At 5-foot-6, Maryland goalkeeper Nikki Resnick may not appear scary or intimidating, but her performance yesterday will be giving the Penn State women's soccer team nightmares for a long time.

Resnick, a sophomore who transferred to Maryland from Colorado this year, did her best Dominick Hasek impersonation, stoning everything Penn State threw at her, including three one-on-one encounters with Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Tiffany Weimer.

The Penn State junior forward saw numerous opportunities to score, but just couldn't find the net, thanks in part to the stellar work of Resnick.

"I should have finished on three goals today and I didn't," Weimer said. "I'm in disbelief."

Resnick was constantly in the middle of the action, as Penn State controlled the ball in Maryland territory for the majority of the match. However, she responded to the constant Penn State onslaught beautifully, not allowing a goal to a Penn State team that averaged nearly two and half goals per game.

"She made some great saves, especially on some one-on-ones," Penn State coach Paula Wilkins said. "That's what you need to win games. I've always said you need to have luck. But you have to give her credit. She kept her team in it and I think she was a major reason why they won."

Although she was clearly the difference maker yesterday, Resnick remained modest about her performance, giving a lot of credit to her defensive teammates.

"Our backs played awesome," she said, "and if they keep playing that well, we can go far."

Resnick finished the game with nine saves and recorded her second shutout of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship tournament in as many attempts.

What was even more impressive about Resnick's performance was the fact that the same Penn State team she shut out yesterday lit her up for six goals just three weeks prior to yesterday's match.

The Maryland goalkeeper came into yesterday's match with a mediocre 8-6-4 record and .815 save percentage; however, she has the reputation for stepping it up in big games.

She turned away a season-high 10 shots in a double overtime 1-0 loss to top-ranked North Carolina in the ACC quarterfinals. Her Maryland teammates only took two shots on net that entire match, so it was Resnick's play in net that almost helped them knock off the top team in the nation.

Playing in big games like that helped Resnick prepare for the pressure she would feel playing in the NCAA tournament.

"There was definitely a lot of pressure," Resnick said, "but we've had games like this before. We just had to find ways to deal with it, which we did."

If Resnick continues to play big when the pressure is on, the Maryland Terrapins could sending a lot of teams home unhappy in this tournament.