Women's Lacrosse 2/26/2026 12:48:00 PM

Women's Lacrosse Looks for Third Straight Win on Saturday Morning Against Wagner

The Retrievers look to make it three straight wins after cruising against Youngstown State, this past Saturday at UMBC Stadium.
UMBC and America East rival UAlbany are both off to 3-1 starts in the early season.
The Dawgs lead the circuit in goals per game (17.0, 6th in NCAA), points per game (23.7, 11th in NCAA), shots per game (39.3, 2nd in NCAA), and goals against average (7.67,21st ).
Emily Knapp lead the America East in goals per game (4.75, 4th in NCAA) and points per game (5.50, 26th in NCAA).
Knapp has recorded 66 goals and 24 assists (90 points) in just 20 career appearances (4.50 ppg.)
Reese Macintosh (1.75 assists per game) Libby Staples (1.50 apg.), and Lizzie Bateman (1.25 apg.) all rank in the top-10 in the league in assists.
Staples is also 9^th in points per game (3.25),11^th with 1.75 goals per game, and fourth in draw controls (3.75 pg.).
Mya Stewart-Parsons is third in the league with 2.67 ground balls per game while Tess Curtis is fourth with 2.50 ground balls per game
Ella Killian ranks ninth on the circuit with 1.50 caused turnovers per game.
Olivia Worden is fifth in the league with 3.50 draw controls per game.
Goalie Emine Luznar leads the AE with a 4.82 goals against average and a .516 saves percentage.
UMBC's 47 shots against Delaware State is a league-high this season. The Dawgs also scooped a league-high 24 ground balls against La Salle.
The Dawgs are 6th in the country in scoring margin (9.33).

Last Time Out: Knapp Produces Seven Points in Home Victory Against Youngstown State

Sophomore attacker Emily Knapp factored into half of the Retrievers goals as the UMBC women's lacrosse team defeated the Youngstown State Penguins, 14-5, on Wednesday afternoon at UMBC Stadium.
Knapp, who attempted eight shots, scored five goals and handed out a pair of assists (season-high seven points) to lead the way for UMBC, which has won two straight games to improve to 3-1. Knapp, the second leading scorer in the America East entering the contest, has now produced 10 hat-tricks in her first 20 career appearances. The Abingdon, Maryland, product has recorded 19 goals in 2026 and has already hit the target 61 times in her career.
Knapp received offensive help from freshman midfielder Olivia Worden (three goals) and sophomore attacker Reese Macintosh (goal, career-high three assists), and senior attacker Lizzie Bateman (two goals). Freshman midfielder Olivia Worden recorded her first career hat trick and added two draw controls. Senior midfielder Libby Staples (goal, assist) played a terrific all-around game, recording three draw controls, two ground balls, and a caused turnover. Sophomore goalie Emine Luznar was up to the task, stopping seven shots and adding three ground balls.
Youngstown State (0-4) opened the scoring just 3:05 into the match as Ava Kreutzer scored an unassisted goal. UMBC, however, rattled off three straight goals to take the lead for good. Worden ignited the run at the 11:12 mark with a woman-up tally, and was followed by winners from sophomore attacker Annika Wray (from Macintosh) and freshman midfielder Claire Moffitt. Kreutzer ended the first quarter scoring to inch the visitors within 3-2 at the end of the frame.
UMBC outscored the Penguins by a 4-1 margin in the second quarter to take a 7-3 advantage at intermission. Knapp found Bateman thirty-eight seconds into the frame to start the burst, and Knapp scored an even-strength goal just over two minutes later to give the hosts some breathing room. Macintosh and Knapp added, followed up with free position goals to cap a 4-0 run that extended the lead to 7-2 with 6:07 left before the break. Gwen Bogash cut the lead to 7-3 with a woman-up goal just before halftime.
Bogash opened the scoring in the third quarter with another free position tally, but UMBC scored seven of the game's final eight goals to put the game away. The Penguins scored their final goal to close within 8-5 midway through the third quarter, but that was as close as they managed to get. Staples scored a woman-up goal to begin a stretch of six straight markers, which included a pair of goals each from Worden and Knapp. Bateman closed out the scoring on a setup from Macintosh.
Bogash led the Penguins with three goals, and Kreutzer added a pair of markers.

About Wagner

Wagner dropped its third game of the young 2026 season to Ivy League member Dartmouth by a score of 23-2 at home last Saturday night. The Seahawks have also lost contests against Drexel (16-3) and Monmouth (13-6).
Wagner scored both goals off the stick from junior Amelia Logan. Logan scored her first goal with 3:31 left in the opening frame. Sophomore Syndey Mulroony was credited for Logan's first goal for the Seahawks.
Less than two minutes into the second quarter, Logan struck again, this time unassisted, for her fourth goal of the season. With 13:31 left in the second, the Seahawks trailed 9-2.
Dartmouth scored the next 14 scores to prevail by a final score of 23-2.
Defensively, senior Erin Rooney caused two turnovers while senior Shae McGinty collected two draw controls. Senior Shea Saracino and sophomore Sydney Mulroony both collected two ground balls.
Logan leads the team with four goals this season.
Grace DeCarolis has started all three contests and is yielding 17.6 goals per game.

Series History

UMBC has won 11 contests in a series that dates back to 1997, when the Retrievers and Seahawks were both members of the Northeast Conference.
The Retrievers are 4-0 against Wagner at UMBC Stadium.
The Dawgs have won every match by five or more goals.

Head Coach Amy Slade

2021 National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee Amy (Appelt) Slade is in her 14th season at the helm of the Retrievers and 17th overall with the program. Slade served as a co-head coach for her first two seasons at the head of the program after being hired as an assistant coach in August of 2009.
Slade had a career record of 107-95 (.528).
She enjoyed 11-win seasons in 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2024-25.
Slade, who won the prestigious Tewaaraton Trophy and led the University of Virginia to a national championship in 2004, joined the UMBC women's lacrosse staff in August 2009. She was inducted into the 2020 class of the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame after an illustrious career with the Cavaliers where she was a four-time All-American at Virginia, where she set school records for career goals (258) and points (373) and ranks second in career assists (115). Her goals and points totals are in the top-10, respectively, in the NCAA Division I record books, and she set an NCAA record by scoring a goal in 66 straight games.

Preseason Honors

The America East Conference announced its Preseason All-Conference Team and Preseason Coaches' Poll in January. Sophomore attacker Emily Knapp, senior defender Ella Killian, and sophomore midfielder Tess Curtis were all recognized by the league's coaches.
Knapp burst upon the season in 2025 after earning a redshirt in 2024 and was named the America East Rookie of the Year. Knapp was second in the league with 4.25 points per game (68 points) and finished fifth with 2.94 goals per game (47 goals). She has also added 21 assists, 24 ground balls, and 11 caused turnovers. Knapp was the third Retriever to be named Rookie of the Year and the first since 2022.
The speedy and fearless Killian is a significant reason why UMBC ranked 15th in the country in clearing percentage. Killian, who finished sixth on the circuit with 4.44 draw controls per game, also compiled 24 ground balls and caused 12 turnovers.
Curtis ranked seventh on the squad with 20 points (18 goals, two assists). She recorded hat tricks against La Salle and New Hampshire in her first season as a Retriever.

2025 Rewind

UMBC finished the 2025 season with an 11-5 record and has been picked to finish fifth out of seven teams this year. Last season, the Dawgs placed fourth with a 3-3 conference record
The Dawgs return six players who started at least half of the squad's contests last season (attacker Emily Knapp, attacker Libby Staples, attacker Lizzie Bateman, defender Lauren Flynn, defender Ella Killian, and defender Emily Renehan)

UMBC will look to replace All-Conference performers Grace Bruce (48 goals, 11 assists), Katana Nelson (55 goals), and goalie Isabella Fontana (10.44).

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