BALTIMORE - The UMBC women's lacrosse team (9-4, 2-2 AE) hosts America East rival Albany (10-2, 3-0 AE) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Retrievers' final home game of the season.
Fond Farewell: Prior to the game, the Retrievers will honor seniors Amanda Gable (Mount Airy, Md./Glenelg), Rachel Pincus (New Market, Md./Linganore), Kate Quick (Phoenix, Md./Maryvale Prep), Erika Welck (Pasadena, Md./St. Mary's) and Sarah Willis (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) in a Senior Day ceremony, as the quintet will play their final game at UMBC Stadium.
Last Time Out: The Retrievers scored five straight goals but could not overcome an early 6-0 deficit in a 12-8 loss to No. 17 Boston University last Saturday. Sophomore midfielder Bria Phillips (Davidsonville, Md./Coronado (Calif.)) led the Retrievers with three goals, while junior midfielder Amanda Pappas (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) also tallied twice. Quick recorded eight saves between the pipes.
On the Great Danes: Albany is 10-2 on the season and 3-0 in America East play. The Great Danes are coming off a 13-5 win over California on Friday. Attack Christine Grueniger tallied five points on four goals and an assist, and goalie Ashley Ross recorded 11 saves. Midfielder Kayla Best leads the Great Danes with 33 goals, while midfielder Taylor Frink is tops with 46 points; both players' averages lead the America East in their respective categories. Midfielder Nikki Branchini has posted team highs with 34 ground balls, 58 draw controls and 23 caused turnovers, ranking first or second in the conference in all three statistics. Ross has posted a league-best 7.12 goals-against average and .554 save percentage. The Great Danes, who were picked to finish third in the America East preseason poll, are receiving votes in the most recent Inside Lacrosse media poll. Albany boasts the nation's best scoring offense (16.33 gpg) and defense (7.00), and the Great Danes also lead the conference in ground balls, draw controls, shots and turnovers per game.
Inside the Series: UMBC leads the all-time series, 4-3. Last season, the Retrievers defeated the Great Danes, 9-6, in Albany. Pappas and Best each tallied three points in the game, while Quick stopped nine shots in goal. Pappas has scored five goals and seven points in her first two career games against the Great Danes.
For Starters: The Retrievers' nine wins on the season match their entire win total from the 2009 campaign, when they finished 9-8, and at 9-5, UMBC is off to its best start since 2002, when it was 10-4 after 14 games.
20/20: Five Retrievers - junior attack Erika Braerman (29), Pappas (25), sophomore attack Emily Coady (24), junior midfielder Ashley Stodter (22) and sophomore attack Alicia Krause (20) - have scored at least 20 goals this season, the most players to reach that mark since the same number accomplished the feat in 2007.
Quick Stops: Quick entered the week ranking second in the America East and 16th in the NCAA in goals-against average (8.62). She has allowed double-digit goals just four times this season. In addition, her .470 save percentage also ranks second among league leaders.
Tenacious D: As a team, UMBC boasted the 11th-best scoring defense (8.57) in the nation entering the week and led the America East in caused turnovers (10.00pg). In addition, senior defender C.J. Durham (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) ranks fourth in the conference and 38th in the nation with 1.64 caused turnovers per game.
Helping Hand: With her assist against Boston University last Saturday, Braerman (Fallston, Md./Fallston) joined UMBC's top 10 list for helpers in a single season with 18 on the year, the most by a Retriever since Meghan Keelan dished out 21 in 2008.
Going Streaking: Braerman has tallied at least one point in all 14 games so far this season, but her nine-game goal streak was snapped last Saturday against Boston University. In addition, Pappas has tallied a point in each of her last seven games.
Retrievers Honored: 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. Pappas repeated as Player of the Week on March 29, while Quick earned the league's Defensive Player of the Week on March 22, the third such honor of her career. The six weekly awards this season are the most UMBC has received in seven years in the America East Conference. Braerman was the first Retriever to garner Player of the Week since Ali Levendusky on April 7, 2008, and Pappas is the first Retriever to earn the honor twice in a season since Levendusky that same year. In addition, it is the first time since 2004 that a pair of Retrievers has been named Rookie of the Week in the same season. Finally, when Braerman and Cox took home their awards for Week 1, 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.
Dawg Bites: The Retrievers are averaging 12.27 goals per game, their most since 2003… After scoring just five goals in her first 10 games this season, Phillips has tallied 11 times in her last four contests… UMBC's loss to New Hampshire on April 3 snapped a six-game winning streak, its longest since also taking six in a row from April 17-May 3, 2003… The Retrievers' 20 goals scored against Manhattan on March 29 were the most since also tallying 20 against Iona on March 17, 2009… Thirteen Retrievers have found the back of the net so far this season, including seven in double digits… Braerman and Krause (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron/Duquesne) lead UMBC with eight multi-goal games, while Braerman has posted a team-best 11 multi-point efforts… She leads the Retrievers with 29 goals, 18 assists and 47 points… Quick has picked up a team-best 33 ground balls, while freshman defender Jamie Fahey (Baldwin, Md./Loch Raven) has won a team-high 26 draw controls Durham leads UMBC with 23 caused turnovers… The Retrievers were picked to finish fifth in the America East preseason poll.
