COLLEGE PARK, MD – No. 7 Maryland dropped an overtime heartbreaker to rival No. 8 Penn State, 3-2, Saturday afternoon.

Julianna Tornetta opened up the scoring in the first quarter for the Terps (4-2, 0-1 B1G) after a textbook penalty corner insert and set by Bibi Donraadt and Maura Verleg. Penn State (6-0, 1-0) answered shortly thereafter with a goal from Mackenzie Allessie, which snapped Maryland's shutout streak of 14-straight quarters. The Terps nearly answered seconds later as penalty corner shots from Tornetta and Hope Rose ricocheted off the Nittany Lions' goalkeeper. 

The second quarter was much of the same as Maryland kept peppering penalty corners onto the Penn State net minder but couldn't deliver a second tally. The Nittany Lions broke the 1-1 tie just before halftime as a quick offensive break gave Sophia Gladieux an open look for the score.  

The Terps came out of the half in a 2-1 deficit and continued to trade shots with Penn State. Just 29 seconds into the fourth quarter, Nathalie Fiechter deflected a goal into the cage to tie the match.  

Both team's battled into overtime but it was Penn State who managed to find the game-winner. Gladieux sent a hard shot into the bottom right corner of the cage for the victory.


Missy Meharg's Take
"The outcome is very disappointing for our group. We've been playing very, very good hockey. The nice thing is we've been playing a lot of quarters, maybe six or seven in a row, that were brilliant. Our first quarter today was actually quite strong. When things fell for us, we lost our connectivity. We had spurts that we brought it back. Penn State's a very good team. They play a different style than we do. We like to play pedal to the metal all the time, with connectivity, fast-paced, the type of game that athletes love to play. They play more individualistic. As you can tell, they have a couple players who are stellar at certain skills. We'll figure that out and hopefully play them in the Big Ten Tournament."

Tornetta Time

• Graduate transfer Julianna Tornetta was the Terps most consistent offensive player as she accounted for three shots on goal, including the first goal of the game. 
• The former Princeton Tiger now has three goals on the season which is tied with Bibi Donraadt for most on the team. 

Fiechter Finds A Way

• Nathalie Fiechter scored her first career goal as a Terp and it couldn't have come at a better time as it tied the game at two apiece early in the fourth quarter. 

Up Next

• Maryland will welcome the 18^th-ranked Princeton Tigers to College Park on Tuesday with a 4 p.m. start time.
• The Terps lead the all-time series 21-4 against Princeton, with the last three straight matchups going to overtime.