BALTIMORE - Coming off a season-opening 19-1 rout of Howard last weekend, the UMBC women's lacrosse team (1-0) travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take on 12th-ranked Vanderbilt (0-1) Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. (1 p.m. central).
Last Time Out: Four Retrievers notched hat tricks to lead UMBC to a 19-1 victory over Howard on Feb. 14 in Washington, D.C., in the season opener for both teams. The Retrievers scored the first 16 goals of the game and led 12-0 at halftime. In all, eight Retrievers scored a goal and 13 recorded at least one point. Senior midfielder Kara Dorr (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) finished with a game-high four goals and five points, both career highs. Senior attack Abbey Swift (Baltimore, Md./Towson), sophomore midfielder Meagan Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) and freshman midfielder Bria Phillips (Davidsonville, Md./Coronado (Calif.)) each notched hat tricks, as well, while freshman attack Emily Coady (Westminster, Md./Westminster) tallied a game-high four assists.
On the Commodores: Vanderbilt is coming off a 14-13 overtime loss to No. 9 North Carolina on Feb. 15. Freshman midfielder Alex Priddy led the Commodores with four points on three goals and an assist, while goalie Rachel Woolford recorded 11 saves. Vanderbilt was picked to finish second in the American Lacrosse Conference, while midfielders Carter Foote and Cara Giordano were both selected to the preseason all-conference team. The Commodores finished second in both the ALC regular-season standings and tournament before falling to Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Inside the Series: Vanderbilt leads the all-time series with UMBC, 3-0, including a 16-7 decision last season in Baltimore. Midfielder Sarah Downing scored five points on three goals and two assists to lead the Commodores. Swift and attack Ali Levendusky each tallied three goals for the Retrievers.
Taking on the Best: UMBC will face five teams that were ranked in the top 20 in the most recent IWLCA Coaches' Poll, including No. 10 Boston University (April 25), No. 12 Vanderbilt (Feb. 21), No. 14 New Hampshire (April 4), No. 15 Johns Hopkins (March 24) and No. 18 Towson (March 3).
Retrievers Vanquish Scotland: The Retrievers defeated the Scottish National Team, 17-6, in an exhibition game Feb. 16 at UMBC Stadium. Dorr scored five goals and Swift tallied four to lead UMBC in the victory. With the score tied, 3-3, midway through the first half, the Retrievers scored nine straight goals to lead, 12-3, at the intermission.
Retrievers Picked Sixth: UMBC was predicted to finish sixth in the America East standings, according to a vote of the league's head coaches. The Retrievers received 11 points in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll. Four-time defending champion Boston University is the preseason favorite to win its fifth straight league title. The Terriers received five first-place votes and 35 total points to edge out New Hampshire, which finished with the remaining two first-place votes and 32 points. Vermont (25), Albany (18), Stony Brook (12), UMBC (11) and Binghamton (8) round out the seven-team poll. The top four teams in the conference will advance to the America East Championships April 30-May 2. The Retrievers look to return to the America East Tournament for the first time since 2006.
