For the No. 7 Penn State field hockey team, this weekend's trip to College Park, Md. for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament came with many expectations.

The weekend began with expectations of a return to the final four for the second consecutive year and a chance for Penn State's talented group of seniors to finish its season with a win for the first time since 1981. It also began with the opportunity to build on last year's NCAA Tournament run which saw the Nittany Lions lose in the national championship game.

However, those hopes were dashed yesterday afternoon at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex when No. 3 Maryland (20-3) defeated the Nittany Lions (18-7) 5-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

After defeating Princeton 3-1 in the opening round of the tournament on Saturday, the Nittany Lions were outplayed by the Terrapins yesterday.

It was not like the team's other losses this season when Penn State would sometimes come out flat or wait to make a run until the second half. Yesterday's loss to Maryland seemed to be a simple case of the better team winning.

"I was happy with our effort," Penn State field hockey coach Char Morett said. "Give credit to Maryland. Their coach [Missy Meharg] told me this was the best game they've played all year."

The Nittany Lions received a penalty corner just three minutes into the game, but were unable to capitalize. The momentum quickly shifted to Maryland's side as forward Anja Boettcher scored on a pass from junior Sara Silvetti off a penalty corner to give the Terrapins the game's first goal.

Maryland wasted no time adding to their lead as midfielder Tiffany Marsh scored the team's second goal past Penn State goalie Annie Zinkavich less than 10 minutes into action.

Maryland would add another goal in the first half, putting the Nittany Lions in a familiar hole. Penn State was down 3-0 at halftime to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship last Sunday before fighting back and eventually losing 5-3. Yesterday's game saw no such comeback from the Lions as Maryland added two more goals in the second half to notch the shutout victory.

Morett said that Maryland was an extremely talented team whose style of play was different from any of Penn State's other opponents this year.

"They gave us trouble defensively in the way they overloaded their offensive attack," Morett said.

She said that she was proud of her players, especially the seniors who showed toughness and leadership despite the lopsided defeat. Morett said she tried to make adjustments at halftime and subbed in players like Annelise Legel and Natalie Berrena, but nothing seemed to work, as the Lions had a season-low four shots in the game.

The Terrapins will face Duke in one national semifinal next weekend, while Wake Forest will take on Michigan, the only Big Ten representative, in the other.