After a close 3-2 defeat to No. 1 Maryland in its season opener Friday, the No. 10 Massachusetts field hockey team suffered a 2-0 loss to Temple on Sunday afternoon.

The Minutewomen (0-2) traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for the Conference Cup, a tournament that was co-hosted by Temple and Maryland.

Coach Carla Tagliente made it clear that the weekend was not the best for UMass.

“We had some good moments and some bad moments,” Tagliente said.  “Unfortunately, we had a few more bad moments than good.”

One highlight for the Minutewomen was the play of junior goalkeeper and team captain Sam Carlino. She was the anchor for a UMass team that scored only twice the entire weekend. On Friday, against the Terrapins (2-0), Carlino saved 12 shots and surrendered only three goals. Then on Sunday, she was terrific again, making nine saves and allowing only two goals.

“She was outstanding all weekend,” Tagliente said. “She kept us in the game against Maryland and kept us in the game today.”

Temple scored just 11 minutes into the contest on a goal from Nicole Kroener on a penalty corner. The Owls tacked onto their lead in the 46th minute on a nifty backhanded goal from Amber Houtz. Otherwise, it was a relatively quiet game.

Tagliente said she was impressed with freshmen Anne Dijkstra, Melanie Kreusch, and Sarah Hawkshaw for their strong performances throughout the weekend.

In addition, sophomore Nicole Miller has excelled so far, as she has recorded the only two goals for the Minutewomen so far for the season. But as excited as she was with the underclassmen, Tagliente said that she was equally unhappy with the play of her veteran players.

“The disappointing part was that some of our returning players who have the expectation that they are going to play a little bit better aren’t,” Tagliente said.

Despite being shutout by the Owls (2-0) on Sunday, UMass was aggressive on the defensive end, as Hawkshaw and Brooke Sabia were each assessed green cards.

However, the Minutewomen were not forceful enough around the goal, as they managed only seven shots over 70 minutes of play. Temple, on the other hand, attempted 24 shots.

One Giant Leap

Despite losing to Maryland by only one goal Friday, Tagliente said she was not satisfied with UMass’ performance.

The Minutewomen allowed the first two opening goals of the game, as the Terrapins scored two goals between the 18th and 21st minute. But Miller answered for UMass, scoring with just 45 seconds left in the first half to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Maryland extended the lead to 3-1 in the second half before Miller netted her second goal of the game. It was as close as the Minutewomen would get, as the Terrapins prevented UMass from completing a comeback.

“I think it shows that we can play with the best teams… we took a few steps forward and more steps back, Tagliente said.  “But we are going to have to hit a point here where we take a giant leap forward.”

Tagliente also emphasized that the Minutewomen’s ability to take this leap depends on how hard they push themselves in practice and on the field, as well as how they rebound from a loss.

UMass will next play Maine at home on Friday at 4 p.m.

Matthew Zackman can be reached at [email protected]