UMBC Sports Blog

After what the athletic program did last year there is no doubt that this year was a little disappointing. Only two conference championships and those were by the men’s swimming and diving team and the men’s lacrosse team, which were just about shoe ins for the titles. A lot of teams had high expectations for this season. The volleyball team, men’s soccer team, men’s basketball team, softball…the list goes on and on but none could capture a crown for UMBC. But this does not mean the year was a total bust. When looking at the silver lining of the season if was pretty good.

First congratulations for the men’s lacrosse team and swimming and diving team for winning again. For the swimming and diving that makes 12 straight league titles. Talk about a dynasty, that’s just unreal. Justin Bronson was phenomenal and surpassed all expectations for this season. He was expected to be a force but he just made it all look easy. He barely missed making the Canadian Olympic team over the summer but I’d like to bet that he’ll make it the next time around. But he’ll be gone next year and sorely missed but the team has plenty more talent, including super sophomore Brad Reitz who showed why he was named freshman of the year last year with an amazing season this year.

The men’s lacrosse team went through some ups and downs but once again failed to disappoint. Jeremy Blevins showed why he was the winningest active goalie in the country with a POY award but there was a lot more on the team than him. Ohio State transfer Peet Poillon just dominated and Alex Hopmann, what can I say about him. He is the all-time goal scorer at UMBC for a reason, and talk about clutch. He’s never scored less than two goals in a championship game. The lacrosse team is going to lose a lot of talent, but any time Don Zimmerman is coaching a team you know they will be in contention to a national championship.

In all honesty the best story was the men’s basketball team. Last year they made it to their first NCAA tournament. While they did miss it this year they just showed heart. Darryl Proctor and Jay Greene very well may be the two best players in UMBC basketball history and will be forever missed. The team did have a losing record this year and finished sixth in the conference, but it was still a great year. The team was riddled with injuries, three guys quit to limit the bench, but through it all when the games counted they got it done, sending them to their second straight conference championship game, coming up just short of the NCAA tournament. With Proctor and Greene gone there are serious voids, but Chauncey Gilliam shined light on the future. He has all the making of a POY in the conference and will be the go to guy on the team next year. He can dunk, he’s quick, he had good ball control, and his three point shot really came around last season. He has to work on his defense, but at this level nobody is perfect, plus he was just a freshman. Don’t think because Proctor and Greene are gone the team is going to be bad next year. Chris De La Rosa could have started at Siena if it wasn’t for Kenny Hasbrook. But he transferred to UMBC and should be fine at the point. Then there is Robbie Jackson, the AEC has never scene a guy 7′2″ 300+ that is any good. With size next to Fry’s defensive ability is going to be hard to score on next year.

Volleyball made great strides this year. A lot of people expected a championship but they did have some youth. But that youth was great, just not in the tournament. Alyssa Lang and Allie Spaay are the future and owned the rookie of the week awards, but most everybody is back next year and they could be in contention once again.

Women’s basketball very well may win the conference next year. Inexperience hurt them on the road but everybody return next year. Michelle Kurowski, Erin Brown, Katie Brooks, and Tope Obajolu are going to be great and with Michele Brokans, Carlee Cassidy, Megan Colabella, and Melissa Book all returning the experience, look out. The year worked wonders for everybody and while they struggled down the stretch, they showed a promising future.

Softball is another team that will return just about everybody. Stephanie Weigman had a monster season. Twenty wins for anybody is just insane, and she’s only a sophomore and owns the all-time strikeout record. They really made great strides this year and will once again be in contention next year. Look out.

Women’s lacrosse s another team that is going to be in contention next year. They were just one game away from making the conference tournament after a great season. They lose a lot but the younger players played well above a freshman level.

Men’s soccer was the most disappointing team this year. They were legitimate title contenders in the beginning of the year but finished in last place. It’s hard to tell is they will contend next year but the reason for the loosing was inexperience and injuries. No matter how good those seniors were it’s hard to win with that much inexperience. They will bring in a great freshman class that looks to be better than the guys on the team already, but once again, youth hurts.

I know I’m not going over all the teams but I will mention baseball. Much like soccer, inexperience killed them, but the future looks bright. Max Himmelstein, Jusitn Lamborn, Rich Conlon, Austin Drewyer, and David Divita will all be great players in the conference in two years, the only thing is they have to get their and get the rest of the team to be good or average.

Fall Sports:

Men’s Soccer-
MVP: Andrew Bulls (8 goals, 2 assists)
Freshman of the Year: Andrew Bulls (8 goals,, 2 assists)

Women’s Soccer-
MVP: Morgan Warrington (5 Goals, 1 assist)
Freshman of the Year: Mo Van Vlerah (35 saves, 67.3%)

Volleyball-
MVP: Alyssa Lang (319 kills, 317 digs)
Freshman of the Year: Alyssa Lang (319 kills, 317 digs)

Men’s Cross Country-
MVP: Paul Zwama

Women’s Cross Country-
MVP: Sara Parkinson

Winter Sports:

Men’s Basketball-
MVP: Darryl Proctor (20.0ppg, 8.8rpg, 46.7 FG%)
Freshman of the Year: Chauncey Gilliam (10.9ppg, 4.4rpg, 51.4 FG%)

Women’s Basketball-
MVP: Carlee Cassidy (20.4ppg, 35.8 FG%, 32.1 3-pt%)
Freshman of the Year: Michelle Kurowski (13.7ppg, 4.6rpg, 40.6 FG%)

Men’s Swimming and Diving-
MVP: Justin Bronson

Women’s Swimming and Diving-
MVP: Samantha Maccherola

Men’s Indoor Track and Field-
MVP: Adrian Arthur

Women’s Track and Field-
MVP: Imani Colbert

Spring Sports:

Men’s Lacrosse-
MVP: Jeremy Blevins (151 saves, 54.5%)
Freshman of the Year: Rob Grimm (10 goals, 17 assists, 18 ground balls)

Women’s Lacrosse-
MVP: Kara Dorr (40 goals, 10 assists, 26 ground balls)
Freshman of the Year: Emily Coady (22 goals, 13 assists, 11 ground balls)

Baseball-
MVP: Shawn Retz (.380, 60 hits, 27 runs, .627 Slg%, 9 Home runs)
Freshman of the Year: Max Himmelstein (.303, 40 hits, 18 runs, .432 Slg%, 3 Home runs)

Softball-
MVP: Stephanie Weigman (2.20 ERA, 22-16, 245.0 Innings Pitched, 293 strikeouts)
Freshman of the Year: Keala Mason (.255, 13 hits, 5 runs, .353 SLG%, 1 HR)

Men’s Indoor Track and Field-
MVP: Victor Gilreath

Women’s Track and Field-
MVP: Britney Foreman

Men’s Tennis-
MVP: Fredi Voorman

Women’s Tennis-
MVP: Cornelia Carapcea

Final Awards

Men’s POY: Darryl Proctor
Women’s POY: Stephanie Weigman

Men’s ROY: Andrew Bulls
Women’s ROY: Michelle Kurowski

In a surprising move women’s lacrosse coach Courtney Connor’s contract was not renewed for undisclosed reasons and her assistant Kelly Berger will replace her.

The fact that an assistant coach is taking over means that the athletic department made a coaching change for reasons other than poor performance. Actually the team had their best season in a while and we one win away from the conference tournament and look to be in perfect shape to be contenders next year or the following year. Connor probably left for personal reasons.

Kelly Berger served as Connor’s assistant for the last two years and was named the head coach today.

“I’m really excited,” Berger said. “I know I have a lot to learn, but I feel I’ve had wonderful mentors and believe they have prepared me very well. I’m excited for what the future will bring and I know I have a great administration behind me to support me.”

“Kelly did an outstanding job as our top assistant the last two seasons, and I believe she is ready to step up and coach our Retriever women’s lacrosse team,” Dr. Brown said. “She has been a success as both a player and an assistant coach, and I expect the same as a head coach and look forward to great things from our women’s lacrosse team.”

Antonio Thomas has been great all season and held his own in the IC4A Championship. He finished fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.66.

In the 4×100-meter relay Mohamed Koroma, Adrian Arthur, and Jason Powell placed sixth in 41.22.

Victor Gilreath finished 18th in the triple jump while Brian Pendleton finished 19th.

Finally, Britney Foreman finished 24th in the 100-meter dash in 12.22.

It was not a great season for UMBC. They only had nine wins and dropped the last game of the season. But seniors Shawn Retz and Tom Meaney went out on high notes as each homered.

But through the down season there is a lot to be happy about. They are the youngest team in the conference and will be much better next year and will likely be competitive again in two years. One year works wonders for a pitcher. When you see the improvement Austin Drewyer made from last year to this year you’ve got to be impresses, so just wait until next year and his senior year. The same goes for David Divita. He can be a great pitcher in the conference when he’s healthy. The only problem is he may not get to that point.

Hitting wise the foundation is there. Max Himmelstein is the future clean up guy and Justin Lamborn and Rich Conlon make a great defensive infield that can get a few hits a game. Brian Russo also has potential as a power hitter. So just because they had a down year, it means they are rebuilding, not regressing.

GAME 1: Vermont 3, UMBC 0

Ed Bach pitched a decent game allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts, but Vermont completely shut down UMBC’s hitting as they recorded just four hits and no runs. And no matter how good your pitching is, when you don’t score you can’t win.

GAME 2: Vermont 5, UMBC 1

UMBC got an early lead as Brad Brainer crossed the plate in the top of the first inning, but Kevin Clark gave up five runs off seven hits for the eventual loss. The hitting was still bad for UMBC. They only recorded three hits and two of them came in the first inning.

Game 3: Vermont 12, UMBC 0

Austin Drewyer got shelled in game three. He gave up 11 runs off 12 hits in five innings of work. But once again it does not matter what your pitching does, or how bad they play, if the team cannot get runs they cannot win. UMBC got six hits but was unable to capitalize on any of chances as they were shutout.

Game 4: Vermont 7, UMBC 4

After a rain delay on sunday the game was rescheduled to Monday and the team played much better than the previous three outings. Brad Brainer and Rich Conlon both recorded multi-hit games while UMBC recorded four runs off eight hits. But the pitching still needs work. Travis Pearson gave up five runs and his help in Steve Miller gave up two more in the loss.

The men’s lacrosse team gave a valiant effort in the NCAA tournament, but sometimes a valiant effort is not enough. The men’s lacrosse team gave North Carolina a fit in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They were leading for the majority of the first period but a four goal run put UMBC down by three goals early in the second quarter. But UMMBC did not back down. They put together a six goal run to go up 9-6 just after the half.

But with 4:30 left in the third quarter, North Carolina grabbed the lead for good, but UMBC still did not back down. However it was not enough as they lost 15-13 in an expected high scoring battle.

The problem was UMBC could not find an answer for Billy Bitter. He scored eight goals of nine shots and had an assist. Other than Bitter, only four Tar Heels scored and only Bart Wagner recorded a multi-goal game.

Bitter has been praised as one of the top attacks in the country and showed why against UMBC. Despite great net play by Jeremy Blevins, who recorded 12 saves, and solid defense by Steve Settembrino, Kevin Goedeke, and Matt Kresse, he found a way to score and as the saying goes, “when you’re hot you’re hot,” and Bitter was hot.

With the season at an end there is still a lot to be excited about for next season. While UMBC does lose the most successful senior class in UMBC history, as the four year seniors are the only class to make it to the NCAA tournament all four years, the progression of the younger players is something to look forward too. Justin Radebaugh struggled at face-offs this year, but coach Don Zimmerman gave him the full time job and he will be better for it. Freshman very rarely are the full time face-off man on a lacrosse team, but Radebaugh took nearly every face-off since being names the face-off man before they played Maryland.

Aside from Radebaugh the progression of attacks Rob Grimm and Bobby Stockton leave cause for excitement in the future. Grimm was expected to be a key contributor as a freshman but seeing the progression Stockton made from last year to this year is impressive.

The young guys are going to have their hands full setting in for the current senior class. Hopmann lead the team in goals this year and became UMBC’s all time leading scorer. As the year moved on he got better and really became the anchor of the UMBC offense. Other seniors include Ryan Smith, who after suffering a slow start while coming back from an ACL tear a year ago still managed to score 24 goals on the season. Kevin Goedeke and Steve Settembrino have been great surprised this year on defense for the retrievers. Goedeke did not start the season but he battled back and earned his starting job back. Settembrino however is a great story. He spent his previous three seasons as purely a man who came in for man down situations, but after impressing Zimmerman after an injury to Bobby Atwell, Settembrino earned the starting sport and was the only retriever to start every game on defense this year.

The big addition for UMBC this year will be a short lived one. Poillon transferred from Ohio State in the off-season and immediately made his impact. He led UMBC with 45 points after taking over in the center midfield this season.

The big loss however will be Blevins. He has been a two time Tewarrton player of the year finalist and won the America East Conference Player of the year award this year after a phenomenal season in goal for UMBC. Blevins graduates as the winningest active goalie in the nation and arguably the best in UMBC history.

It will be a struggle to find guys to fill their spots next year, but Zimmerman is one of the best coaches in the nation for a reason and he gives opponents something to worry about every season.

Between Mothers Day, preparing for finals, and finishing up school projects the blog got put off but everything is being updated now

North Carolina (11-5):
A- Bart Wagner (38 goals, 22 assists, 52 ground balls)
A- Billy Bitter (33 goals, 12 assists, 32 ground balls)
A- Gavin Petracca (24 goals, 15 assists, 27 ground balls)
M- Ben Hunt (17 goals, 12 assists, 25 ground balls)
M- Sean Delaney (32 goals, 7 assists, 21 ground balls)
M- Jimmy Dunster (10 goals, 6 assists, 16 ground balls)
D- Ryan Flanagan (56 ground balls, 31 caused turnovers)
D- Jack Ryan (15 ground balls, 6 caused turnovers)
D- Charlie McComas (40 ground balls, 16 caused turnovers)
G- James Petracca (61 saves, 53.0%)
F- Shane Walterhoefer (232-of-370, 62.7%, 126 ground balls)

Key Reserves
A- Thomas Wood- 2 goals, 6 assists, 12 ground balls
M- Sean Burke- 7 goals, 17 assists, 18 ground balls
M- Jimmy Dunster- 10 goals, 6 assists, 16 ground balls
M- Bobby McAuley- 5 goals 8 assists, 12 ground balls
M- Cryder DiPietro- 9 goals, 1 assists, 9 ground balls
M- Chris Hunt- 49 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers
M- Michael Burns- 38 ground balls, 13 caused turnovers
M- Tyler Morton- 26 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
D- 31 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers
D- Michael Jarvis- 17 ground balls, 21 caused turnovers

Goals For———- 199
Goals Against—– 138
Differential/game- 3.8

Joe Breschi- 103-68 12 seasons, 4 NCAA tournament appearances

Ranked Victories
1-5: John Hopkins (10-9 OT)
6-10: Hofstra (13-8)
11-20: Colgate (11-9), Navy (9-8), Maryland (16-10) (ACC tournament)

UMBC (12-3):
A- Ryan Smith (21 goals, 8 assists, 18 ground balls)
A- Chris Jones (18 goals, 10 assists, 26 ground balls)
A- Matt Latham (25 goals, 5 assists, 30 ground balls)
M- Kyle Wimer (21 goals, 17 assists, 38 ground balls)
M- Peet Poillon (25 goals, 20 assists, 18 ground balls)
M- Alex Hopmann (33 goals, 7 assists, 24 ground balls)
D- Steve Settembrino (15 ground balls, 7 caused turnovers)
D- Matt Kresse (12 ground balls, 6 caused turnovers)
D- Kevin Goedeke (11 ground balls, 4 caused turnovers)
G- Jeremy Blevins (139 saves, 55.6%)
F- Justin Radebaugh (110-of-225, 48.8%, 55 ground balls)

Key Reserves:

A- Rob Grimm (10 goals, 16 assists, 18 ground balls)
A- Bobby Stockton (4 goals, 2 assists, 3 ground balls)
A- Eric Gurnsey (4 goals, 0 assists, 3 ground balls)
M- Jamie Kimbles (5 goals, 3 assists, 16 ground balls)
M- Maxx Davis (1 goal, 1 assists, 4 ground balls)
SSM- Jordan Pierce (3 goals, 3 assists, 16 ground balls)
SSM- Mike Bryan (19 ground balls, 5 caused turnovers)
LSM- Mike Camardo (52 ground balls, 30 caused turnovers)

Goals For———- 180
Goals against—— 116
Differential/game- 4.2

Don Zimmerman- 198-113, 23 seasons, 13 NCAA appearances, 3 national championships

Ranked Victories
1-5: None
6-10: None
11-20: Colgate (13-9), Maryland (9-7)

Attacks

North Carolina has made their living off their attacks. The starters have scored 95 times this season (5.9 goals per game). Bart Wagner (38 goals, 22 assists) and Billy Bitter (33 goals, 12 assists) are two of the best attacks in the country and Gavin Petracca (24 goals, 15 assists) is nothing to shrug off either.

UMBC’s attacks did not meet the standard they left last season but with Ryan Smith (21 goals, 8 assists) back in full swing after coming back from an ACL tear last season the attacks have been great down the stretch. Matt Latham (25 goals, 5 assists) and Chris Jones (18 goals, 10 assists) have the ability to score as both have recorded hat tricks at least once this season.

Advantage- North Carolina

Midfield

Sean Delaney (32 goals, 7 assists) leads a solid midfield for the Tar Heels as Ben Hunt (17 goals, 12 assists) and Jimmy Dunster (10 goals, 6 assists) are great fifth and sixth options for the North Carolina offense. The Tar Heel midfield though has more than often been used to set up the attacks rather than carry the team.

UMBC is home to the most productive midfield in the country. The “50-midfield” has dominated opponents with each guy being able to step up and lead the team in scoring. Alex Hopmann (33 goals, 7 assists) leads the team in goals but Kyle Wimer (21 goals, 17 assists) and Peet Poillon (25 goals, 20 assists) were the two first team all-conference honorees.

Advantage- UMBC

Defense

Ryan Flanagan (56 ground balls, 31 caused turnovers) and Charlie McComas (40 ground balls, 16 caused turnovers) do not let opposing attacks by often and have a knack for being in the right place at the right time getting the ball back to their offense. After an injury to their four year starting goal keeper Grant Zimmerman, James Petracca (61 saves, 53.0%) has been good but is just one game over .500 this season.

Kevin Goedeke (11 ground balls, 4 caused turnovers) and Matt Kresse (12 ground balls, 6 caused turnovers) have battled and won their starting jobs from last season back but those two and Steve Settembrino (15 ground balls, 7 caused turnovers) have to do a better job getting possession back to their offense. Their saving grace is Jeremy Blevins. He’s the winningest goalie in college lacrosse and has racked up 133 saves (55.6%) this season and has just made great save after great save to get the team back into each game they play.

Advantage- UMBC

Bench

North Carolina is a very deep team. They have the ability to call on eight guys that are just as good as their starters. Jimmy Dunster (10 goals, 6 assists) has been a great offensive option and Chris Hunt (49 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers) has just been a great defensive midfielder when called upon.

Mike Camardo (52 ground balls, 30 caused turnovers) may get looked past a lot because as a long stick midfielder he does not score many goals, but this year he’s done it all. He’s played tremendous defense, scrapped on the wing, and has even scored three times this year. Rob Grimm (10 goals, 16 assists) has been the best offensive threat off the bench but other than him nobody has stepped it up off the bench and made an impact scoring.

Advantage- North Carolina

Face-Off

Shane Walterhoefer (232-of-370, 62.7%, 126 ground balls) is one of the top face-off men in the country and gets North Carolina a lot of possessions.

Everybody knows there UMBC stands at facing off. They are near the bottom of the nation in face-off percentage but Justin Radebaugh (110-of-225, 48.8%, 55 ground balls) has improved a lot lately, largely impart of solid wing play by Camardo, Jordan Pierce (16 ground balls) and Mike Bryan (19 ground balls).

Advantage- North Carolina

Coaching

There are a few story lines involved with the coaches. First, North Carolina coach Joe Breschi was formerly the coach at Ohio State for 11 seasons where he made it to three NCAA tournaments. He used to coach Poillon and with his departure Poillon decided to leave and come to UMBC.

Don Zimmerman is without a doubt one of the best coaches in the country. In the off-season North Carolina really tried to get the former Tar Heel assistant to come back and coach but he choose to stay put. He has gone 198-113 in his 23 season coaching career including 13 NCAA tournament appearances with three national titles.

Advantage- UMBC

Overall

When UMBC is on they can beat any team in the country, but lately they haven’t been playing their best lacrosse. If UMBC can build off the momentum of three straight wins and the midfield gets back to being the “50-midfield” then they can be a national championship dark horse, but North Carolina has been tested and has beaten some great teams this year to get to their 11-5 record.

Stony Brook 3, UMBC 1

Stephanie Weigman had a great outing with just 1 ER off four hits, but she gave up two more unearned runs whole Stony Brook’s pitchers gave up just three hits and one run which was in the seventh inning.

Albany 5, UMBC 1

Lauren Brummell had two hits from the top of the order, but UMBC manages just two more hits and only one run in the game.

Weigman allowed four runs off eight hits in the first five innings before the great Danes got the best of Amanda Fefel two as they crossed the plate with her pitching.

With the Loss UMBC is out, but one thing is for sure, watch out for them nxt year. Weigman is going to be amazing and Lauren Brummell is getting to be one of the best players in the conference. If the rest of the team progresses at the same rate they could be a serious contender next year.