University of Albany Women's Lacrosse Gains Piece of 1st Place in America East With 11-10 Win Against UMBC - UAlbany Sports 2010

Baltimore, Md. - Freshman Rachael Burek scored the game-winning goal with 52 seconds remaining as UAlbany rallied for an 11-10 America East Conference victory over UMBC on Sunday, April 18 at UMBC Stadium. The Great Danes moved into a tie for first place in the conference standings with Boston University.

UMBC (9-6, AE 2-3) reversed a halftime deficit with four unanswered over the opening eight-plus minutes of the period. Bria Phillips spun to her left shoulder against a midfielder and sent a shot into the left side of the net to tie the contest, before Alicia Krause gave her team a 5-4 lead with a free-position opportunity. Phillips ended the run when Erika Braerman found her cutting in the middle and the sophomore midfielder was left one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

UAlbany (11-2, AE 4-0) was still trailing 9-7 with less than 10 minutes remaining, but then regrouped with three consecutive goals. Olivia Jarem, who totaled three goals and two assists, connected on a free-position attempt, before Mel Rorie scored on a bounce shot after being fouled on the top of the crease. Christine Gruenger put her team ahead, 10-9, with 4:33 to play when the Great Danes pressured Ashley Stodter into a turnover. Grueniger drove to the cage in transition after the restart.

The Retrievers, who won last year's matchup at John Fallon Field, forced the sixth tie of the game when Phillips tallied her third goal and 19th of the season with 2:00 remaining. She blasted a free-position chance over the top of goalkeeper Ashley Ross' head. Burek netted the game-winner when she hauled in Jarem's pass from the right point and converted by faking and shooting around goalie Kate Quick.

"I saw (Rachael) wide open and she made an excellent play to catch the ball," said Jarem, a senior midfielder who tied her career-high point total. "It was a hard-fought battle. This is a lesson for us that we can't expect teams to roll over. But we stayed positive. We have learned to handle the pressure because our coaches stay on us on practice."

In the first half, UAlbany scored twice in a one-minute-and-21 second span to take a 2-0 lead. Taylor Frink drove from the top and connected on a left-handed shot, before Kayla Best netted a tough-angle goal from the left after defensive midfielder Nikki Branchini started the play with a caused turnover in the defensive end.

UMBC drew even at two apiece with a pair of goals one minute and five seconds apart. Amanda Pappas made a free-position attempt with a bounce shot, the first of her two goals. Braerman found Emily Coady on the top of the crease with a short right-to-left crossing pass. Melanie Sosnowski put the Great Danes back in front by collecting a ground ball at midfield and then finding the cage off Frink's feed. Rorie drove between two defenders for an unassisted goal after Best broke up a clearing play. Ross saved Meagan Linkous' free-position attempt at the buzzer to preserve her team's 4-2 halftime margin.

"It shows our character," offered UAlbany coach Lindsey Hart, whose team tied a school record for single-season victories that was first established in 1998. "We haven't had too many games decided late. We got back into it because (Ashley) Ross had big saves, the defensive made stops and then we started to win draws."

UAlbany's Grueniger and Rorie each scored twice, while Ross had seven saves. Coady and Stodter had two goals apiece for the Retrievers, who had won seven of their previous nine entering the contest.

Paw Prints: UAlbany and UMBC have split eight meetings since the series started in 2001 .. four of the eight games have been decided by two goals or less ... the Great Danes recorded their second one-goal victory this season after having defeated Denver, 11-10, on March 28 ... Olivia Jarem also had three goals and two assists against Binghamton on April 3 ... the senior midfielder has 24 goals and four assists this spring after scoring seven points one year ago ... Christine Grueniger climbed into a tie for ninth on the all-time scoring list with 117 points (94 goals, 23 assists) ... Nikki Branchini caused three turnovers, one off her career-best ... Kayla Best moved into second on the career scoring chart with 185 points.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information