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News Release
WOMEN'S LACROSSE THRASHES WAGNER; GOES FOR NEC TITLE SATURDAY VS. MOUNT ST. MARY'S
5/1/2003
Fairfield, CT -- Second-seeded University of Maryland-Baltimore County took advantage of Wagner fouls to tally seven free-position shots, and senior Lauren Traber (Columbia, MD) scored a season-high five times to lead the Retrievers to an 18-5 victory over #3 seeded Wagner College in the semi-finals of the Northeast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Tournament at Sacred Heart University Thursday afternoon. The Retrievers scored on seven of the ten free-position shots they were awarded.
UMBC, 9-8, scored the first seven goals of the game, starting with a tally by junior Lauren Hess (Bel Air, MD) 4:15 into the game. Junior Emily Sawyer (Columbia, MD) scored just over a minute later, followed by a pair of goals by Traber. Stephanie Allen (Mississauga, ONT) made it 5-0 midway through the half and Traber scored number three with 13:43 left. Freshman Kate Worthington (Annapolis, MD) ended the UMBC run, scoring with 11:22 left.
Wagner, which finishes the season 7-10, finally got on the board when senior Kelly McVeigh (Herndon, VA) scored unassisted with 9:49 to play in the half. Worthington scored her second of the game with 2:44 left to put the Retrievers up 8-1, and Heather George (W. Allenhurst, NJ) answered for the Seahawks just :25 before halftime.
Traber and George traded goals in the first four minutes of the second half, but the Retrievers then ripped off six straight scores to make it 15-3 and quell any hopes of a Wagner comeback. Hess and junior Jen Dragoni (Morton, PA) had a pair of goals each for UMBC during that flurry.
Senior goalie Courtney Stringer (Cockeysville, PA) was stellar between the pipes for the Retrievers, making 11 saves – several on point-blank shots. Senior London Jones (Abingdon, MD) had six saves for the Seahawks.
“Stringer made some great saves, but I think the win resulted from a total team effort,” said UMBC coach Monica Yeakel. “We were off to a slow start but we hustled and were able to pull away in the second half.”
The UMBC win means it will be an All-Maryland final in the Championship game when the Retrievers take on #4 seed Mount St. Mary’s of Emmitsburg. The game is scheduled for noon on Campus Field on the campus of Sacred Heart University.