Women's Lacrosse 5/5/2021 12:00:00 AM

Six Retrievers Honored With Postseason #AEWLAX Accolades; Face #1-Seed Stony Brook in Semifinals Thursday

BOSTON, Mass. - Following the 2021 season, the UMBC women's lacrosse team saw six players honored with America East Annual Awards, the conference announced Wednesday afternoon. It is the most #AEWLAX honors for the Retrievers since the 2017 season when five players received awards and match the program record for most accolades (2010).

Due to the cancelation of the 2020 season, all 2020 freshmen retained their eligibility due to the season being canceled.

Sophomore Claire Bockstie (Forest Hill, Md./Maryvale Preparatory) highlighted the squad, earning First Team All-Conference, All-Rookie, and All-Academic honors. Bockstie leads the Retrievers with 42 points off 36 goals and six assists. The attack has recorded a point in every game dating back to last season, including scoring a career-high seven goals against Binghamton in the home finale on April 24; she was later named America East Offensive Player of the Week. She is currently 36th in the country and 3rd in the America East in goals per game (3.27) and fourth in the conference in points per game (3.82). In the classroom, Bockstie has a 3.62 GPA as a media and communication studies major.

Bockstie was joined on the First Team and All-Rookie team by classmate Megan Halczuk (Fawn Grove, Pa.). Halczuk broke out in her sophomore season, breaking the UMBC single-season and single-game draw records. She currently ranks eighth in the nation and first in the America East in draw controls per game (8.45) and is an instrumental part of UMBC's seventh-ranked draw control percentage (.605) and 10th-ranked draw controls per game (16.73).

She had a career-day against Binghamton, where she reset the UMBC single-game draw control record with 14 while recording six points (1g, 5a), four caused turnovers, and three ground balls; following that game, she was named the America East and IWLCA Defensive Player of the Week. On the season, Halczuk has 17 goals, nine assists, 19 ground balls, and 10 caused turnovers. She currently has 93 draw controls, breaking the single-season draw record, and looks to become the first Retriever to record 100 draws in a season.

Freshmen Dymin Gerow (Baltimore, Md./Episcopal) and Kennedy Evans (Mt. Airy, Md./South Carroll) earned All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie accolades. Gerow is second on the team in points with 32 off 29 goals and three assists. 14 of Gerow's goals came from the eight-meter, where she is fourth in the country in free position percentage (14-17, .824) and eighth in free position goals per game (1.40).

Gerow is a three-time Rookie of the Week honoree and became the first #AEWLAX player since 2016 to be named America East Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week in the same week after her career-day in an 11-8 win over Vermont on April 17, where she scored five goals off seven shots. She followed that performance up on April 24 against Binghamton with 10 points, the most by a Retriever newcomer since Sara Moeller's 13-point performance in 2017, scoring seven goals on seven shots, three assists, and bringing down 10 draw controls.

Kennedy Evans became a force on the defense for the Retrievers, causing 15 turnovers and picking up 15 ground balls, while also bringing down 37 draw controls on the season. She ranks eighth in the America East in caused turnovers per game (1.18) and caused a career-high four miscues against UMass Lowell and Vermont this season. She controlled a career-best eight draws in the Retrievers' game at Binghamton on March 27, where she also picked up a personal best three ground balls. The freshman also scored one goal on the season in UMBC's record-breaking 27-16 victory over Binghamton on April 24.

Seniors Cassie Evans (Woodstock, Md./Marriotts Ridge) and Lily Kennedy (Marriottsville, Md./Marriotts Ridge) were both named to that All-Academic Team for the second year in a row, joining Bockstie. The three selections to the All-Academic team tie a program record and is the most since the 2010 season.

Cassie Evans finishes her academic career at UMBC with a perfect 4.0 GPA as a double major in Psychology and Biology. The defender was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society, in 2019 and recently earned the Distinguished Achievement Award from UMBC's Psychology Department and was awarded Outstanding Graduating Senior in Biological Sciences. The senior has earned President's List honors in every semester and following a gap year, will begin to pursue medical school. On the field, Cassie has caused 27 turnovers, including a career-high three this season against Vermont, and picked up 57 ground balls.

Kennedy has a 3.88 GPA as a psychology major in her senior year. A two-time team captain for Amy Slade, Kennedy has recorded 37 goals and 37 assists in her four-year career at UMBC, has been named to the President's list five times in her academic career, and was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma in 2020. The attack recorded a career-high six points (3g,3a) against VCU in the shortened 2020 season, and has scored in nine of the 11 games she has played in this year. This summer, she will begin an Occupational Therapy doctorate program at Towson.

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The fourth-seeded Retrievers will take on the #1-seed Stony Brook Seawolves to open the #AEWLAX Championships on Thursday, May 6. The opening draw is set for 3:30 p.m.

This will be the third meeting between the two teams this season, with the Seawolves winning both previous contests. On March 5, to open America East play, Stony Brook picked up a 15-8 victory in Baltimore; they closed out the regular season with an 18-7 win on May 1.

Stony Brook took home three major awards this season, with Offensive Player of the Year (Taryn Ohlmiller), Midfielder of the Year (Ally Kennedy), and Co-Defensive Player of the Year (Rayna Sabella). The Seawolves also earned five other nods on the All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie lists.

This is the tenth trip to the America East Tournament for the Retrievers and the fourth time they will face off against the Seawolves. In the 2019 season, UMBC dropped a 17-5 contest to Stony Brook in the semifinals where senior Grayson Corbett scored three goals for the Retrievers en route to being named to the All-Tournament team along with classmate Jenna Baverman.

Overall, this is the 22nd meeting between UMBC and Stony Brook, with the Seawolves holding a 13-8 advantage. UMBC won the first eight meetings between the teams from 2004 to 2011, but Stony Brook has been on a 13-game winning streak since then.

The winner of the matchup between the Retrievers and the Seawolves will move on to the championship on Saturday, May 8 at 10 a.m. and face the winner of the UAlbany-Vermont semifinal.

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