BALTIMORE - Hoping to avoid a winless March, the UMBC women's lacrosse team (2-8, 1-3 AEC) will look to snap its six-game losing streak against the University of California-Berkeley (4-4, 1-0 MPSF) on Sunday at 12 p.m. at UMBC Stadium.
Last Time Out: The Retrievers are coming off a devastating 17-12 loss to Albany on Wednesday night in Baltimore. Down by two with 15 minutes to play, the Great Danes scored seven unanswered goals to complete the comeback. UMBC used a 4-0 first-half run to take a 7-4 advantage and led, 8-6, at halftime. The Retrievers then scored three of the first four goals of the second period to take a game-high four-goal lead, 11-7. But the Great Danes controlled the final 21 minutes, winning eight of 11 draw controls and scoring 10 of the last 11 goals of the game. Freshman midfielder Amanda Pappas (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) led the Retrievers with a career-high three goals and four points. Sophomore midfielder Kelly Burgoyne (Sykesville, Md./Century) led the Retrievers with four caused turnovers, three draw controls and three ground balls.
Who's Up Next: The Retrievers hit the road for the final time this season when they head to America East rival Stony Brook on Wednesday, April 2. UMBC is 4-0 all-time against the Seawolves in a series dating to 2004, the Retrievers' first year in the conference. Last season, UMBC edged Stony Brook, 12-11. UMBC will then play the final four games of the season at home.
On the Golden Bears: Cal-Berkeley is 4-4 on the season and 1-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, but plays William and Mary on Friday before taking on the Retrievers. Senior attack Danni Zuralow is the reigning MPSF Player of the Week. She leads the Bears with 23 goals and 31 points and is tied with senior attack Brittany Aungier for the team lead in assists with eight apiece. Sophomore midfielders Alyse Kennedy and Alex Tickner are also tied for the team lead with 14 draw controls, while senior midfielder Christen Andrews paces the Bears with 18 ground balls. Junior midfielder Ghillie Little is tops with 13 caused turnovers. Junior goalie Morgan Dyson has posted a 12.38 goals-against average in eight starts. California was picked to finish fourth in the MPSF preseason poll.
Last Time vs. the Golden Bears: UMBC last faced Cal-Berkeley on March 28, 2003, a 19-9 win for the Retrievers that snapped the Bears' eight-game winning streak. UMBC midfielder Kelly Fiorani led all scorers with five goals and seven points in the contest.
UMBC vs. California All-Time: The Retrievers are 2-0 all-time against the Golden Bears in a series that dates to 2002.
Hat Tricks for Levendusky: Senior attack Ali Levendusky (Baldwin, Md./John Carroll) has scored three or more goals in eight of UMBC's 10 games this season, including a career-high six against Binghamton on Feb. 29. She leads the Retrievers with 30 goals and 32 points on the season. She has combined with junior midfielder Abbey Swift (Towson, Md./Towson) to score 52 percent of UMBC's goals this season (45 of 86).
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 ranks ninth all-time at UMBC with 116 career goals. In addition, her 148 points leave her just four 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
2. Alison Zaetz 158 1993-96
3. Kelly Fiorani 140 2003-06
4. Jackie Abendschoen 132 1985-88
5. Laurie Linnell 129 1984-87
6. Debbie Krastel 127 1996-99
7. Jen Dragoni 123 2001-04
8. Jamie Gerhart 120 1999-2002
9. Ali Levendusky 116 2005-Pres.
10. Jackie Seboda 115 1987-90
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 148 2005-Pres.
Taking on the Best: UMBC will face five teams in 2008 that were ranked in the top 20 in the most recent IWLCA Coaches' Poll, including No. 11 Boston University (April 19), No. 14 Yale (April 13), No. 15 Johns Hopkins (April 9), No. 17 Vanderbilt (Feb. 22) and No. 18 New Hampshire (March 22). In the current Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, Boston U. was ranked 11th, Yale 15th, New Hampshire 16th, Johns Hopkins 17th and Vanderbilt 18th. Vanderbilt, Yale, Boston U., Johns Hopkins and Hofstra (Feb. 17) all advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
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: A total of 14 different Retrievers have scored at least one point this season, and 13 have scored at least one goal… UMBC's 12 goals against Albany tied the second-most the Retrievers have scored this season… Senior attack Meghan Keelan (Randallstown, Md./Mount de Sales) leads the Retrievers with 10 assists, while freshman midfielder Megan Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) is tops with 18 ground balls… Senior attack Ali Levendusky has posted a team-best 18 draw controls, and senior midfielder Maggie Chizmar (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) leads UMBC with 10 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.
