BALTIMORE - Coming off an 18-3 rout of Fresno State, the UMBC women's lacrosse team (3-3) looks to keep the momentum going against former Northeast Conference rival Monmouth on Wednesday. Game time from UMBC Stadium is set for 4 p.m. The game can be viewed live at UMBCRetrievers.tv.
Last Time Out: The Retrievers scored 10 goals in the first nine minutes of play against the Bulldogs. Senior midfielder Amanda Gable (Mount Air, Md./Glenelg) tallied a career-high five goals - all within the first eight minutes of action - and was named the America East Player of the Game. Junior attack Erika Braerman (Fallston, Md./Fallston) and sophomore midfielder Bria Phillips (Davidsonville, Md./Coronado (Calif.)) each posted six points on three goals and three assists apiece, while junior midfielder Ashley Stodter (Silver Spring, Md./Good Counsel) also notched a hat trick. In all, eight Retrievers found the back of the net and 10 recorded a point. UMBC outshot Fresno State, 33-6, and held a commanding 18-5 advantage on draw controls.
On the Hawks: Monmouth is 0-3 this season after a 17-5 loss at Navy on Friday. Midfielder Ali Pollock led the Hawks with two points on a goal and an assist. Midfielder Megan Brennan leads Monmouth with 11 points and is tied with midfielder Shawn Evans with a team-best eight goals. Midfielder Carissa Franzi has posted team highs of eight ground balls and seven draw controls, and she is tied with Brennan for the team lead in caused turnovers at five. Goalie Kirby Mundorf has seen the majority of playing time between the pipes, recording an 18.32 goals-against average and a .217 save percentage in just over 150 minutes. Monmouth was picked to finish second in the Northeast Conference preseason poll.
Inside the Series: UMBC leads the all-time series against Monmouth, 8-3. The teams last met in 2003 in a Northeast Conference game, which the Hawks won, 7-5.
Top Dawg: Gable leads the America East with 3.17 draw controls per game, and junior defender C.J. Durham (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) ranks second in caused turnovers (1.83 pg). Junior midfielder Amanda Pappas (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) ranks fourth in the conference in goals per game (3.5) and is tied for sixth in points per outing (3.75), while Braerman ranks eighth (3.33). Braerman is also tied for sixth in assists per game (1.5), while Phillips is tied for ninth (1.0). Finally, senior goalie Kate Quick (Phoenix, Md./Maryvale Prep) ranks fourth in saves per game (7.17) and is third among players with at least 100 minutes between the pipes with a 9.09 goals-against average and a .467 save percentage. As a team, UMBC leads the America East in draw controls (12.5 pg) and caused turnovers (10.67 pg) and ranks second in goals (12.17 pg), shots (29.0 pg) and turnovers (13.67 pg).
Taking on the Best: UMBC will face five teams that were ranked in the top 20 in the most recent IWLCA coaches' poll. The Retrievers took on No. 12 Towson (March 3), No. 17 Loyola (Feb. 23) and No. 19 Vanderbilt (Feb. 27) in three consecutive games, and will also face No. 9 Boston University (April 10) and No. 15 New Hampshire (April 3).
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 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.
Dawg Bites: Pappas leads the Retrievers with 14 goals, while Braerman is tops with 20 points on 11 goals and a team-high nine assists… Quick has posted a 9.09 GAA and a .467 save percentage with 43 saves… Freshman defender Jamie Fahey (Baldwin, Md./Loch Raven) leads UMBC with 16 ground balls, while Gable has won a team-best 19 draw controls and Durham is tops with 11 caused turnovers… Twelve different players have found the back of the net for UMBC so far this season, including four with double-digit goals and five with double-digit points… Braerman has tallied at least one point in all six games so far this season, with a goal in five out of six contests… Sophomore attack Alicia Krause (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron/Duquesne) has also scored a goal in all five games in which she has played, while Stodter and sophomore attack Emily Coady (Westminster, Md./Westminster) have scored in five of six games this season… Braerman and freshman midfielder Lindsay Cox (High Bridge, N.J./Voorhees) were named America East Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for the first week of the season, while Pappas and freshman midfielder Kerianne Allen (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) earned the same honors a week later.
