"Soccer is my love and my heart is broken right now," said Weimer, muffled with tears. "That's all I can say to describe it."
Lentz's desperation header was just the last of a frustrating day on which Resnick was the only thing keeping the Lions out of the third round. She had nine saves, four against Weimer, and ruined Penn State's highest seed in NCAA tournament history.
With 10:52 left in the first half, Weimer had a great scoring chance, winding up alone with the goalie, but Resnick was able to stick out her right leg and knock the ball just wide. Two minutes later, Weimer's shot clanked the crossbar.
"It was definitely scary," Resnick said. "[Weimer] almost got one in the first half, from then on I wasn't gonna let her get anything on the ball. She's a great player and we knew that coming in and we concentrated on making sure to shut her down."
Maryland started the game eager to erase the memories of its 6-0 loss to the Lions on Jeffrey Field on Oct. 27, and it did not give up a shot until 21:08. Then, in the 33rd minute, Kimmy Francis sent a centering pass into the box that Mahar dove at, redirecting it with her head past Lions' goalie Erin McLeod.
"Credit to Maryland, they played harder the first couple minutes," Penn State coach Paula Wilkins said. "They put us on our heels. We weren't prepared to play at their speed. That's when they got their opportunity to score and they just held on."
After Mahar's goal, Penn State played with a desperation that kept the pressure in Maryland's side of the field for the majority of the second half.
The Lions had two good scoring chances in the first five minutes of the second half, with their best coming from Jean Rettig on a shot that was swatted up and over the net by Resnick.
In the 67th minute, Sarah Dwyer, who was in for an injured Carmelina Moscato, had the best opportunity of the day. Resnick lost control of the ball at the net and Dwyer took a shot that deflected off of a Maryland player, hitting the inside of the post but bouncing out.
Weimer had another one-on-one chance five minutes later, but Resnick slid and knocked the ball over the net.
"We shoulda finished," Weimer said. "I shoulda finished three goals today. I'm in disbelief."
The Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year needed just one goal to tie the Penn State single-season goal mark (27), but was unable to get anything against the physical defense of the Terps. She scored one on Friday and assisted on another in the first round 6-1 victory against Binghamton. She ends the season with a team-leading 26 goals, 12 assists and 64 points.
Penn State outshot Maryland 17-6, and on goal 10-4, but Mahar's incredible diving header will surely be on all of the Lions' minds during the offseason.
Yesterday's loss was Penn State's first on Jeffrey Field since Portland's 1-0 overtime win in the 2000 NCAA tournament. It was also the first for the seniors and in Wilkins' tenure as head coach.
