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News Release

RETRIEVERS PICKED THIRD IN AMERICA EAST PRESEASON WOMEN’S LACROSSE POLL

2/8/2006

First-year head coach Courtney Connor's Retrievers were picked to finish third in the America East in the 2006 Coaches' Poll.

Boston-The UMBC women’s lacrosse team was picked to finish third in the 2006 America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll, receiving 36 points in a vote of the league’s head women’s lacrosse coaches. Boston University is the unanimous favorite to repeat as conference champion, as the Terriers received all seven first-place votes for a total of 49 points.

New Hampshire, last season’s conference runner-up, received 38 points to finish second in the preseason voting, followed closely by the Retrievers, who placed fourth in 2005. Stony Brook was picked fourth with 28 points, followed by Vermont (20), Albany (17) and Binghamton (11).

Under the direction of first-year head coach Courtney Connor, the Retrievers will look to return to the America East Championship for the third straight year after joining the conference in 2004. The top four teams in the conference advance to the tournament, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship.

UMBC has never made it past the semifinal round of the league tournament, falling to Boston U. both times. Last season as the No. 4 seed, the Retrievers fell to the top-seeded Terriers, 20-5. UMBC finished the season 5-10 overall, including 3-3 in regular season America East action.

The Retrievers return eight starters and 15 players from the 2005 squad, including sophomore attacker Ali Levendusky (Baldwin, Md./John Carroll), who was selected to the America East All-Rookie team last season with 17 goals and 24 points. Also returning is senior midfielder Kelly Fiorani (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty), UMBC’s active career scoring leader who picked up her 100th career goal at the end of last season; junior midfielder Kelly Fahey (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air), who led the team with 15 assists and was third with 18 goals and 33 points; and junior attacker Jen Kasper (Eldersburg, Md./South Carroll), who returns from a knee injury that kept her out most of last season.

The Retrievers open the season Feb. 18, hosting Howard at 2 p.m. at UMBC Stadium. Their first conference contest is March 26, when they host Albany. The America East Championship begins May 5 at the No. 1 seed for the semifinals and concludes with the finals May 7.

2006 America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll
School (1st-Place Votes)   Points
1. Boston U. (7)                 49
2. New Hampshire             38
3. UMBC                           36
4. Stony Brook                  28
5. Vermont                        20
6. Albany                          17
7. Binghamton                   11