BALTIMORE-The UMBC women's lacrosse team (2-3, 1-1 AEC) lost to America East rival Vermont (2-0, 1-0 AEC) Tuesday afternoon at UMBC Stadium. The Catamounts outscored the Retrievers 8-1 in the second half.

The Retrievers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after just 7:27 had passed in the game. Freshman midfielder Kristen Milligan (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) scored the first goal of her career just 1:09 into the game, while sophomore midfielder Megan Cook (Towson, Md./Towson) tallied twice on feeds from senior attack Meghan Keelan (Randallstown, Md./Mount de Sales) in a span of less than two minutes.

But the Catamounts scored four straight and six of the final seven goals of the half to take a 6-4 halftime lead. Junior midfielder Abbey Swift (Baltimore, Md./Towson) had UMBC's only goal over the final 21 minutes of the first period, while Vermont midfielder Kristen Millar tallied three times in that stretch.

The second half was all Vermont, as the Retrievers managed just one goal, sophomore attack Natalie Cullers' (Edgewater, Md./South River) first of the season. The Catamounts, meanwhile, scored eight times, with two more goals by Millar and two each by midfielders Sara Buxton and Alison Haigh.

Millar led all scorers with five goals and seven points, while Haigh finished with three goals and four points for Vermont. Millar also picked up a game-best four ground balls and won five draw controls. Cook and Keelan were the only Retrievers with multiple points, amassed when they teamed up on a pair of goals early in the first half.

Junior goalie Susie Sweeney (Madison, N.J./Madison) started in the cage for UMBC and allowed nine goals while making six saves in just over 45 minutes. Sophomore Kate Quick (Phoenix, Md./Maryvale Prep) finished the game out in net and allowed the final five Vermont tallies while stopping 1 shot. Meaghan Hanley made five saves in goal for the Catamounts.

Vermont out-shot the Retrievers, 35-21, including 17-8 in the second half. The Catamounts also won 13 of 21 draw controls, but the ground ball battle was even at 13 apiece. In addition, Vermont made six of nine free-position shots.

The Retrievers now embark on a four-game road trip over the next two and a half weeks, with their first stop Saturday at Old Dominion. Game time is 1:00 p.m.

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BALTIMORE, Md. - The University of Vermont women's lacrosse team out scored the UMBC Retrievers 8-1 in the second half to post a 14-5 victory in the America East opener for the Catamounts.

"We came out of the gate flat, allowing three goals in a short amount of time, but picked up our game quickly," said Vermont head coach Jen Johnson. "We started winning draw controls and Meaghan Hanley made some big saves in net that gave us a spark and some momentum. From there we started to take it hard to the cage."

"Our defense was unbelievable in second half. We held UMBC's leading scorer (Ali Levandusky) pointless and their second leading scorer to one goal. Our defense did their job today."

"Offensively in the second half we had the advantage in possession time and we were able to generate good scoring opportunities. Overall it was another tremendous team effort."

The Retrievers took an early 3-0 lead in the first eight minutes of action. After Megan Cook's second straight goal, Vermont answered with four consecutive tallies, including a pair by junior Kristen Millar (Whitby, Ontario) to take a 4-3 lead with 13:41 showing on the clock.

UMBC tied up the game on a goal by Abbey Swift at the 12:24 mark, but the Catamounts rattled off four more goals, sandwiched around halftime, to push ahead 8-4. Vermont closed out the game scoring six unanswered goals, including the first career goal by freshman Megan MacDonald (Wayland, Mass.) to post its second straight victory.

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2008-03-04