College Park, MD, November 16, 2003 ¨C The Penn State Field Hockey team, coming off a 3-1 triumph over Princeton in the NCAA Tournament, dropped a 5-0 contest to the Tournament¡¯s third-seeded Maryland Terrapins in College Park, Md. Maryland¡¯s defense blanketed the Nittany Lion offense, holding it to a season-low four shots, including just one in the first half.

Maryland struck early off a penalty corner, as the Terrapins¡¯ Anja Boettcher took a Sara Silvetti pass and beat Penn State goalkeeper Annie Zinkavich (Kingston, Pa.). The goal came with 5:43 gone in the first half and put Maryland up by a 1-0 margin.

Two minutes later, 7:43 into the contest, Maryland¡¯s Tiffany Marsh lifted a high shot over Zinkavich¡¯s shoulder from the near sideline to up the Terrapins¡¯ lead to 1-0.

Penn State took its first and only shot of the period with 19:15 remaining, a Heather Conroy (Duncannon, Pa.) blast that went wide of the Maryland net. It was the first time this season that Penn State was held to fewer than four shots in the first half of a contest and just the second time it was held to one shot in any half in 2003 (last ¨C second half at Iowa, 10/27).

With 15:24 remaining, Maryland upped its first-half lead to 3-0, as Maryland¡¯s Colleen Barbieri fired another high shot at Annie Zinkavich, this time beating her to her right. Barbieri was the third different goal scorer for the Terrapins, as they would enter halftime with a 3-0 advantage. The three Terrapin goals mark the fourth time this season that Penn State has given up three goals in a half, posting an 0-4 record in those contests.

To start the second period, Penn State got the first scoring opportunity, as Karin Grap (Van Etten, NY) and Timarie Legel (Morgantown, Pa.) broke through the Terrapin defense for a two-on-one situation. The two Nittany Lions were unable to convert, as the swarming Maryland defense recovered to not allow a shot.

The Terrapins answered back with an opportunity of their own, as a scramble in front of the Penn State cage led to a Meredith Long goal for Maryland, its fourth of the contest. The goal marked the second time that Penn State has fallen behind by a 4-0 mark in its last three games.

In the game¡¯s final minute, Maryland¡¯s Paula Infante scored the team¡¯s fifth and final goal off a penalty corner blast. For Infante, it was her 19th goal of the season.

With its win, Maryland will now move on to face Duke, an 8-2 winner over Old Dominion on Sunday, in the Tournament¡¯s semifinals.

For Penn State, its four shots for the game marked a season-low in that category, and it falls to 3-4 when being outshot. It was also just the second time the Nittany Lions were shutout in 2003, with the last coming at the hands of Iowa on October 27.

Game Notes: Penn State went without a shot between the 15:45 and 60:03 marks in the game, a span of 44 minutes and three seconds¡­ Penn State held Maryland to just four penalty corners, the 12th time this season it has accomplished the feat; It falls to 10-2 in such contests¡­ Penn State gave up five goals three times in 2003, all coming in the month of November.