UAlbany Field Hockey Falls to Top-Ranked Maryland, 4-2, in NCAA Tournament

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

College Park, Md. – Susie Rowe recorded two goals and one assist to lead No. 1 Maryland to a 4-2 win over No. 20 UAlbany in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.

The Terrapins jumped out quickly, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes of play. Nicole Muracco struck first at 3:43 with a hard shot from the middle of the circle. Rowe added her first goal in the eighth minute, as Katie O’Donnell gathered the ball in a scramble in front of the cage and passed over to Rowe, who slipped the ball past UAlbany goalkeeper Ashley Ross. The Great Danes would get on the scoreboard before the end of the first half, as junior forward Nicole Savage dribbled in and knocked an unassisted shot into the cage at 26:46.

Maryland (19-2) went ahead 3-1 early in the second stanza, as Danielle Keeley took an assist from Rowe on a penalty corner in the 39th minute. Rowe then gave the Terrapins their largest lead of the game with a penalty corner goal at 53:29 off an assist by Alexis Pappas. Jess Lindsey would cut the Great Danes’ deficit in half late in the game on UAlbany’s only penalty corner of the game. Senior Michele Polizois passed the ball back to Lindsey off the initial insert and Lindsey was able to shoot the ball past Maryland goalkeeper Alicia Grater.

Maryland outshot the Great Danes, 20-7, and held an 8-1 advantage in penalty corners. Grater made two saves in the cage for the Terrapins while Ross stopped nine of Maryland’s 13 shots on goal in the game.

“It was a very good experience overall,” said UAlbany head coach Phil Sykes, who led the Great Danes to the program’s first-ever conference title this season. “We came out a little nervous in the first 10 minutes, but we calmed down. We had several good opportunities in the second half to make it an interesting game, but we couldn’t capitalize. The team didn’t get overwhelmed with their opponent or the situation and I’m really proud of them for that.”

UAlbany finishes the season with a 12-10 overall record, and ends the year in the national rankings for the second consecutive season.

#20 UAlbany (12-10) 1 1 - 2
#1 Maryland (19-2) 2 2 - 4

UAlbany: Scoring – Nicole Savage (1-0), Jess Lindsey (1-0), Michele Polizois (0-1). Goalkeeper – Ashley Ross (70:00, 4 GA, 9 saves).

Maryland: Scoring – Susie Rowe (2-1), Nicole Muracco (1-0), Danielle Keeley (1-0), Katie O’Donnell (0-1), Alexis Pappas (0-1). Goalkeeper – Alicia Grater (70:00, 2 GA, 2 saves).