F. Hockey keeps close but loses to nationally ranked Maryland

Despite loss, PennDespite loss, Pennwas able to hang inDespite loss, Pennwas able to hang inwith one of theDespite loss, Pennwas able to hang inwith one of thenation's best squads Not much was expected of the Penn field hockey team as they took on fifth-ranked Maryland on Tuesday night. However, the Quakers surprised the Terrapins by putting up a strong fight. Unfortunately, Maryland proved too dominant as Penn fell 3-0. Penn was forced to play a defensive game due to the offensive onslaught of the the Terps. Maryland took 25 shots while the Quakers only managed one. The Terrapins' domination was also evident in the number of penalty corners for each team; Penn earned only one corner, coming in the first half. Maryland on the other hand had eleven corners, four in the first half and seven in the second. Considering the number of the Terps' opportunities, the Quakers' defense did well by only allowing three goals. The strong defense was a team effort; everyone, including the offense was used in holding Maryland at bay. "The front line did a really good job of tackling back and covering and helping out," junior co-captain Michelle Canuso-Bedesem said. Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Dunn had an exceptional game recording 17 saves. "Sarah did a phenomenal job in goal," Canuso-Bedesem said. The Penn defense essentially shut down Maryland's leading scorer Lynsey McVicker. McVicker, who averaged one goal per game, was held to only one shot inside the circle. Senior Megan Callahan opened the scoring 19 minutes into the game by knocking in a ball that came across the mouth of the cage high in the air. The goal was protested by the Quakers' coaching staff and team. "Their first goal shouldn't have counted," sophomore Audrey Heinel said, believing that the airborne ball was too high to be legal. Senior Sara Forbes scored the next two goals for Maryland, the first coming with five minutes left in the first half. The last goal of the game came just before halftime with two minutes and 29 seconds left on the clock. Surprisingly, the relatively young Penn team came out aggressively against its heavily-favored opponent. At times, the Quakers were even able to apply a degree of offensive pressure on the Terrapins, but most of the action was played at the Penn end of the field. "We played very aggressive -- we didn't sit back at all," added Canuso-Bedesem. This game will definitely be a boost of confidence for the Red and Blue. Considering the nationally-ranked competition, the Quakers did a lot of things well. Inconsistency, which has been a nagging problem throughout the season, was non-existent against Maryland. After playing a tough first half, the Quakers came out and played just as hard in the second half. "We kept a consistent level throughout the game," Penn coach Val Cloud said. "A lot of times when you play a team like that, you give everything you got the first half, and then you kind of die the second half. Another strong point for the Quakers was the lack of errors. "We didn't make any blunders, and I think that kept the score down," Cloud added. "We didn't give them any easy opportunities. They had to work for what they got." The solid performance, even though a loss, will prove to be a positive as the team enters the homestretch of the season. "It was definitely a confidence builder for us," said senior co-captain Curran Kelly. "We feel real confident going into Delaware now that we've passed this game." Penn gave it all it had against the national powerhouse and, unfortunately, came up short. However, in the process the Quakers surprised a lot of people, maybe even themselves. "Going into the game, we all realized that we had nothing to lose," Cloud said. "To beat them would have been one of the century's biggest upsets. Our goal, as it has been, is just to do the best we can out there. And we did that."