Maryland was nearly an hour late arriving to Franklin Field Saturday, but when the final whistle blew it was the Quakers who never showed up.
Penn was going for its first win ever against the Terrapins (whose bus driver took a wrong turn, hence the delay). But a lackluster offensive showing by the Red and Blue had them down 6-1 at halftime, and they eventually fell to their ACC foe, 9-2.
The No. 11 Terps (8-5) dominated in every category on both ends of the field. Using a trademark hot start, they notched nine goals from eight different players and bullied Penn on defense, as well.
The Quakers (3-8, 2-4 Ivy) helped their opponent by drawing five penalties - three of which led to Maryland man-up goals.
Penn won just a third of its faceoffs (5-for-15), turned the ball over 25 times and picked up only 19 ground balls to the Terps' 32.
"I just feel like we didn't give an effort anywhere today," Penn coach Brian Voelker said. "We looked like our guys were uninterested and didn't want to be here, and the score indicates that."
Just over two minutes into the contest, Maryland scored on an unassisted shot by attack Nick Ward. After 10 minutes of scoreless play, Terps' midfield Jake Bernhardt added another.
Fifteen seconds from the close of the first quarter, Penn's Craig Andrzejewski got one back after cutting through the middle and quick-sticking a feed from Corey Winkoff. Any momentum quickly evaporated though, as Maryland won the ensuing faceoff and scored with just two seconds left in the period.
The Terps scored three more times in the second quarter, imposing their will with physicality and a fluid offense. The Quakers just couldn't get in a rhythm.
"When we did get the ball, I don't think we were taking care of it very well in the first half," Andrzejewski said. "A couple balls bounce our way in the beginning of the game it could've been a different score . but you've got to bury opportunities when you get them."
After going scoreless in the second quarter, Penn cut Maryland's lead to four when senior Garvey Heiderman finished an assist from Andrzejewski midway through the third period.
But the Quakers would get no closer.
The Terrapins scored the last three goals of the game and held the Red and Blue without a shot for the entire fourth quarter.
Penn's two goals are the fewest the team has scored since Voelker took over before the 2003 season. The previous low mark was three in a 2006 NCAA Tournament loss to Johns Hopkins in the first round.
The Ters "played like they were more athletic than us: bigger, stronger, faster," Voelker said. "They played like they wanted it more. I'm not real happy with the way we played today."
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