Burlington, VT – The fourth-seeded UMBC women's lacrosse team battled hard but ultimately fell 10-7 to the top-seeded Vermont Catamounts in the 2026 America East semifinals at Virtue Field on Friday afternoon.
Sophomore
Reese Macintosh powered the Retrievers' offense with a hat trick, while redshirt sophomore
Emily Knapp chipped in two goals. Senior attacker
Lizzie Bateman orchestrated plays with two assists and added two ground balls, matched by sophomore
Ave Martin's two ground balls. In goal, sophomore
Emine Luznar stood tall, making a game-high nine saves and leading the team with three ground balls to keep UMBC's hopes alive.
UMBC (7-8) burst out of the gates, seizing a 3-1 lead after the first quarter. Sophomore
Sam Hewitt opened the scoring off a crisp pass from Bateman just over four minutes in. Vermont quickly answered, but
Tess Curtis reclaimed the lead for the Retrievers with a woman-up goal set up by senior
Libby Staples. With only twenty-six seconds left, Knapp fired home a free position shot to cap the quarter's strong start.
Vermont (10-6) turned the tide with a decisive 5-0 run, surging ahead 6-3 midway through the second quarter. Doraz fueled the rally with all three of her team-high goals, while Jane Trauger and Caitlin Haggerty each added to the Catamounts' momentum.
Refusing to back down, the Retrievers clawed back with two late goals before halftime, narrowing the gap to 6-5. Macintosh unleashed a long-range rocket past Catamounts' goalie Ayla Shea off a woman-up feed from Curtis. In the closing seconds, Knapp dodged a defender, soared into the air, and buried a top-shelf finish just before the buzzer.
UMBC drew even one last time at 6-6 when Macintosh calmly converted a free position shot with 9:26 left in the third quarter.
Vermont seized control, rattling off three straight goals to build a 9-6 cushion late in the third. Maddie Erskine struck twice, and Haggerty finished off the run with a free position goal at 2:56.
Macintosh trimmed the deficit to 9-7 early in the fourth, finishing a pass from freshman
Olivia Worden. The Retrievers pressed for more, but Shea stood firm in goal. With just over six minutes remaining, Lindsay Lefebvre sealed the Catamounts' victory with a final goal off a feed from Haggerty.
Both teams fired 31 shots, but Vermont proved more accurate, putting 17 on target to UMBC's ten. The Catamounts also dominated the draw, winning 13 of 19, with Doraz collecting a game-high eight.
Macintosh notched her third hat trick of the season, capping a career-best campaign with 27 goals and 21 assists. Knapp tallied her 12th multi-goal game, leading the team with 49 goals and 10 assists. She's pumped in 96 goals along with 31 assists over her first two seasons. The 49 goals are tied for the tenth-most in a UMBC single-season.
along with Wendy Heald (1983).
Macintosh and Luznar were named to the All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the event.
