Maryland concludes their season with 3-2 loss to Penn State in BIG Ten Semi-Finals

By Victoria Ebner

Following​ ​their​ ​3-2​ ​double​ ​overtime​ ​loss​ ​to​ ​Maryland​ ​last​ ​month,​ ​the​ ​Nittany​ ​Lions​ ​were​ ​finally able​ ​to​ ​get​ ​revenge​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Terps​ ​with​ ​a​ ​3-2​ ​victory​ ​of​ ​their​ ​own.

Right​ ​off​ ​the​ ​line,​ ​both​ ​teams​ ​were​ ​out​ ​for​ ​blood.​ ​The​ ​first​ ​five​ ​minutes​ ​saw​ ​aggressive​ ​steals​ ​on both​ ​sides,​ ​as​ ​the​ ​ball​ ​continuously​ ​shot​ ​up​ ​and​ ​down​ ​the​ ​field.

Penn​ ​State​ ​worked​ ​to​ ​match​ ​Maryland’s​ ​speed,​ ​resulting​ ​in​ ​scrappy​ ​breakaways​ ​on​ ​both​ ​ends. Junior​ ​forward​ ​Linnea​ ​Gonzales​ ​led​ ​the​ ​offense​ ​into​ ​the​ ​circle​ ​while​ ​sophomore​ ​defender​ ​Bodil Keus​ ​made​ ​key​ ​interceptions​ ​on​ ​the​ ​other​ ​side​ ​of​ ​the​ ​fifty.

The​ ​game​ ​remained​ ​evenly​ ​matched​ ​throughout​ ​most​ ​of​ ​the​ ​first​ ​half.​ ​When​ ​Penn​ ​State​ ​was able​ ​to​ ​work​ ​into​ ​the​ ​circle​ ​to​ ​secure​ ​Penn​ ​State’s​ ​first​ ​goal,​ ​Maryland​ ​junior​ ​forward​ ​Sabrina Rhodes​ ​answered​ ​right​ ​back​ ​with​ ​a​ ​high​ ​reverse​ ​chip​ ​past​ ​the​ ​goalie.

Penn​ ​State​ ​had​ ​the​ ​last​ ​word​ ​of​ ​the​ ​half​ ​with​ ​a​ ​rebounded​ ​goal​ ​with​ ​15​ ​minutes​ ​left.​ ​Although the​ ​Terps​ ​attempted​ ​to​ ​level​ ​the​ ​score​ ​again​ ​with​ ​two​ ​corners​ ​and​ ​shots​ ​on​ ​goal​ ​by​ ​Gonzales and​ ​senior​ ​midfielder​ ​Lein​ ​Holsboer,​ ​the​ ​buzzer​ ​rang​ ​with​ ​the​ ​score​ ​stuck​ ​at​ ​2-1.

The​ ​counts​ ​for​ ​the​ ​half​ ​were 13​ ​shots​ for​ ​Maryland​ ​with​ ​Penn​ ​State​ ​totaling four respectively.

Despite​ ​unanticipated​ ​fervor​ ​from​ ​Penn​ ​State,​ ​the​ ​Terps​ ​weren’t​ ​quite​ ​ready​ ​to​ ​give​ ​up.​ ​After​ ​a corner​ ​shot​ ​from​ ​Bodil​ ​Keus​ ​not​ ​long​ ​into​ ​the​ ​second​ ​half,​ ​the​ ​score​ ​was​ ​leveled​ ​and​ ​both​ ​teams were​ ​fighting​ ​for​ ​the​ ​win.

Yet,​ ​while​ ​Penn​ ​State​ ​rivaled​ ​Maryland’s​ ​speed​ ​and​ ​collaborated​ ​in​ ​the​ ​circle,​ ​Maryland​ ​slowed and​ ​struggled​ ​to​ ​find​ ​available​ ​girls​ ​to​ ​tip​ ​in​ ​wide​ ​shots.

The​ ​Nittany​ ​Lions​ ​kept​ ​getting​ ​faster​ ​and​ ​faster,​ ​finally​ ​achieving​ ​their​ ​final​ ​tie-breaking​ ​goal​ ​with a​ ​strong​ ​direct​ ​shot​ ​with​ ​less​ ​than​ ​five​ ​minutes​ ​left​ ​on​ ​the​ ​clock.

The​ ​final​ ​shot count​ ​of​ ​the​ ​game​ ​was​ 18 for​ ​Maryland​ ​and​ eight for​ ​Penn​ ​State.

As​ ​the​ ​Terps​ ​end​ ​their​ ​tournament run,​ ​the​ ​Nittany​ ​Lions​ ​continue​ ​on​ ​to​ ​the​ ​BIG​ ​Ten​ ​finals​ ​against Michigan​ ​this​ ​Sunday. Maryland will have to wait to find out if they have earned a place in the NCAA Tournament.