With several Spartan athletes at the game, such as junior defensive end Shilique Calhoun and junior goalkeeper Jake Hildebrand, MSU was unable to get the performance it was looking for. After surrendering a 4-0 lead to Maryland, MSU scored two late goals before ultimately falling 4-2.

The contest started out with fairly even play, as Maryland’s stingy defense wasn’t allowing much on the Spartan attack. Redshirt sophomore goaltender Sierra Patton was able to keep the Terrapins off the board for much of the first half, but a great cross from Maryland’s Emma Rissinger bounced in front of the net and found Maxine Fluharty for the first goal of the game.

At the end of the half, the Terrapins were afforded a penalty corner as time expired. What seemed like a high shot and disallowed goal to the Spartans ended up being a dagger to MSU’s confidence heading into halftime.

“Maryland got the goal right at the half off the corner,” Head Coach Helen Knull said. “It didn’t really feel like a two-goal game at the half, but it was.

“It’s kind of a momentum shifter because you go into the half and they’ve literally just scored at the buzzer. You’ve got to find a way to just regroup into the half.”

Coming out of the half, MSU could not find their game and Maryland was able to add two more goals to their lead in the 43rd and 45th minutes. Both goals came on redirections and would have been fantastic saves for Patton, but Knull elected to pull Patton in the 55th minute for freshman goalkeeper Katie Miller . Patton finished with six saves and four goals allowed.

MSU did find some life at the end of the game. Senior forward Abby Barker netted her ninth goal of the season after a great pass from senior forward Allie Ahern . After the two nearly connected again in the final minutes, senior back Jenni Smith recorded her first goal of the season off a penalty corner after time expired.

“This is the midpoint of our season,” Knull said of where her team stands after a tough weekend. “We talk about it every year there’s a game that will kind of change momentum. And this needs to be our momentum shifter for us. Even though it was two losses, we’ve got to look back at the losses, and we’ve got to find ways to make some changes.”

MSU will look to regroup this week before they head east to New Jersey this weekend. The Spartans will continue Big Ten play against Rutgers on Friday, before taking on Monmouth Saturday.