BALTIMORE - The UMBC women's lacrosse team faces one of its final road games of the 2021 season, traveling to take on the UAlbany Great Danes on Friday, April 9. The opening draw is set for 12 p.m.
UMBC vs. UAlbany Series Info:
Who: UMBC Retrievers (4-3, 3-2 America East) at UAlbany Great Danes (7-4, 4-1 America East)
Where: Albany, N.Y. - John Fallon Field
When: Friday, April 9 - 12 p.m.
How to Watch: Video | Live Stats
Social: @UMBC_WLacrosse, #RetrieverNation, #AEWLAX
UAlbany COVID-19 Spectator Policy:
In accordance with New York State guidelines for live indoor/outdoor events, UAlbany Athletics will begin allowing limited spectator attendance at regular-season, on-campus sporting events beginning on April 2, 2021.
Opposing team guests and the general public will not be permitted to attend UAlbany athletics events at this time and tailgating is strictly prohibited at all contests.
DAWG BITES
The Retrievers won their second game in a row on Saturday, April 3 as they defeated the UMass Lowell River Hawks, 16-11.
The Retrievers opened the game on a three-goal spurt and took a 4-1 lead before the River Hawks scored five straight for a 6-4 advantage with 7:25 to play in the first half.
Senior Olivia Docal and sophomore Claire Bocksite, who each netted four goals on the day, helped to tie the game up at 6-6 before halftime.
In the second half, the teams went back and forth with the score at 8-8 before UMBC unleashed a six-goal spurt to widen the lead late into the period.
For the 12th straight game, Bocksite has recorded a point for the Retrievers. She's has recorded a point in every game she's played in and is currently on a six-game multi-point streak.
Freshman Dymin Gerow, senior Courtney Renehan, and sophomore Megan Halczuk each contributed multiple goals in the win. Gerow also brought down six draw controls on the day.
Halczuk brought down seven draw controls in the game and moved into eighth place in program history with 57 draws on the season; she's 30 away from tying the record set by Caitlin Miller set back in 2019 (87).
Senior goalkeeper Lexi Roberts made a season-high 15 saves on the afternoon - the second-highest saves output by an America East keeper this season. Roberts is currently second in the conference in saves percentage (.480) and saves per game (10.29).
TOP DAWGS
Following the win over UMass Lowell, senior goalkeeper Lexi Roberts and freshman attack Dymin Gerow both garnered America East Women's Lacrosse weekly awards. For the second time this season, Roberts was named Defensive Player of the Week, while Gerow earned her first Rookie of the Week nod.
About the Opponent: UAlbany Great Danes
UAlbany has won two consecutive games with 20+ goals, most recently taking down Hartford, 23-6, on April 3. Prior to that, the Great Danes defeated Vermont, 20-5, on March 27.
Against Hartford, UAlbany used a 10-goal run to take an 11-1 lead almost halfway through the first half, in which Kyla Zapolski scored five goals for the Great Danes. 17 different players recorded a point during the victory for UAlbany.
In the win over Vermont, neither team scored for the first four minutes before UAlbany rattled off six goals in a seven-minute period. The Catamounts scored twice in the second half but the Great Danes took over at the 26:02 mark, scoring seven-straight.
UAlbany's lone conference loss came back on March 20, when they fell 18-11 to then-#6 Stony Brook. The Great Danes had cut the Seawolves lead to as little as three at one point but were unable to catch up.
Freshman Katie Pascale leads the Great Dane with 41 points (23g, 18a), followed by Zapolski (32g, 6a), Kendra Harbinger (22g, 14a), and Madison Conway (22g, 11a).
Two goalkeepers have seen the most action for the Great Danes: Aislinn Sweeney and Georgia Schneidereith. Sweeney has made 56 saves with a .448 saves percentage, while Schneidereith has 27 saves and a .333 saves percentage on the season.
PADDING THE STAT SHEETS
Multiple Retrievers are in the Top 10 in the America East in multiple stat categories but also find themselves among the ranks in the NCAA.
Megan Halczuk is 10th in the country and first in the America East in draw controls per game with 8.14. Halczuk is a component to helping the Retrievers rank seventh in the nation in draw controls per game (16.86) and fifth in draw control percentage (.628); both marks rank first in the America East.
Claire Bockstie is 28th in the NCAA in goals per game (3.43) and 50th in points per game (4.14), both of which are second in the America East.
Olivia Docal, who is 7-11 from the eight-meter this season, is 16th in the nation in free position goals per game (1.17). Dymin Gerow and Courtney Renehan, who both are 7-10 from the mark, are 23rd with 1.00 goals per game.
Gerow and Renehan are both 14th in the country in free position percentage, making 70.0 percent of their shots from the eight-meter mark; Docal is 31st at 63.6 percent. As a team, the Retrievers are 12th in the country with a 53.1 free position percentage.
Lexi Roberts is third in the nation in ground balls per game (4.29), 14th in saves per game (10.29), 23rd in save percentage (.480), and 35th in total saves (72).
THE SERIES
UAlbany leads the series, 15-6, and has won the last nine, including two meetings in the America East Championship.
In 2019, the Great Danes defeated the Retrievers, 14-6, in the season finale. Grayson Corbett led the team with three goals while Carly Tolino made nine saves on the afternoon.
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