Despite Baril's 14 saves, field hockey falls to No. 1 Maryland

With the No. 1 team in the nation and defending NCAA champion in town, the undefeated field hockey team knew that it had to play well just to stay in the game. Maryland came into 1952 Stadium with the top scoring offense in the country— averaging 6.56 goals per game. The Terrapins had four of the nation's top 10 scorers. If No. 8 Princeton was even to keep it close, the Tiger defense would need to shut down Maryland's potent attack.

Princeton (5-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) did manage to contain the Terrapin (8-1) offense — holding Maryland to just two second-half goals — but the Tigers could not manage to get on the scoreboard themselves, and lost their first game of the season, 2-0, Friday night.

"We had a game plan, and we stuck to it," head coach Beth Bozman said. "We had a few breakdowns, and they were able to capitalize. When we had opportunities, we weren't able to capitalize."

One sided

Nearly the entire contest was played around the Princeton goal. Maryland scored eight times against the Tigers last year in College Park, Md., but the Princeton defense was ready this time. Sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Baril, who had not been seriously tested all year, made a season-high 14 saves — many of them spectacular plays to deny Terrapin scores.

"Kelly and the defense — [senior defender] Anastasia [Nowacki] and [senior defender] Bridget [Marchesi] played well for us tonight," Bozman said.

The first half ended without a goal, but the Tigers had to be happy with the scoreless tie. Maryland had a number of opportunities from penalty corners, but the solid netminding of Baril along with senior attack Hilary Matson's rushes from the cage to block shots kept the Terrapins scoreless early on.

But as the game progressed, Maryland's advantage in shots and penalty corners took its toll. The Terrapins outshot the Tigers 23-7 — as Maryland goalkeeper Ashley Hohnstine only had to make two saves on the night — and had 13 corners to Princeton's seven.

Maryland attack and three-time All-American Carla Tagliante, who is tied for fifth in the nation in points, broke the tie just three minutes, 13 seconds into the second frame with an unassisted goal. After a penalty corner, Baril made a diving save to deny the first shot, but the rebound was not cleared by the Tiger defense and squirted to Tagliante, who found the back of the cage.

Matson — a high school teammate of Tagliante in Marathon, N.Y. — came into the game leading the Tigers in both goals (six) and assists (six), but could not convert on any of her opportunities Friday. The senior had some chances on breakaways to use her speed to get past defenders, but was stopped repeatedly near the Maryland net.

"They had a good game plan," Bozman said. "They just hung back on defense and made us beat them, and we couldn't."

After Tagliante's goal, junior defender Aviva Meerschwam attempted a lift shot off a penalty corner, but the attempt missed the net, sailing just high. Soon after the missed chance, the Terps struck again as Carissa Messimer took a Caroline Walker pass and blasted a shot into the net. Like the previous goal, the ball seemed to hang around the Tiger goal after a Baril save, and Maryland took advantage.

Wakeup call

Falling behind 2-0 seemed to wake up the Princeton attack. The Tigers came out more aggressive, drawing penalty corners and taking better shots, but still could not convert their opportunities.

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On one occasion, freshman attack Claire Miller was fouled on a breakaway, drawing a corner, but the Tigers were denied even a decent look at the net on the ensuing set play.

Then with just a few minutes remaining in the game, sophomore attack Ilvy Friebe found senior midfielder Melanie Meerschwam on a breakaway, but the midfielder's shot drifted just wide of the Maryland cage.

"We might see them again [in the NCAA tournament]," Bozman said.

It's tough losing 2-0, but Princeton knows it must bounce back quickly, and get its offense rolling again. The schedule for the Tigers does not get any easier, as Princeton plays many opponents of Maryland's caliber in the coming weeks, along with a game at in-state rival Rutgers on Wednesday night. If the Tigers are to survive against such quality competition, they must continue to play superb defense and convert opportunities on the attack.