All that Penn sophomore J.J. Lian could say about Saturday's game was "that third quarter really killed us."
It didn't matter that for a little over 49 minutes on the field, No. 8 Maryland was forced to play an unexpected game of catch-up against the Quakers.
Instead, the game was decided in those 11 minutes, when the Terrapins scored four straight goals. A 7-6 lead for Penn turned into a 14-10 final for Maryland.
The result did more than add another loss to Penn's (6-6, 3-3 Ivy) record - it effectively eliminated it from playoff contention.
Quakers coach Brian Voelker told his team that he was proud of how they had played, but that he was "sorry it wouldn't happen this year for them."
Going into the weekend, the team felt that desperation would make them a dangerous opponent against a Maryland squad that had already solidified its case for a postseason spot.
And for the first half on Saturday, it looked like Maryland (9-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) had itself a worthier opponent than the Penn squads that had been outscored by the Terps 46-15 in the last three seasons.
The Quakers jumped out to an early 3-1 lead thanks to two goals from Lian. Maryland evened the score at three apiece, but the Quakers again pulled away. A late first-half goal by Maryland's junior attacker Max Ritz tied the game at 6-6 before the break.
"We were feeling pretty confident going into the second half," sophomore attacker Craig Andrzejewski said.
That confidence carried over into the early third quarter, as Andrzejewski netted his second just 26 seconds after coming out of the locker room.
But the one-goal lead quickly evaporated as Maryland started to mix things up. The Terps replaced their starting goalie, Brian Phipps, with backup Harry Alford. Phipps was shaky in the first half, giving up six goals and making just two saves.
The Terps' defense also stepped up the pressure on the Quakers, forcing them into thirteen turnovers, compared to three forced by Penn.
"It was nothing we hadn't seen from teams all year," Andrzejewski said. "But we started to make mistakes again."
Against a team as good as Maryland, even small mistakes would be punished. Though Justin Lynch and Ricky Choi were winning faceoffs for the Quakers, the turnovers kept the ball in Maryland's possession.
Penn went silent through the next 14 minutes of the third period as the Terps scored four straight to take a 10-7 lead, which they would not relinquish again.
With the playoffs out of sight, the focus now changes for Penn.
"We've got two weeks to decide how we want to end this season," Voelker said. "We'd like to finish with a winning record and send the seniors out on a good note."
