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News Release
MEN'S LACROSSE OPENS 2006 CAMPAIGN AT BROWN ON SATURDAY
2/22/2006
YOU WON’T BE 39 AGAIN NEXT YEAR: UMBC enters its 39th season of varsity men’s lacrosse with a record of 278-240. They are 162-175 in 25 years at the Division I level.
A LOOK BACK: UMBC was 7-8 a season ago, including a 5-1 record in America East Conference play. The Retrievers tied
TOUGH ROAD: UMBC met three of four national semi-finalists last season. The Retrievers were edged at national titlist Johns Hopkins (9-6) and runner-up Duke (12-10) and also lost at
BULLSEYE ON THE BLACK AND GOLD: In a close vote, the Retrievers were selected as the pre-season favorite to win the America East Conference. The Retrievers received three of the six first place votes and amassed 32 points overall, edging Stony Brook (28) and three-time defending league champion Albany (26).
THE TOP DOG: Head Coach Don Zimmerman enters his 20th season as a bench boss and his 13th at UMBC. His .617 winning percentage (153-95) is eighth amongst active coaches. Coach Zimmerman is 80-79 at UMBC
NEED THAT RADIO/TV CHART: Nearly 56 percent of UMBC’s 2006 roster are newcomers. Returning All-America East Conference players are senior attackman Brendan Mundorf, junior attackman Andy Gallagher, senior defender Justin Berdeguez (all First Team) and junior attackman Drew Westervelt (Second Team). There are seven players on the roster that have competed at CCBC-Essex.
FOR OPENERS: The Retrievers have dropped their last two season openers (both at Duke) and is 4-8 in season openers under Don Zimmerman. Their last win to open the season on the road occurred in 2001, a 9-8 overtime triumph at Navy.
IT’S BEEN AWHILE: UMBC has not faced Brown since a 1981 meeting, which resulted in a 13-5 Retriever win in
DOWN TO THE WIRE: UMBC scored 9.6 goals per game last season and allowed 8.7 goals per contest. The Retrievers were 2-5 in games decided by three goals or less in 2005. In the team’s last 28 games, 10 have been decided by a single goal and UMBC is 4-6 in those games. Dating back to 2003, 20 of UMBC’s last 38 games have been decided by three goals or less.
QUICK STARTS A GOOD SIGN: In their seven wins in 2005, UMBC outscored their foes, 29-7 in the first quarter. Conversely, the Retrievers were outscored, 20-18, in their eight losses in the opening 15 minutes. UMBC is 1-4 when allowing the game’s first goal. Moreover, the Retrievers were 0-7 when tied or trailing at halftime.
EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: UMBC finished second in the nation in extra-man percentage (44.4%) last season, behind only league rival Stony Brook. UMBC’s 28 man-up scores were also second to the Seawolves’ 37.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Drew Westervelt led the America East Conference with 10 extra-man goals. For his career, Westervelt now averages 3.03 ppg (88 points in 29 contests). He was the lone Retriever to score in all 15 games this year and owns a scoring streak of a point in 25 straight contests. Westervelt scored the GWG in overtime vs. Loyola. He was UMBC’s leading scorer in league play with 23 points in 6 games.
DA MAN: Mundorf earned All America status in 2005, the first Retriever to achieve that honor since Dan Marohl was cited in 2000. Mundorf was the 2005 America East Conference Player of the Year. He was named to the Inside Lacrosse 2006 pre-season All America (honorable mention) squad. He was selected to represent
CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Mundorf and senior defenseman Luke Powell are the co-captains of this year’s team.