Despite playing with different rules and in a smaller arena, the field hockey team posted a 2-1-1 record this past weekend at the National Field Hockey Association Indoor Tournament at Maryland.

In almost every game, the team was confronted with a set of rules that didn't exactly match with what it understood the indoor game to be like.

"I don't think we were as prepared as we could have been," forward Chelle Frates said. "One whistle would blow every three seconds saying it was an uncontrolled ball -- it was ridiculous."

Most of the Lady Lions' difficulties came from what Coach Charlene Morett Newman said were "tight calls" from the officials. She said that throughout the tournament, the officials would make a call one way and then in the next game call it differently.

One of the calls that confused Penn State concerned keeping the ball on the ground. In indoor field hockey, the ball must at all times remain on the floor. Newman said balls that rose half an inch off the ground were whistled illegal.

"I said, 'Hey, wait a minute.' It just took away from our game," she said.

Also, Penn State had to deal with a faster pace, lighter sticks and a completely foreign philosophy of play. Adjusting to the indoor game was not easy.

"The ball would bang off the boards, teams would try to then get it down and set it up. It was not that you did anything -- there were so many unforced errors. It was an equalizer to the competition."

Still, the Lady Lions defeated Syracuse (4-2) and Ohio State (6-0). They drew a Baltimore club team (3-3), yet lost to West Chester's alumni, 4-2. Newman added that the club teams had an advantage in the tournament because they frequently play inside.

"It was good to see us play against another team (again)," Newman said. "We could see the fundamentals we need to work on and improve. It was also a good competitive experience. No college teams did well, so it was a great challenge for us."

"If we played any of these teams on our turf, we'd beat them," Frates said. "It was a new kind of game."

The Lady Lions will continue to practice for their upcoming trip to England and Holland in early May. Newman said she would like to play in a few seven-a-side outside tournaments, such as Old Dominion's, but they aren't held until the end of April, when Penn State's players are preparing for finals.