BALTIMORE – UMBC women's lacrosse opens America East action on Saturday, March 29 when it travels to No. 17/16 Stony Brook. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at LaValle Stadium, with all the action available live free of charge on the America East digital network.
UMBC (5-4) is riding a three-game win streak heading into league play, including a 10-5 victory against Wagner on Tuesday. Junior Abby Wilson (Bel Air, Md./Fallston) registered a goal and an assist in each half for a game-high four points versus the Seahawks. Wilson was one of three Retrievers to score two goals in the contest, joined by classmate Alyssa Semones (Westminster, Md./Westminster/Penn State) and senior Kristen Bilney (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron).
Wilson has tallied a point in eight of the Retrievers' nine games and leads the squad with 12 goals and 10 assists for a total of 22 points. Bilney has multiple goals in each of the last four games, including three straight hat tricks, to lead UMBC with 15 goals scored. Semones has done a little bit of everything for the Retrievers, tallying 18 points on 14 goals and four assists, while also adding team-bests in ground balls (18) and draw controls (17). Sophomore Rachel Benzing (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) has stepped up her play in her second season at UMBC, registering five goals, eight assists and 10 draw controls thus far.
Red-shirt sophomore Anna Barnett (Midland, Texas/Midland) and freshman Kelly Gielner (Pasadena, Md./St. Mary's) have split time in net on the season. Gielner is coming off her first collegiate start in Tuesday's victory against Wagner. The rookie tallied three saves in the win and has 30 stops on the year.
Stony Brook (7-2) has won four straight heading into conference play. The Seawolves most recent victory came behind a nine-point effort from freshman Dorrien Van Dyke, as SBU defeated Siena, 19-6, on Saturday. Van Dyke earned Rookie of the Week honors from the America East and WomensLax.com following her effort.
Van Dyke leads the team with 32 goals and 10 assists, while Courtney Murphy (26) and Michelle Rubino (20) have each added 20-plus goals for the Seawolves. Goalkeeper Frankie Caridi has seen the majority of action in net and has tallied 56 saves.
The Retrievers have won their America East opener in each of the last six seasons and are 8-2 all-time in AEC league openers. UMBC holds a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series against Stony Brook, but have fallen in three consecutive games versus the Seawolves since opening the series with seven straight victories.
