BALTIMORE - After a pair of season-opening victories for the first time since 1995, the UMBC women's lacrosse team (2-0) looks to keep the momentum going against cross-town rival Loyola (1-1) Tuesday evening at UMBC Stadium in the first of three straight games against nationally ranked opponents. Game time for the Retrievers' home opener is set for 7 p.m.
Last Time Out: Junior midfielder Amanda Pappas (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) led the Retrievers to a 16-8 victory at George Mason with a career-high seven goals. Sophomore attack Emily Coady (Westminster, Md./Westminster) tallied three times, while junior attack Erika Braerman (Fallston, Md./Fallston) posted four points on two goals and two assists. Senior goalie Kate Quick (Phoenix, Md./Maryvale Prep) recorded eight saves for the second straight game.
On the Greyhounds: Loyola opened the season against a pair of ranked opponents, falling at No. 18 Penn State, 9-8, on Feb. 14, and defeating No. 10 Virginia, 15-11, on Saturday. Midfielder Emily Gibson scored five goals and added an assist against the Cavaliers, while midfielder Grace Gavin tallied four times. Goalie Kerry Stoothoff recorded 15 saves. Gavin leads the Greyhounds with seven goals and eight assists on the young season, while Stoothoff has posted a 10.00 goals-against average and a .556 save percentage in 120:00 of action. Ranked 10th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and 11th in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, Loyola was picked to finish fourth in the Big East this season. Gavin and midfielder Cara Filipelli were both preseason all-conference selections.
Inside the Series: UMBC has faced cross-town rival Loyola 28 times, more than any other opponent except Towson, but the Greyhounds hold a commanding 23-4-1 series advantage. The teams have faced off in each of the last 10 years, but the Retrievers' only victory in that span occurred in 2008. Last season, Loyola handed UMBC a 21-6 loss at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field. The Greyhounds scored the first eight goals of the game and led 10-3 at halftime. Pappas was the only Retriever with more than one goal, while Gavin led all scorers with six points on four goals and two assists.
Pappas, Allen Honored: Pappas was tabbed America East Player of the Week and freshman midfielder Kerianne Allen (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) earned Rookie of the Week honors on Monday for their performances against George Mason. Pappas tallied a career-high seven goals, while Allen scored her first collegiate goal and added three ground balls, a draw control and a caused turnover. Pappas and Allen give the Retrievers both Player and Rookie of the Week for the second straight week to open the season, as Braerman and freshman midfielder Lindsay Cox (High Bridge, N.J./Voorhees) earned the awards last week. Braerman was the first Retriever to garner Player of the Week since Ali Levendusky on April 7, 2008, and it is the first time that UMBC has received two Player of the Week nods in the same season since Levendusky earned the accolade twice that same year. However, it is the first time since 2004 that a pair of Retrievers have been named Rookie of the Week in the same season. Finally, when Braerman and Cox took home their awards last week, it was the first time that two Retrievers earned America East honors in the same week since Levendusky and Susie Sweeney were named Player and Defender of the Week, respectively, on March 2, 2006.
For Starters: At 2-0, UMBC is off to its best start since 1995, when the Retrievers won their first three games of the season.
Receiving Votes: UMBC received a vote in this week's Inside Lacrosse media poll, giving the America East three teams to garner national recognition. Boston University (11) and New Hampshire (20) are both ranked in the top 20.
Taking on the Best: UMBC will face four teams that were ranked in the top 20 in the most recent IWLCA coaches poll, including No. 10 Boston University (April 10), No. 11 Loyola (Feb. 23), No. 13 Vanderbilt (Feb. 27) and No. 18 Towson (March 3). In addition, New Hampshire (April 3) is also receiving votes in the poll. The Retrievers will face three of those teams - Loyola, Vanderbilt and Towson - in succession over the next three games.
Retrievers Picked Fifth: UMBC was predicted to finish fifth in the America East standings, according to a vote of the league's head coaches. The Retrievers received 19 points in the America East preseason coaches' poll. Five-time defending champion Boston University is the unanimous preseason favorite to win its sixth straight league title. The Terriers received all six possible first-place votes and 36 total points to distance themselves from second-place New Hampshire, which received 29 points. The final first-place vote went to Vermont, which finished third in the poll with 23 points, tied with Albany. UMBC (19), Stony Brook (10) and Binghamton (7) round out the seven-team poll. The top four teams in the conference will advance to the America East Championships May 6-8. The Retrievers look to return to the league tournament for the first time since 2006.
Back in the Mix: The Retrievers return nearly 70 percent of an offense that scored 199 goals in 2009, the most since 2006. Pappas is the Retrievers' top returning scorer with 28 goals and 37 points a year ago, while Coady earned America East All-Rookie honors after posting 35 points on 22 goals and 13 assists. Also back is Second-Team All-Conference midfielder Ashley Stodter (Silver Spring, Md./Good Counsel), whose breakout sophomore campaign resulted in 25 goals and 28 points. On the other end of the field, Quick was tabbed the conference's top goalie with a 10.35 goals-against average and a league-best .483 save percentage.
Going Streaking: Coady has a team-high six-game goal streak dating to April 8, 2009, while Pappas has scored in five straight games dating to April 11, and junior midfielder Carrie Paris' (Longwood, Fla./Lake Brantley) three-game streak dates to April 17. Pappas has scored at least two goals and three points in five straight games.
Dawg Bites: Pappas leads the Retrievers with 11 goals and 12 points on just 15 shots, while Braerman has 10 points on six goals and a team-high four assists… Quick has posted a 5.00 GAA and a .615 save percentage with 16 saves in the first two games this season… Pappas is a perfect 4-for-4 on free-position attempts… Sophomore midfielder Bria Phillips (Davidsonville, Md./Coronado (Calif.)) has picked up a team-high seven ground balls… She and Pappas are tied for the team lead with four caused turnovers… Senior midfielder Amanda Gable (Mount Airy, Md./Glenelg) leads the Retrievers with eight draw controls… Nine different players have found the back of the net for UMBC so far this season, and 11 have tallied at least one point.
