BALTIMORE - Riding the momentum of two big victories last week, the UMBC women's lacrosse team (4-9) welcomes the first of three ranked opponents to UMBC Stadium in No. 16 Johns Hopkins (5-6) Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Retrievers look to make it three in a row for the first time this season.
Last Time Out: Seventeen different Retrievers scored a point and 12 tallied a goal, as UMBC routed Howard, 21-4, Saturday evening at UMBC Stadium. Senior attack Ali Levendusky (Baldwin, Md./John Carroll) scored a career-high seven points on five goals and two assists, while senior attack Meghan Keelan (Randallstown, Md./Mount de Sales) was one shy of the school record with five assists. The Retrievers scored the first nine goals of the game, with eight different players getting in on the scoring action, and UMBC led, 9-1, at halftime. The Retrievers opened the second period with a 4-0 run, before Howard midfielder Sakita Holley scored two of the next three goals, but UMBC notched seven of the game's final eight tallies. Junior midfielder Abbey Swift (Baltimore, Md./Towson) and sophomore attack Sara Marshall (West Friendship, Md./Glenelg) each posted hat tricks. The Retrievers out-shot the Bison, 46-6, and held an 18-9 advantage on draw controls - including 9-2 in the first half - and a 16-4 edge in ground balls - including 11-1 in the first period. In addition, Howard committed 22 turnovers to UMBC's 14, and sophomore defender Sarah Willis (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) won five draw controls and caused three Bison miscues.
Who's Up Next: The Retrievers finish the regular season with home games against two more ranked opponents in No. 13 Yale on Sunday and No. 10 Boston University on April 19.
On the Blue Jays: Johns Hopkins is 5-6 on the season and has lost two in a row after an 11-10 double-overtime defeat at the hands of No. 17 Vanderbilt on Sunday. Five of the Blue Jay's six losses have come to ranked opponents, and all but one were by two goals or less. The Blue Jays have outscored their opponents, 117-97, on the season. Sophomore attack Sam Schrum leads Hopkins with 21 goals and is tied with sophomore attack Brett Bathras for the team lead with 25 points. Bathras has posted a team-best 15 assists. Senior defender Sarah Gallion leads Johns Hopkins with 24 ground balls, while senior midfielder Kadie Stamper is tops with 24 draw controls and senior midfielder Kirby Houck has caused a team-best 19 turnovers. Sophomore Lizzie O'Farrell and freshman Julianne Wisner have split the majority of the goalkeeping duties, with O'Farrell posting an 8.89 goals-against average and .482 save percentage, to Wisner's 9.19 GAA and .403 save percentage. Johns Hopkins was picked to finish second in the American Lacrosse Conference, with Stamper, Schrum and senior midfielder Lauren Schwarzmann earned preseason all-conference honors. Stamper was also a preseason Third-Team All-America selection, while Schwarzmann was named to the Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List.
Last Time vs. the Blue Jays: Johns Hopkins came away with a 15-9 victory last season at Homewood Field. With the score tied, 4-4, the 16th-ranked Blue Jays tallied seven straight goals to pull away. Three Retrievers scored twice in the game, while Hopkins' Mary Key led all scorers with six points on five goals and an assist. UMBC goalie Kate Quick made 12 saves.
UMBC vs. Hopkins All-Time: The Retrievers are 12-6-2 all-time against the Blue Jays in a series that dates to 1976, but they have lost three straight and five of the last six dating to 1987. UMBC's lone win against Johns Hopkins in the last two decades was a 15-14 victory on April 14, 1999 in Catonsville. After meeting each year from 1976-87 as Division-II opponents, the Retrievers moved up to the Division-I level and did not face their cross-town rival until the Blue Jays made the same leap in 1998.
Player of the Week: Senior attack Ali Levendusky was named America East Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week for the week ending April 6, the conference announced Monday. The award is the fourth of Levendusky's career and her second this season. Levendusky scored a team-high 11 goals and 13 points last week, leading the Retrievers to back-to-back victories. She added seven ground balls and three draw controls, and she tallied the game-winner in both contests. Levendusky equaled her career high with six goals in UMBC's 17-11 victory at America East rival Stony Brook on April 2, tallying three times in the first 15 minutes of action to help the Retrievers snap their seven-game losing skid. She also picked up six ground balls in the game. Then in UMBC's 21-4 win over Howard on April 5, Levendusky scored five goals and two assists for a career-best seven points, the most by a Retriever since Kelly Fiorani tallied seven at Virginia Tech on Feb. 24, 2006.
Scoring Machine: Senior attack Ali Levendusky has scored three or more goals in 10 of UMBC's 12 games this season, including a career-high six on two occasions - at Binghamton on Feb. 29 and at Stony Brook on April 2. Her 44 goals on the season are the ninth-highest single-season total in UMBC history and the most by a Retriever since Renee Tirocchi scored 47 in 2001. In addition, she is the first Retriever to score 40 goals in a season since she tallied 41 as a sophomore in 2006.
UMBC Single-Season 40-Goal Club
1. Heather Kormanik, 1998 54
2. Debbie Krastel, 1999 53
3. Laura Robinson, 1984 51
4. Wendy Heald, 1983 49
5. Alison Zaetz, 1994 48
6. Renee Tirocchi, 2001 47
Alison Zaetz, 1993 47
Robi Tamargo, 1983 47
9. Ali Levendusky, 2008 44
10. Ashley Staines, 2000 43
11. Ali Levendusky, 2006 41
12. Jamie Gerhart, 2002 40
Climbing the Charts: Senior attack Ali Levendusky scored her 100th career goal at Binghamton on Feb. 29, making her just the 15th Retriever to reach that milestone, and she currently ranks fifth all-time at UMBC with 130 career goals. In addition, she became the 11th Retriever ever to reach the 150-point plateau against Cal-Berkeley on March 30, and she currently ranks eighth all-time with 165 career points.
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. Ali Levendusky 130 2005-Pres.
6. Laurie Linnell 129 1984-87
7. Debbie Krastel 127 1996-99
8. Jen Dragoni 123 2001-04
9. Jamie Gerhart 120 1999-2002
10. Jackie Seboda 115 1987-90
UMBC Career Points
1. Laura Robinson 248 1984-87
2. Alison Zaetz 191 1993-96
3. Kelly Firoani 189 2003-06
4. Laurie Linnell 187 1984-87
5. Jen Dragoni 186 2001-04
6. Jackie Abendschoen 182 1985-89
7. Jamie Gerhart 173 1999-2002
8. Ali Levendusky 160 2005-Pres.
9. Jackie Seboda 158 1987-90
10. Jenny Held 153 1990-93
Helping Hand: Senior attack Meghan Keelan tallied five assists on five consecutive goals in UMBC's victory over Howard on Saturday, one shy of a school record for most helpers in a game, as Gina Tirocchi recorded six against Vanderbilt in 1996. Keelan's previous career high of four also came against Howard on Feb. 18, 2006. She now has 17 assists on the season, one off her career high of 18 in 2006, and she is tied with Jen Dragoni (2002) for the 10th-best single-season total in school history. In addition, Keelan now has 52 assists in her career, leaving her one away from joining UMBC's all-time top 10 list for career dishes.
UMBC Career Assists
1. Jen Dragoni 63 2001-04
2. Laurie Linnell 58 1984-87
3. Laura Robinson 57 1984-87
4. Jen Kasper 56 2003-07
5. Jenny Held 53 1990-93
Jamie Gerhart 53 1999-2002
7. Kelly Fahey 52 2004-07
8. Jackie Abendschoen 50 1985-88
9. Kelly Fiorani 49 2003-06
10. Jackie Seboda 43 1987-90
-- Meghan Keelan 42 2005-Pres.
UMBC Single-Season Assists
1. Heather Kormanik, 1998 28
2. Emily Petrlik, 1994 24
Jen Dragoni, 2003 24
4. Kori Kindbom, 1984 22
5. Shawne Heckler, 1984 20
Jamie Gerhart, 2002 20
7. Jenny Held, 1993 19
8. Meghan Keelan, 2006 18
Jen Kasper, 2007 18
10. Jen Dragoni, 2002 17
Meghan Keelan, 2008 17
Helping Hand, Part II: Sixteen of UMBC's 21 goals against Howard were assisted, more than doubling the previous season high of seven. The 16 assists were the most in a game since the Retrievers recorded 18 against Howard on Feb. 18, 2006, also against Howard. Eleven different Retrievers recorded at least one assist in the game.
Balanced Attack: Twelve different players scored a goal and 17 recorded at least one point against Howard, with eight posting multiple points. On the season, 20 players have scored a goal and 22 have tallied a point, with seven in double-digit points.
First-Timers: Three Retrievers scored their first career goals on Saturday against Howard. Sophomore attack Sara Marshall led the way for first-timers with a hat trick, while freshmen Brooke Richardson (Westminster, Md./Westminster) and Meghan Conaway (Marriottsville, Md./Liberty) also got on the scoreboard for the first time, with Richardson posting two points on a goal and an assist. In addition, sophomores Amanda Gable (Mount Airy, Md./Glenelg) and Rachel Pincus (New Market, Md./Linganore) each tallied their first of the season. Finally, freshman midfielder Casie Boltja (Medina, Ohio/Medina) recorded her first career point with an assist.
Streaking: Senior attack Ali Levendusky has scored a goal in eight consecutive games, dating to March 8 at Old Dominion. Also riding current goal streaks are junior midfielder Abbey Swift and freshman midfielders Erika Braerman (Fallston, Md./Fallston) and Megan Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford), who have each scored in four straight games; sophomore defender Sarah Willis, who has scored in three straight; and freshman midfielder Amanda Pappas (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake), who has scored in two in a row. In addition, Braerman has tallied a point in seven straight games, while senior attack Meghan Keelan has recorded a point in two in a row.
Streaking, Part II: UMBC opened the game against Howard with nine straight goals, its best start to a game since scoring 11 straight against Binghamton on April 4, 2007.
Fabulous Freshmen: Nine UMBC freshmen have combined to score 25 goals and 40 points this season, led by midfielders Amanda Pappas, Megan Linkous and Erika Braerman. Pappas' 10 goals and 12 points are tops among the Retrievers' first-year players, while Braerman has posted 10 points on five goals and five assists, and Linkous boasts six goals and eight points. Linkous is also tied for the team lead with 23 ground balls. She and midfielder Kristen Milligan (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) have started every game which they have played, while Pappas and defender C.J. Durham (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) have also earned starting roles as the season has progressed.
Top Dawgs: Senior attack Ali Levendusky leads the America East with 44 goals, 49 points, 106 shots and 8.15 shots per game, and she ranks second in goals per game (3.38) and game-winning goals (3) and fifth in points per game (3.77). In addition, senior attack Meghan Keelan ranks sixth in assists per game (1.31), while junior goalie Susie Sweeney (Madison, N.J./Madison) ranks third with a .465 save percentage and sixth with 6.7 saves per game.
Taking on the Best: UMBC will face six teams in 2008 that were ranked in the top 20 in the most recent IWLCA/Under Armour National Poll, including No. 10(t) Boston University (April 19), No. 13 Yale (April 13), No. 14 Vanderbilt (Feb. 22), No. 15 New Hampshire (March 22), No. 16 Johns Hopkins (April 9) and No. 19 Towson (March 15). In the current Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, Boston U. was ranked 11th, Yale 13th, New Hampshire 14th, Vanderbilt 15th, Towson 16th and Johns Hopkins 17th, while Delaware (March 10) received votes. 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 was the preseason favorite to win its fourth straight league title, followed by New Hampshire and Stony Brook. Vermont and Binghamton rounded 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. At 2-3, they are currently in fourth place behind Boston U. (3-0), New Hampshire (3-0) and Vermont (3-1).
Dawg Bites: UMBC scored a season-high 21 goals against Howard on Saturday, the most since tallying 23 against the Bison on Feb. 17, 2007… After scoring 17 against Stony Brook last Wednesday, the Retrievers have posted 38 goals in the last two games, the best two-game stretch since April 27-May 1, 2003, when they also scored a combined 38 goals against Long Island and Wagner… UMBC's 17-11 win over Stony Brook snapped a seven-game losing streak which spanned the entire month of March… The Retrievers have never lost to the Seawolves in five contests… UMBC has won back-to-back games for just the second time this season… Senior attack Ali Levendusky has posted a team-best 21 draw controls, and sophomore defender Sarah Willis is tops with 13 caused turnovers… Freshman midfielder Megan Linkous and senior midfielder Maggie Chizmar (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air) are tied for the team lead in ground balls with 23 apiece… 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.
