Maryland has never lost to Penn, winning all 10 meetings in the series. This is the Terps' first game at Byrd Stadium this year, and they have won 16 of their last 17 home openers, including the last five.
With victories over UMBC and St. Joseph's, the No. 11 Quakers are 2-0 for the third time in the last five years and are seeking their first 3-0 start since 2011.
The team is taking the unusual path of splitting halves between two goalkeepers. Junior Jimmy Sestilio has started both games, earning the win against the Retrievers and recording a 12.00 goals-against average and a .556 save percentage. Senior John Lopes (5.70 GAA, .400 save percentage) has replaced Sestilio after halftime and was credited with the overtime victory over the Hawks.
The No. 10 Terps look to bounce back from Saturday's 10-6 loss at Yale that dropped them three spots in the latest Cascade/Maverik media poll. The program, which hasn't lost two of its first three games since 1993, has found a capable goalie in Kyle Bernlohr. The junior ranks third in Division I in save percentage (.686) and fourth in goals-against average (5.50).
Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome in College Park on Tuesday at 5 p.m.
1. Where's the offense? Maryland has scored just 14 goals so far -- the program's lowest output in its first two games since 1927. The offense has a couple new faces in the starting lineup, notably, sophomore attackman Dylan Maltz (a Syracuse transfer) and junior midfielder Bryan Cole, and the still-developing chemistry has contributed to some uncharacteristic mistakes.
But coach John Tilman said the unit also has to cut down on some unforced errors.
"I think right now, we're taking some high-risk plays, and we're really trying to force some things that are really not there," he said. "That's just something we've got to get better at. Our shot selection's got to get better. Our stickwork's got to get better. Candidly, some of those things have been plaguing us since August. We just haven't done a great job with our stickwork, and that's something we've got to continue to harp on."
2. Who will take faceoffs? Senior Charlie Raffa, who finished last season ranked second nationally in faceoff percentage (68.6), has won just 44.4 percent (8 of 18) so far this year. Junior Jon Garino Jr. has been even more ineffective at 10.0 percent (1 of 10). But Tillman said that Raffa, Garino, freshman Will Bonaparte and junior Andrew Walsh will get chances against Penn senior Rob Savage (62.5 percent, 25 of 40), and whoever performs well will get more playing time.
"Until we feel like Charlie's back to his old form, we owe it to the team to go with the hot guy," Tillman said. "So that could be Charlie, that could be Jon. We've used Will Bonaparte, we've used Andrew Walsh in the past, and we've told all of them, 'You'll probably get the first couple, but we're going to go to somebody else after the first couple just to make sure that we're getting everybody involved.' And then at some point, we're going to go with the hot hand. That may or may not be Charlie. If Jon's doing a good job, then it will be Jon. If Charlie's doing a better job, then it'll be Charlie. If it's Andrew, it's Andrew."
3. Will Maryland pressure the ball? The Quakers have turned the ball over 31 times, which one could attribute to the adverse weather conditions in which they have played their first two games. Navy and Yale committed five more turnovers than the Terps did. So could Maryland extend its defense and try to force Penn into coughing up the ball as another avenue to giving the offense more opportunities?
"We always have some tweaks where if we want to play zone and pack it in, we could, and if we want to extend a little bit more, we could," Tillman said. "That's probably not our bread-and-butter, but there are times within a game, within the context of a situation where we might do a little bit more of that. If we have to, we will. There are certainly matchups or spots on the field where we may do that."