UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.;The Penn State Nittany Lion field hockey team (0-6, 0-1 B1G), ranked No. 24 nationally, lost at No. 3 Maryland (7-1, 1-0 B1G) in the Big Ten opener for both teams. The Nittany Lions gave up two second period goals and had its late rally fall short in a 3-1 road loss.
Penn State had the game's first real scoring opportunity just four minutes in to the game, forcing a penalty corner. But Maryland goalie Noelle Frost notched her first save and kept the game scoreless as the clock moved past the 10:00 mark. The teams traded possessions over the next five minutes with each defense standing firm to keep the game tied at 0-0 as the clock moved below 5:00. Maryland had a close shot at the Lion goal with just 2:13 to play, but the ball sailed over Lion goalie Brie Barraco (Allentown, Pa.). Maryland had a late corner but the Lion defense, anchored by Madison Hutson (Gloucester Point, Va.) and Anna Simon (Hanau, Germany) kept the Terrapins out of the cage and the game moved to the second period tied 0-0.
The Penn State defense denied Maryland on an early corner attempt in the second period but the Terrapins maintained possession and kept the ball on the Penn State side of the field. Penn State was able to regain possession and moved the ball down briefly to the Maryland circle and the game continued at 0-0. Barraco blocked a point-blank Maryland Shot at the 8:53 mark in the second period but the Terrapins took the lead off the rebound, with Madison Maguire finding the back of the goal to give the home team a 1-0 lead. The Terrapins added a second goal six minutes later, with Bodil Keus scoring with just 2:28 to play to send Maryland into intermission leading 2-0.
Maryland outshot Penn State 7-2 in the first half and had four corners to two for the Nittany Lions. Each goalie (Barraco and Frost) had one save.
The Terrapins controlled the action early in the third, forcing a couple penalty corners just under five minutes in to the second half. Barraco made a nice save on a high shot on the second UM corner and the game continued with Penn State down by two. Maryland added to its lead with a Mayv Clune goal off a penalty corner midway through the third period to give the Terrapins a 3-0 lead. Barraco made a solid kick save on a hard Maryland shot as the third period wound down but Maryland's offensive pressure forced a corner at the 1:08 mark. Penn State's defense kept UM from adding to its lead and the game moved to the fourth period with the Lions trailing by three.
Maryland picked up a penalty corner at the 11:30 mark in the fourth but the Terrapin shot was off the mark. Barraco knocked back another Maryland shot and Penn State moved the ball down to the Maryland side of the field. After some back and forth in front of the benches, Penn State picked up a penalty corner with just under 7:00 to play. The first corner was blocked as was the second, but Hutson connected on a rebound shot to put Penn State on the board, scoring with just under 6:00 to play to cut the Maryland lead to 3-1. Penn State continued to try and come back, keeping the ball on the Maryland side of the field, forcing a couple penalty corners as the clock moved towards the 4:00 mark. But Maryland held fast and the Lions continued to trail by two as the clock wound down. Penn State was unable to complete its comeback effort and Maryland posted the 3-1 victory.
Penn State picked up its offense in the second half but Maryland posted a 19-14 edge in shots for the game. Penn State had nine corners to ten for the Terrapins and both Barraco and Frost had eight saves each.
"Maryland is a good team and we played tentative early on," said head coach Char Morett-Curtiss. "We were much more aggressive in the second half and it showed with a better fourth period. We have to learn to be aggressive as a team, working together, and to be more dangerous inside the 25. There were some positives tonight for us, both Anna Simon and Grace Wallis played very well and there were other things that we can point to as steps in the right direction."
The Nittany Lions are now 0-6, 0-1 B1G, while Maryland sits at 7-1, 1-0 B1G. Penn State will take on California on Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Spooky Nook Sports Lancaster facility. The neutral site game against the Bears starts at 6:30 p.m. The Lions' next home game is on Sunday, Sept. 29, when they host Villanova at 12 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Nittany Lion field hockey team online at www.GoPSUsports.com (click teams, click field hockey), on twitter @pennstateFH and on facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatefieldhockey.
GAME BREAKDOWN
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
#24 PENN STATE 0 0 0 1 1
#3 Maryland 0 2 1 0 3
STATS: PSU MD
Shots 14 19
Corners 9 10
SCORING SUMMARY (goal/assist) – TIME
2nd: MD – Madison Maguire (Kelee Lepage), 21:07
2nd: MD – Bodil Keus (Hannah Bond, Jen Bleakney), 27:09
3rd: MD – Mayv Clune (Madison Maguire), 38:26
4th: PSU – Madison Hutson (unassisted), 54:03
GOALKEEPERS: MIN GA S
PSU: Brie Barraco 60:00 3 8
MD: Noelle Frost 60:00 1 8
