BALTIMORE - The UMBC women's lacrosse team (2-6, 1-1 AEC) heads to Durham, N.H., to take on America East rival New Hampshire (6-2, 0-0 AEC) Saturday at 12 p.m. The Retrievers look to snap a four-game losing streak that dates to the beginning of March, while they have never defeated the Wildcats in six tries.
Last Time Out: UMBC sophomore midfielder Kelly Burgoyne (Sykesville, Md./Century) scored a career-high four goals, and senior attack Ali Levendusky (Baldwin, Md./John Carroll) posted another hat trick - her seventh in eight games, but the Retrievers lost their fourth straight game, falling to cross-town rival Towson (5-1) by a score of 19-12 on Saturday at Johnny Unitas Stadium. The Tigers held a huge advantage on draw controls, winning 24 of 33 on the day, which helped lead to an 18-6 lead with 16:54 remaining in the game.
Who's Up Next: The Retrievers return home for the first time since March 4 to host America East rival Albany on March 26 at 7:30 p.m. UMBC will play six of its final seven games at UMBC Stadium. The Retrievers are 3-2 all-time against the Great Danes.
On the Wildcats: New Hampshire is 6-2 on the season after picking up a pair of wins in Nashville, Tenn., where it defeated 10th-ranked Vanderbilt, 10-7, on Saturday and Cornell, 10-9, on Wednesday. Senior goalie Ashley Milley was named America East Defender of the Week for the second week in a row after recording a 6.00 goals-against average and a .600 save percentage against Harvard and Vanderbilt. She boasts an America East-best 7.69 GAA on the season. Ashley Durepo leads the Wildcats with 23 points on 14 goals and nine assists, while Michaela Hardy has scored a team-best 16 goals and 11 caused turnovers. Six Wildcats have tallied at last 11 goals on the season. In addition, Allie Duclos leads New Hampshire with 17 ground balls and 24 draw controls. The Wildcats lead the America East with a 7.43 team GAA and rank second with a .464 save percentage. UNH was picked to finish second in the America East preseason poll after advancing to the league title game in five of the last six seasons.
Last Time vs. the Wildcats: Last March, Moira Talbot scored with 3:47 left to break a 9-9 tie and give visiting New Hampshire a 10-9 victory over UMBC in both teams' America East opener. The see-saw game included seven ties and five lead changes. The score was knotted at 4-4 at halftime, but the Wildcats scored the first two goals of the second half to open a game-high two-goal lead. The Retrievers later tallied three in a row in a span of three minutes to take an 8-7 advantage, but UNH scored three of the final four goals of the game for the 10-9 decision. The Retrievers were led by attacks Jen Kasper, Ali Levendusky and Abbey Swift (Baltimore, Md./Towson), who each scored three points on two goals and an assist. Talbot also posted the same line to lead the Wildcats.
UMBC vs. UNH All-Time: The Retrievers have never defeated the Wildcats in six tries in a series that dates to 1989, the teams' only non-conference meeting. UMBC and New Hampshire have been America East opponents since the Retrievers joined the league in 2004.
Hat Tricks for Levendusky: Senior attack Ali Levendusky has scored three or more goals in seven of UMBC's eight games this season, including a career-high six against Binghamton on Feb. 29. The only game in which she did not achieve the feat was on March 4 against Vermont, when she was held scoreless. It marked the first time Levendusky did not score a goal since April 4, 2007, an 11-game streak. It also snapped her 13-game point streak.
Milestone Watch: Senior attack Ali Levendusky scored her 100th career goal at Binghamton on Feb. 29, making her just the 15th Retriever to reach that milestone. Levendusky currently has 111 goals, leaving her just three away from UMBC's all-time top 10 list. In addition, her 142 points leave her 10 away from joining UMBC's top 10 in that category, and she is on pace to become just the 11th Retriever to reach 150 points in her career.
UMBC Career Goals
1. Lauren Robinson 192 1984-87
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7. Jen Dragoni 123 2001-04
8. Jamie Gerhart 120 1999-2002
9. Jackie Seboda 115 1987-90
10. Renee Tirocchi 114 1998-2001
-- Ali Levendusky 111 2005-Pres.
UMBC Career Points
1. Laura Robinson 248 1984-87
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7. Jamie Gerhart 173 1999-2002
8. Jackie Seboda 158 1987-90
9. Jenny Held 153 1990-93
10. Kelly Fahey 152 2004-07
-- Ali Levendusky 142 2005-Pres.
Taking on the Best: UMBC will face four teams in 2008 that were ranked in the top 20 in the most recent IWLCA Coaches' Poll, including No. 12 Johns Hopkins (April 9), No. 14 Yale (April 13), No. 15 Boston University (April 19) and No. 20 Vanderbilt (Feb. 22). In addition, New Hampshire (March 22) received votes in the rankings. In the current Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, Yale was ranked 10th, Boston U. 16th and Vanderbilt 17th, with Johns Hopkins, New Hampshire, Delaware (March 10) and Hofstra (Feb. 17) receiving votes. Vanderbilt, Yale, Boston U., Johns Hopkins and Hofstra all advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Beasts in the America East: Senior attack Ali Levendusky leads the America East with 25 goals on the season and 8.0 shots per game, and she ranks second with 3.12 goals per game and seventh with 3.25 points per game. Senior attack Meghan Keelan (Randallstown, Md./Mount de Sales) ranks ninth in the league with 1.0 assists per game, while Abbey Swift is seventh with 5.38 shots per game. In addition, junior goalie Susie Sweeney (Madison, N.J./Madison) ranks fourth with a .481 save percentage and fifth with an 11.57 goals-against average and 8.12 saves per game. As a team, UMBC ranks second in the America East with 10.25 saves per game.
UMBC Picked Fourth: The UMBC women's lacrosse team was predicted to finish in a tie for fourth place in the America East standings, according to a vote of the league's head coaches. Both the Retrievers and Albany received 19 points apiece in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll. Three-time defending champion Boston University is the preseason favorite to win its fourth straight league title. The Terriers received four first-place votes and 35 total points. New Hampshire and Stony Brook each received one first place vote, but the Wildcats edged the Seawolves in the preseason standings, 29 points to 27. UMBC (19), Albany (19), Vermont (11) and Binghamton (6) round out the seven-team poll. The top four teams in the conference will advance to the America East Championships April 25-27. The Retrievers look to return to the America East Tournament after missing the postseason for the first time since UMBC joined the league in 2004.
Dawg Bites: Senior attack Ali Levendusky leads the Retrievers with 25 goals and 26 points… In the Retrievers' six losses this season, their opponents have held a 96-50 advantage on draw controls, but in the two wins, UMBC has won the battle, 30-17… Freshman midfielder Megan Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) leads the Retrievers with 15 ground balls… Levendusky has also posted a team best with 17 draw controls and, and she is tied with senior midfielder Maggie Chizmar (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) for the team lead with seven caused turnovers… UMBC defeated Loyola on Feb. 26 for the first time in 34 years dating to 1974, during which time the Retrievers had lost 22 straight games to the Greyhounds, including each of the last nine years.
