VESTAL, N.Y. -- UMBC's Ali Levendusky scored a game-high six goals to lead the visiting Retrievers past the Binghamton women's lacrosse team, 15-8, in the America East Conference opener for both teams Friday from the Bearcats Sports Complex.

Levendusky, a second-team all-conference attack in 2007, and junior teammate Abbey Swift paced the Retriever attack with six and five points, respectively. Swift finished the afternoon with four goals and an assist to her credit.

UMBC (2-2, 1-0 America East) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game's first 6:50 and scored seven of the next nine goals for a 10-2 advantage at halftime.

The Retrievers controlled 10 of 12 draw first-half draw controls and finished with a decisive 18-6 advantage.

Freshman Ali Castiglie (Middle Island, N.Y.) put the Bearcats on the board with her team-best fifth goal of the season at the 21:42 mark. Sophomore Erika Travis (Geneva, N.Y.) added a score for BU with 17:32 remaining in the period. Castiglie and Travis both added assists to finish with two points apiece.

The second half was played amid persistent snow that blanketed the field and affected visibility. The Retrievers scored three of the first four goals and twice stretched their lead to 10 in the final period, before the Bearcats ran off three straight goals as part of a 5-2 run to close the game.

Sophomore midfielder Lizzie Wright (Massapequa, N.Y.) led Binghamton on the afternoon with three goals and four points.

Senior tri-captain Leanne Musso (Auburn, N.Y.) and freshman Lisa Illig (Corning, N.Y.) each contributed a goal and an assist, while freshman Beth Moore (Hauppauge, N.Y.) chipped in with her second goal of the season.

Freshman Lauren Scott (Jarrettsville, Md.) made nine saves in net for the Bearcats, while her UMBC counterpart, junior Susie Sweeney, turned away seven BU efforts to record her second win of the season.

Binghamton (1-2, 0-1 AE) is back in action on Sunday when the Bearcats host Iona at the Bearcats Sports Complex at 2:00 p.m.

Box Score

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VESTAL, N.Y.-Senior attack Ali Levendusky (Baldwin, Md./John Carroll) scored a career-high six goals and junior midfielder Abbey Swift (Baltimore, Md./Towson) tied her career best with four as the UMBC women's lacrosse team (2-2, 1-0 AEC) defeated Binghamton (1-2, 0-1 AEC) by a score of 15-8 in both teams' America East Conference opener Friday afternoon at the Bearcats Sports Complex.

Sophomore midfielder Kelly Burgoyne (Sykesville, Md./Century) scored her first goal of the season and the Retrievers' first of the day just 4:38 into the game, sparking a 3-0 UMBC run over the next 2:12 of action.

Binghamton scored two of the next four goals to make the score 5-2, but the Retrievers pulled away with five unanswered tallies before halftime and held a 10-2 lead at intermission. Levendusky led all scorers with three goals in the first half.

UMBC extended its run to 7-0 with the first two goals of the second period, including one by Levendusky just 1:40 after action began. Binghamton midfielder Beth Moore broke up the Retrievers' streak with 19:12 remaining, and the Bearcats went on to score six of the final nine goals of the game.

While six different Retrievers tallied at least once in the first half, Levendusky and Swift were the only UMBC players to score in the second period, with each doubling their previous output.

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2008-02-29