Women's Lacrosse Travels to D.C. for Clash with American on Saturday

UMBC looks to get back to its winning ways on the road at American this Saturday.
The Retrievers are tied with Vermont for the best mark in the America East at 4-2.
The Dawgs are tied for the league-lead in goals per game (14.17), third in points per game (20.17), first in ground balls per game (17.50), and first in goals against average (8.17)
Emily Knapp leads the America East in goals per game (4.17, 8th in NCAA) and points per game (4.67, 26th in NCAA).
Knapp has recorded 72 goals and 24 assists (96 points) in just 22 career appearances (4.36 ppg.)
Reese Macintosh ranks fifth in the AE with 1.83 assists per game and is sixth in points per game (3.67).
Libby Staples is eighth in ground balls (1.67 per game), and ninth in draw controls (2.50 per game).
Ella Killian ranks 5^th in the league in draw controls (3.17 per game) and is 9th with 1.33 caused turnovers per game.
Olivia Worden is eighth in the league with 2.83 draw controls per game.
Goalie Emine Luznar leads the AE with a 7.05 goals against average and a .514 save 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.

Last Time Out

UMBC had its three-game winning streak halted by the Delaware Blue Hens following a 16-8 defeat on Raymond Field on Wednesday afternoon. UMBC fell to 4-2 on the season while the hosts improved to 1-3.
Sophomore attacker Reese Macintosh (three goals, assist) and sophomore linemate Emily Knapp (three goals) continued their red-hot offensive start to the season as the duo combined for six goals and an assist in a losing cause. Macintosh scored all three times on free position tallies and now has recorded hat tricks in back-to-back games for the first time in her career. Knapp has registered at least three goals in all six contests this season and continues to lead the America East Conference with 25 markers. Senior attacker Lizzie Bateman contributed a pair of assists.
Sophomore goalie Emine Luznar made a career-high 11 saves in sixty minutes, including several of the spectacular variety to keep the Retrievers within striking distance for most of the contest. Senior attacker Libby Staples was credited with a pair of caused turnovers, and classmate Ella Killian won a team-high three draws.
The Blue Hens scored the first three goals of the game after a scoreless 8:10 to start the contest. The hosts scored twice within thirty seconds (6:50, 6:20) and made it 3-0 when Ella Rishko netted her first of four at 4:11.
UMBC answered right back with three consecutive goals to even the game for the final time with 12:36 left in the second quarter. Knapp ignited the stretch after a spectacular steal on a clear attempt with 2:10 left in the first stanza. Sophomore Tess Curtis opened the second quarter scoring with a blast just eight seconds into the frame after taking a feed from Bateman. Macintosh capitalized on a two-woman up goal, putting home her first free position attempt to cap the burst.
Delaware scored the next two goals to take the lead for good as Morgan Gore (three goals) and Ella Rishko beat Luznar to make it 5-3 with 10:16 left in the half. The Retrievers trimmed the deficit to 5-4 after Mya Stewart-Parsons found Knapp for another tally at the 8:07 mark, but Ella Rishko and Gore scored before the break to make it 7-4.
Ella Risko opened the scoring with her fourth tally 2:51 into the third quarter to double up the Retrievers, but Staples got one back less than a minute later after taking a feed from Bateman. However, Riley Sturtevant (free position) and Sophia Muscolio (women up) scored the final two goals of the third quarter to stake the hosts to a commanding 10-5 advantage.
Macintosh scored the first goal of the final quarter to inch the Retrievers within 10-6 at the 12:53 mark, but Delaware ran off three straight goals, two by Lulu Rishko, to widen their lead to 13-6 with just 5:09 remaining in the contest.
Macintosh and Knapp added late goals to complete UMBC's scoring on the day.
Delaware outshot UMBC by a 37-25 margin and won 18-of-25 draws.

About American

American fell at George Mason, 16-12, on Friday, February 27.
Senior captains Reagan Murdoch and Kellie Linehan combined for 10 goals
Linehan, who leads the team with 15 goals, found the back of the net four times while Murdoch put in six goals, reaching 100 in her career.
Linehan added a career-high nine draw controls to her day, giving her a team-leading 19 on the year. Her four goals came on just six shots as well, improving her shooting percentage to .536.
Murdoch has 13 goals this season.
American has also lost to Georgetown, Temple, and George Washington. Their lone victory came against Howard.

Series History

UMBC is 22-4 all-time against the Eagles
Last season, UMBC broke a two-game losing streak against American and came away with a 13-10 victory at UMBC Stadium.
Graduated senior midfielder Katana Nelson scored a game-high five goals, including a big goal with just over two minutes remaining to give the hosts some breathing room.
Emily Knapp recorded her fourth straight hat trick while Lizzie Bateman distributed a game-high three assists

Luznar & Worden Honored by America East Conference

The America East Conference named UMBC sophomore goalie Emine Luznar the Goalkeeper of the Week and freshman midfielder Olivia Worden the Rookie of the Week.
Luznar picked up victories in the cage against Youngstown State and Wagner. The Catonsville, Maryland native made seven saves in the Retrievers' 14-5 triumph against the Penguins on Wednesday, February 25. The Garrison Forrest product made a season-high ten saves in the 12-5 triumph against Wagner this past Saturday.
Worden produced her first career hat trick with three goals on three shots against Youngstown State. The Riverside, California native also added two draw controls and picked up a ground ball against the Penguins. The Martin Luther King graduate added a goal, two draw controls, and a caused turnover in the victory versus Wagner.

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 108-96 (.530).
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).