Maryland scores five goals in second half to topple Tigers

Sophomore midfielder Paige Schmidt's first-half goal off a penalty corner was the only highlight for Princeton (5-7 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) in its 5-1 loss to No. 2 Maryland (14-1) on Wednesday evening in College Park, Md.

The Tigers were able to prevent the Terrapins from scoring in the first half, even though Maryland enjoyed an advantage in shots, 5-3. Schmidt, last week's Ivy League Player of the Week, scored her fifth goal of the season in the 12th minute of play. Her older sister, senior midfielder Hillary Schmidt, shot the ball in from the corner and was credited with the assist.

The Terrapins built on their solid first-half play, dominating the second half by controlling the ball and outshooting Princeton, 12-1. Maryland's first goal came two minutes into the period when forward Jackie Ciconte knocked in a pass from the top of the circle from midfielder Paula Infante.

The Ciconte-Infante duo proved too much for the Tigers to contain, and the Terrapins never looked back. Infante scored the next goal off a penalty corner that squeezed by junior goalie Allison Nemeth to give Maryland a 2-1 lead. Five minutes later, Ciconte scored again, thanks to a deflection that came off of Infante's stick.

The Terrapins continued their offensive attack and scored again at 57:18 when forward Sarah Scholl knocked in her own rebound, stretching the Maryland lead to 4-1. Infante scored her second goal of the game at 68:27 off another penalty corner. Senior forward Tiffany Marsh was credited with the assist.

Nemeth had 12 saves in the game, while Terrapin goalie Kathryn Masson had three. Maryland also had five penalty corners in the game, while Princeton had three. The statistics show the offensive domination by the Terrapins in this game.

Players like senior attack Lauren Ehrlichman and senior midfield Maren Ford, who usually are huge factors in the Tigers' offense, only had one shot each in Princeton's loss.

Still, considering Maryland's strength and experience, head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn was satisfied with her team's performance.

"We really played a very solid first half and stuck to our game plan," Holmes-Winn said. "But they were obviously going to respond to what we were doing, and we didn't change our tactics in the second half like we should have. The first half was very inspiring for the players."

Back to Ivy play

Though Princeton fell to an overall record of 5-7 with the loss, the team still has reason to be confident. The Tigers remain unbeaten in the Ivy League, recording wins already this season against Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia and Cornell. Their record will be put to the test this Saturday when they face Brown (5-4, 2-1) at 12 p.m. in Providence, R.I.

The Bears, coached by Carolan Norris, are led by junior fullback/midfielder Samantha Lloyd, who has eight goals on the season. Unlike Maryland, Brown has only outscored its opponents, 15-14, in all of its games. The Bears lost to Dartmouth earlier this season but beat Harvard and Columbia.

This is a game that Princeton should win, based on its ability to play well against Ivy League opponents under pressure. After coming off tough losses to Villanova, Hofstra and now Maryland, the Tigers will be hungry for a win. And Princeton has a good shot at the Ivy title if it continues to play well and fight off the pressure of remaining unbeaten.

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"Every game, we go out to win," Holmes-Winn said. "There's a lot on the line, but our mission is to play our brand of hockey and to do it with the mentality that we can accomplish things as a team and control our own destiny."

The Tigers also will face a challenge on Sunday when they face No. 19 Boston University (9-1) at 3 p.m. The Terriers are undefeated at home and have outscored opponents, 32-15, this season. It will be a test for Princeton, facing another nationally-ranked team in an unfamiliar stadium in addition to playing consecutive away games.

"It's hard because we have played back-to-back games all season, and none of our girls like to miss class," Holmes-Winn said. "But we actually gain a lot from the experience and are able to put all our energy into the weekend games."