STONY BROOK, N.Y. - Senior attack Ali Levendusky tied her career high with six goals to lead the UMBC women's lacrosse team (3-9, 2-3 AEC) to its first win in more than a month, as the Retrievers topped America East Rival Stony Brook (5-4, 0-2 AEC) by a score of 17-11 Wednesday afternoon at LaValle Stadium.
The victory snapped UMBC's seven-game losing streak which spanned the entire month of March. The Retrievers' last victory was Feb. 29 at Binghamton, but they extended their winning streak over the Seawolves to five straight, as they have never lost to their conference foe.
UMBC led from the start, scoring the game's first two goals. Levendusky tallied three times in the first 15 minutes to lead the Retrievers to a 4-1 lead before Stony Brook scored back-to-back goals to trim its deficit to one.
But the Seawolves would get no closer, as UMBC tallied four of the final five goals of the first half to take an 8-4 halftime lead. Levendusky led all scorers with four goals in the period.
Freshman midfielder Amanda Pappas, who scored the last goal of the first half, also tallied the first of the second just 21 seconds into the period to spark a 3-0 UMBC run to start the stanza.
The Seawolves scored four straight over a span of 5:30, with three consecutive goals by attack Diana Caroleo that pulled Stony Brook to within three at 11-8. But the Retrievers used a 5-0 surge to a game-high eight-goal lead, 16-8, with 6:14 remaining. Levendusky scored twice during the spurt, and junior defender Ashley Lancer tallied her first career goal.
Stony Brook posted three in a row over the next four minutes, with two more by Caroleo, but UMBC sophomore midfielder Kelly Burgoyne completed her first career hat trick with the game's final goal at the 2:09 mark.
The Retrievers' 17 goals are a season high and their most since an 18-3 victory over Binghamton on April 7, 2007.
Levendusky's six goals tied her season and career bests, which she set on Feb. 29 at Binghamton. She moved into seventh place all-time at UMBC with 125 goals, and she moved into a tie for eighth place with Jackie Seboda (1987-90) with 158 career points.
Caroleo also scored six goals to lead the Seawolves, while Kaitlin Leggio posted a team-high three assists.
UMBC sophomore Kate Quick made five saves in 60 minutes in goal, while Stony Brook's Jamie Carlson also stopped five shots.
Levendusky and senior midfielder Maggie Chizmar each picked up six ground balls in the game, and Chizmar also won six draw controls.
The Retrievers out-shot the Seawolves, 31-17, and held a 29-26 advantage on ground balls, while Stony Brook held a 16-14 edge in draw controls.
The Retrievers return to action Saturday, when they host Howard at 7:30 p.m. in the first of four straight home games to end the season.
