The No. 20 Massachusetts field hockey team dropped back-to-back games this weekend, losing 2-0 to American University on Saturday and 3-0 to Maryland on Sunday.

The first of the two matchups was a tale of two halves, dominated early on by AU. The Eagles scored two goals in the first 14 minutes of play to take a 2-0 lead and never looked back. Natalie Ellenberger tallied the first goal just three minutes into play, and Shelly Montgomery added another in the 14th minute.

AU outshot UMass, 5-0, in the first half. The Minutewomen finished the game with five shots, and didn’t record a single penalty corner.

In the second half, however, UMass (3-5) held the advantage, and outshot the Eagles, 5-1, and had a 7-0 advantage in penalty corners, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Goalkeeper Alesha Widdall made four saves in net. Of the five shots UMass took in the second half, only two by Katie Kelly and Makaela Potts were on goal.

The loss was a tough one for the Minutewomen, who are coming off back-to-back wins against perennial playoff opponents Connecticut and Yale.

On Sunday, the results weren’t much different, as No. 2-ranked Maryland outplayed UMass and won, 3-0.

The Terrapins scored once in the first half and twice in the second half to beat the Minutewomen in convincing fashion.

The first goal came via a penalty corner 20 minutes into play when Jemma Buckley’s shot got past UMass’ Widdall. Megan Frazer later made the score 2-0 off another penalty corner in the second half. The last tally of the game came from defending National Player of the Year Katie O’Donnell, who scored in the 65th minute of play.

Maryland outshot the Minutewomen, 12-4, and finished with a 9-3 advantage in penalty corners. Widdall made four saves for UMass, and Potts led the team in shots, with two.

The Minutewomen will return home to face Vermont on Friday at 6 p.m. and Albany at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Michael Wood can be reached at [email protected].