Field hockey earns split in Maryland

Heading down to Maryland to take on a pair of Old Line State foes, the field hockey team came away with a split. A day after falling to Maryland, Boston College bounced back with a 6-1 win over Towson. Sophomore Bob Dirks racked up a hat trick, the second of her career, to key the BC win. The highlight game of the trip was a day earlier, when the Eagles faced a tall order, setting out for College Park, Md. to face the No.1-ranked Terrapins Saturday. The Eagles (5-2) were shut out, 5-0, by Maryland, and although the box score may tell one story, Eagles head coach Ainslee Lamb took a very positive approach to the game's results. "Overall, we're very happy with our performance because it showed that we could hang in there with the No. 1 team in the country," said Lamb. The ACC opener featured a scoring attack by Maryland that began 14 minutes into the game on an unassisted drive through the lane by senior Berber Rischen. The Eagles kept Maryland at bay until the end of the first half, when rookie Nicole Muracco knocked a pass from Emily Trycinski into the circle for a goal. Down 2-0 going into the second half, the Eagles maintained their valiant defensive effort, led by goalkeeper Julia Berkowitz. Berkowitz made six of her eight saves in the second half. "We actually had a pretty good first half, but I think we got worn down," said Lamb. "It's hard to maintain that pressure." The Eagles began to unravel toward the end of the game, allowing Maryland to score three times in a period of three minutes. Reigning National Player of the Year Paula Infante got the drive started with a breakaway down the center of the field for an unassisted goal. A minute and a half later, senior Kristina Edmonds followed with a goal on a penalty stroke. That was closely followed by a deflection off a corner by Janneke van Leeuwen from Susie Rowe. Terrapins All-American goalkeeper Kathryn Masson helped her team earn their fifth shutout of the season with five saves, preserving an undefeated record for Maryland. BC's midfield was particularly admirable in the contest, led by senior captain Lauren Parks and junior Brenna Leahy. "Maryland especially has a very strong midfield, and our midfield did a great job against them. Lauren led well until she got injured [in the second half]," said Lamb. Following their second loss of the 2006 season at the hands of the reigning ACC Champions, the Eagles had no time to be discouraged, as they bounced back in the Towson game the next morning. "We're taking it one game at a time," said Lamb. "After today, we talked about how we feel disappointed right now - and we should feel disappointed, because we obviously don't want to like losing. At least we know that we can play at that level."