 goals in 58 career games, and he led the Warriors to a pair of Division II national championships. He averaged a hat trick last year when Merrimack jumped to D-I and should produce plenty in a Virginia offense that had six 30-point scorers two seasons ago.

In some ways, midfielder Dox Aitken could count as a key addition. He is returning, of course, but the expectation was that he would play football at Villanova in the spring before COVID-19 dashed his hopes of hitting the gridiron. He announced his return to Virginia on Jan. 19, adding a key weapon to a Virginia team that was likely preparing for 2021 without his services.

ENEMY LINES

“I think you’ve learned over the last 2-3 years what you’re going to get with UVA. Their guys play really hard. They do play a little loose, meaning they play fast and furious. And they’re never, ever out of it. It’s a team you have to close. If you have them down, you have to step on the throat and just press because that’s a team that plays loose enough to get you. They have such talented guys that you’re never comfortable.”

“They were deep and talented last year, and with the guys that came back, they’ll only get stronger. But you can talk about everybody in the ACC that way this year. There is nobody that isn’t going to be better than they were a year ago. The league is going to be ridiculous this year.”

“They’re as talented as any team out there. Athletically, still one of those teams with Matt Moore coming back. They’re so skilled. You think about guys like Jared Conners defensively pushing the ball up the field. Kology and those guys defensively kind of light their fire, and then the kid Cormier had a hell of a year last year. Their attack is very skilled, their midfield is talented and athletic.”

NUMBERS GAME

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Virginia has led the country in ground balls per game in each of the last four seasons. The Cavaliers averaged 43.33 ground balls per game last season, besting second-place Lehigh (42.33).