Top Coach

Kelly Berger – Women’s Lacrosse

Once again Kelly Berger has led the women’s lacrosse team to the America East Championship. It’s only her second year as the team’s head coach and already she has been the conference runner-up back-to-back years. This after the team couldn’t even sniff a post season berth for several years prior to her taking over. While everybody knew Berger was going to have some big time offensive weapons to work with, the defense was a big question mark with both Sarah Willis and Kate Quick having graduated. But as it turns out this year’s team was even better defensively, and more defensively oriented.

Male Freshman of the Spring

D.J. Ream – Baseball

Last year D.J. Ream was unable to play for the baseball team because of an injury but that extra year to sit out seems to have really let him develop his game. Ream led the baseball team with a .331 batting average in 35 starts and looks to be the centerpiece of a rebuilding program.

Female Freshman of the Spring

Kim Berghaus – Women’s Tennis

Coming in as a freshman in any sport is hard enough as you have to learn the system and adjust to the collegiate level. But coming in as a freshman from another country having to not only learn the system of the level of Division I collegiate athletes, but also a new language and culture is even tougher. But Berghaus thrived through all of that and making her freshman year even more impressive was that she was put in the top spot and has a team best 11-6 record and went 11-4 in doubles competition en route to being names the America East conference women’s tennis Rookie of the Year.

Best Male Performance

Scott Jones scores five against Albany

On the road, in a tough place to play, against a desperate team, in need of a win of his own, Scott Jones scored five goals to lead UMBC to a 13-9 victory over rival Albany. Four of Jones’ goals came in the fourth quarter as UMBC came back to get the victory. Jones’ first goal in the game came in the final minute of the first quarter to give UMBC a 3-1 lead and then, in the fourth quarter Jones gave UMBC a 9-8 lead. However, Albany tied the game a few seconds later and Jones scored three-straight to clinch the victory for the Retrievers.

Best Female Performance

Amanda Pappas nets six against Manhattan

It doesn’t matter if the women’s lacrosse team was way better than the Manhattan Jaspers, when one player can get through a defense that is practically triple teaming her whenever she gets the ball and score six times, it’s impressive. Amanda Pappas scored six goals in a 20-6 victory and the only thing preventing her from scoring more was Kelly Berger taking her out of the game midway through the second half.

Best Moment

Women’s lacrosse upsets Boston U in semi-finals

For a second-straight year the women’s lacrosse team scored a major upset in the semifinals of the America East tournament to advance to the conference championship game. Historically the Terriers has dominated the Retrievers but UMBC notched their second ever victory against Boston U with a 12-11 overtime win, and first since 2006.

Most Improved Male Athlete

Scott Jones – Men’s Lacrosse

I’ll admit. Before this season I never even heard of Scott Jones. He was on the team and saw time in a few games last year but he was pretty much a non-factor. Not this year though. This year Jones proved to be one of the best scorers in the conference and dominated defenses once he got in the right position. With a team-high 23 goals the second-team all-conference attackman looks to be the centerpiece of the squad for the next two years.

Most Improved Female Athlete

Ashley Scroggin – Softball

Last year Ashley Scroggin only went to the plate 13 times and managed only a single hit. While it was a home run, she was not much of a threat at the plate. But this year she was one of the top performers the softball team had, hitting .279 from the plate with 20 runs, 5 doubles, 10 home runs and 29 RBIs.

Unsung Male Athlete

Jamie Kimbles – Men’s Lacrosse

When you only score 10 goals and have eight assists but still make an all-conference lacrosse team it says a lot about your ability. Jamie Kimbles was put in a very difficult spot this season. With so much youth on the team Kimbles not only had to be a quality starter but he had to be the leader or the men’s lacrosse team. Before the season Kimbles suffered an injury and was out pretty much all of the preseason. He came back a few games into the season but was still rusty. But when he finally got back to full health it was clear just how much he meant to the team. When he got healthy the offense ran through him and the team turned things around and went 5-3 in their final eight games.

Unsung Female Athlete

C.J. Durham – Women’s Lacrosse

When you think of the women’s lacrosse team you think of a potent offense that will put up a lot of goals and outscore their opponents. But this season the team was actually more defensively oriented and leading that defense was four-year defender C.J. Durham, who scooped up 18 ground balls and caused 15 turnovers while starting all 18 games for the Retrievers.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Spring

Austin Drewyer – Baseball

Four years ago Austin Drewyer was a solid rotation player for the UMBC baseball team. Potential was just oozing out of him and four years later he finally became that ace that the team needed him to become. Drewyer has a team-best ERA in a team-high innings pitched with six complete games for the Retrievers.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Spring

Amanda Pappas – Women’s Lacrosse

Amanda Pappas capped off a fantastic career at UMBC with another high-scoring campaign. With a team-high 41 goals Pappas was absolutely unstoppable and was yet again an all-conference midfielder. To go with her 41 goals she has 15 ground balls, 18 draw controls, 12 caused turnovers, and assisted six of her teammates goals.

Male Athlete of the Spring

Gaulthier Berret – Men’s Tennis

Last year as a freshman Gaulthier Berret was adjusting to a lot of different things; to the system, level of play, to school, to the country, to the culture, etc. But as a sophomore, with everything figured out, Berret became one of the top players in the conference and was named to the America East all-conference first0team in singles competition. Berret was also a second-team honoree in doubles competition. He went a team-best 14-3 in singles competition and had a victory over a nationally ranked opponent when the team played Maryland.

Female Athlete of the Spring

Amanda Deller – Women’s Track and Field

In only her sophomore year Amanda Deller officially proved to be the top female thrower in the America East conference. In the 2011 America East conference championship meet Deller walked away with a gold medal, which she also won last season, in the shot put with a mark of 14.38 meters and also finished in second in the discus with a throw of 41.63 meters.

Emily Coady led UMBC with 35 goals last season

Picked third in the preseason polls behind reigning champion Boston University and reigning regular season champion Albany, which the Retrievers beat in the quarterfinals, 11-9, second-year coach Kelly Berger has plenty of reason to believe her squad can contend this season with more than 80 percent of their scoring and four 30-goal scorers that were apart of the America East’s second highest-scoring offense.

If Emily Coady (35 goals), Amanda Pappas (34 goals), Ashley Stodter (33 goals), and Erika Braerman (32 goals) weren’t enough, Alicia Krause (24 goals) and Lindsay Cox (10 goals) both return and will be joined by Navy transfer Madi Bell (9 goals) and highly-touted freshman Jenn Wells and Maddie Irwin.

Up front in the attack for UMBC will be Coady, Stodter, and Braerman, a very experienced group of one junior (Cody) and two seniors that have had major impacts since they started at UMBC. While she has plenty of scoring options around her, Coady, who was ninth in the America East in goals per game last season, could be due for an even better season and showed just how much of a scoring threat she was in last year’s AE tournament, where she scored eight goals in two games.

Coady is the one that the offense runs through as she plays behind the goal, calls out the plays, and shifts in the offense.

In the midfield Pappas has gotten a reputation as one of the league’s top players, proven by her America East All-Conference Second team selection after a stellar junior campaign.

Amanda Pappas proved to be one of the league's top midfielders last season

While Bria Phillips (23 goals, 10 assists) left UMBC for academic reasons, the return of Carrie Paris, who missed half of last season with an injury, should really bring a real defensive boost to the unit. Meanwhile, Krause, who primarily played up front last season, is expected to switch spots with Stodter, who mostly played in the midfield the last two seasons, in order to take advantage of her defensive ability. Also adding a defensive presence in the midfield will be freshmen Kristen Bilney and Taelar Errington.

The defense is going to be the key to the women’s lacrosse team’s success. The team will score, and in bunches. UMBC finished second in the conference in goals against average, allowing only 8.86 per game but lost four-year starter Sarah Willis and first team All-Conference goalkeeper Kate Quick, who nearly played every minute the last two seasons, saving 126 shots.

The back-line will still have plenty of talent to work with. C.J. Durham (22 ground balls, 22 caused turnovers) led UMBC in caused turnovers each of the last two seasons while Jamie Fahey was the 2010 Rookie of the Year and won’t hesitate to bring the ball up the field and attack the goal. Meagan Linkous, who was used as a defensive midfielder last season, could move down to fill in at the third starting spot, but will be pushed by Kristen Milligan.

Lauren Mundell, Jessica Harkey, and freshman Jackie Benson should also see time in the back.

The biggest question mark for the team will be at goalkeeper. Nobody will know who the starter will be until game time but, it appears to be nearly a three-way tie between senior Natalie Rau, sophomore Kendall Mason, and freshman Ashley Chaconas, non of whom are really experienced at all.

Mason probably has the edge and may start the season opener against George Mason. Last season she saw time in three games, totaling 31:19 minutes with three saves, allowing four goals.

Once again an athletic season did not quite live up to its expectations. The men’s lacrosse team looked like a shell of itself of the last four years, the softball team started out hot and sunk fast and missed out on the play-offs, and the baseball team suffered a second straight nine win campaign. But this season was about the women’s lacrosse team. The team is no longer a gimme’ win for teams and in her first year as coach Kelly Berger took the team to their first ever America East Conference Championship, where they lost by just one goal. There are a lot of bright spots heading into the future after this season, even with some down teams. But as for this years awards:

Top Coach

Kelly Berger, Women’s Lacrosse

It should be no surprise who the top coach award should go to this season. Once again, in just her first season Kelly Berger got the team into no only their first AEC tournament in four years, but their first ever AEC Championship. In the last few years the team was one that could not really compete in the AEC, but that all changed with the coaching change that the athletic department made last summer. This year the team beat everybody they were supposed to beat, and played some good lacrosse against some quality teams. While they were near elimination from the tournament they got a big road win to clinch a berth, upset undefeated (in conference play) University at Albany in the first round, and lost by just one to Boston University. In just one year Berger turned the team into one that never could quite get the win, into a favorite for next year’s championship.

Male Freshman of the Spring

Nick Doub, Men’s Lacrosse

It’s not very often that an unproven freshman comes in mid-season and takes over a starting spot that was held by the team’s leading scorer, but Nick Doube did just that. He replaced Bobby Stockton, who at that point led the team with 12 goals, in the starting midfield and shined. While he ended the season with four goals and two assists, what made him keep his spot was his ability on defense and his superb passing skills kept him in the lineup for not only this year, but most likely for the next three years of his career.

Female Freshman of the Spring

Jamie Fahey, Women’s Lacrosse

Jamie Fahey was a major reason the women’s lacrosse team ended where they did. Not only did she play lock-down defense, but when she got the ball she was always a threat to take it up for a goal. With exceptional speed and great ball handling, she looks like she’s going to be one of the top players on the team for years to come. After her season she was named to the All-Rookie Team, Rookie of the Year, Second Team All-AEC, and was named to the Mid-Atlantic Second team by the Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association and All-Rookie team by womenslacrosse.com

Best Male Performance:

Keith Onto, Men’s Track and Field, 7,239 points in Decathlon

The decathlon was an event invented to find out who the best athlete in the world is, and when it mattered the most Keith Onto had a beyond stellar performance in as he won at the AEC Championships with 7,239 points. He won the 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, Javelin, and Discus, finished second in the 100-meter dash and shot put, third in the 1,500-meter run and pole vault. The second place finished totaled just 6,662 points.

Best Female Performance

Emily Coady, Women’s Lacrosse, Eight Goals in AEC Tournament

While many players had great single game performances, nothing compared to the two game performances Emily Coady had at the AEC tournament. In an upset of UAlbany in the semi-finals Coady scored four goals in a two goal victory. Going into that game UAlbany was undefeated in conference play, but Coady’s performance lifted UMBC past the Great Danes and into their first ever AEC championship game, where once again, she shined. While the team ended up losing in the finals to heavily favored Boston U, Coady scored four goals for a second straight game as the team lost by just one goal. Her eight goals in two games nearly gave UMBC a championship, and left them as a serious contender for next year.

Best Moment

Women’s Lacrosse Upsets UAlbany, 11-9 in AEC Tournament

I’ve been mentioning the game the entire time, it was a huge upset. UAlbany was heavily favored, had a 13-2 overall record and were 6-0 in conference play, and beat UMBC in the regular season on UMBCs own turf. But when it mattered the most UMBC got their revenge with an 11-10 victory over the Great Danes to make it to their first ever AEC Championship game.

Most Improved Male Athlete

Brian Klukowicz, Baseball

Even though the Baseball team struggled for a second straight season, Brian Klukowicz gave the team hope for the future. As a freshman he appeared in just eight games and made 18 at-bats. He had just one hit. But this year Klukowicz became a very reliable hitter that the team can build around. He played in ever game, started all but three, hit .286 with four home runs, and reached base 35% of the time. He also led the team in runs with 26, and had 17 RBIs.

Most Improved Female Athlete

Erika Braerman, Women’s Lacrosse

It’s hard to say she improved because she was very good last year, but was just in a different role. Last season Erika Braerman just had to be a solid passer who could help set up the offense, this year, she was the offense. Braerman went from scoring nine goals with 11 assists last year to leading the team with 54 points off 32 goals and a team high 22 points. It did not take long for Braerman to grow into her new role, and with her return next season, the team has a lot of hope for a championship.

Unsung Male Athlete

Mike Camardo, Men’s Lacrosse

How much more unsung can you get than Mike Camardo. The man very well may be the best player the team has ever had and he’s never even made it to the first team All-AEC. He may not have the sexiest position, long stick midfielder, but he is great at what he does. He’s not a guy who is going to score a lot, just one goal and two assists this year, but defensively he is phenomenal. He once again led the team with 54 ground balls and 36 caused turnovers. Camardo’s job was to shut down the opposing offense, and make chances for his offense, and that is just what he did.

Unsung Female Athlete

Kate Quick, Women’s Lacrosse

This year was about the high powered offense the women’s lacrosse team had the outscored their opponents 223-160, but lost in all that was a great play of former first team All-AEC goalie Kate Quick. In 10032:08 minutes she saved 126 goals and helped make all of that offense happen. While she did not have nearly as much success as last year, she was still a staple in goal, starting all 18 games the Retrievers played, and did her part to not only save shots, but set up the defense however the team needed.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Spring

Victor Gilreath, Men’s Track and Field

Coming off an incredibly impressive winter season, Gilreath absolutely dominated in the fall season, totaling seven medals in six events, including four gold medals in the triple jump and one silver medal in the high jump.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Spring

Amanda Fefel, Softball

While the softball team sputtered in conference play and missed making the AEC tournament, Amanda Fefel capped of a phenomenal career with a great season. This season she led the team in nearly every offensive category, totaling 53 hits, 13 home runs, 35 RBIs, 101 total bases, a .631 slugging percentage, and reaching base 40 percent of the time. She was also second on the team with a .331 batting percentage and 33 runs. But she also dominated on the mound, leading the team with a 2.64 ERA and four saves. This year she also broke the all-time UMBC softball home run record, hitter her 41st career home run, became the only retriever named to four straight first-team all-conference teams, and earned an ECAC all-star selection.

Male Athlete of the Spring

Victor Gilreath, Men’s Track and Field

Once again, Gilreath was just absolutely dominant in his second season since transferring from University of Maryland and when it mattered the most he did great. Gilreath won gold at the America East Conference Championship with a leap of 15.45 meters, breaking a 19-year-old championship record. He also started the season with three straight gold medals, a third place finish at the IC4A Championships and a 43rd place finish at the NCAA Regional Championships.

Female Athlete of the Spring

Emily Coady, Women’s Lacrosse

She may be just a sophomore, but Emily Coady has proven to be the future of the women’s lacrosse team. This year she led the team with 35 goals and added eight assists to finish second on the team with 43 total points. She also finished fourth on the team with 20 ground balls. Emily Coady proved right away in her freshman season that she was going to be a very reliable player for the women’s lacrosse team, but this year she took her game to an all-new level. Even though she missed being named to an All-Conference team she ran the high powered offense from behind the net, opened up everybody else for good opportunities, and created her own. In the AEC tournament she scored four goals in both games as the fourth-seeded Retrievers upset UAlbany and came up just one goal shy against Boston U in the conference finals.

**Photos of Kelly Berger, track and field athletes, and Brian Klukowicz courtesy of UMBC athletics.

The last time the Retrievers played the Terriers they fell behind by six early goals, but this time would be different. After 15 minutes the teams were tied up at three a piece as the Retrievers were going after their first ever America East Conference crown.

Only three players would score four UMBC, but they produced 10 goals. Sophomore Emily Coady led the team with four goals for the second straight game while Ashley Stodter and Amanda Pappas each totaled three. The team stuck to their top players as they only used two reserves: Bria Phillips and Amanda Gable, but unfortunately they came up just one goal shy of the championship, losing 11-10.

Senior goalie Kate Quick totaled seven saves but gave up four goals to McKinley Curro and Traci Landy, as well as one goal to three other Terriers.

While the team did not win they certainly look like they will be a major contender very soon. The team was picked to finish in fifth place this year but finished just one goal shy of a championship in it’s first year under coach Kelly Berger.

They will return all but five players, only three of which played significant time.

Just a few weeks ago the women’s lacrosse team’s season looked to be finished after an 11-10 loss to University at Albany that put them in a must win situation in the season finale. Well needless to say the team won their next game, earned a spot in the America East Conference Tournament but this time got a victory over UAlbany, 11-9, when it counted the most.

The win secured the women’s lacrosse team a spot in their first ever win in an AEC post season, and first tournament victory wins winning the Northeast Conference Championship in 2003. The team will face the winner of the Boston University and New Hampshire game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

After falling behind by four goals in just 16 minutes the women’s lacrosse team looked to be severely out-matched by the Great Danes, who ended the regular season without a loss in conference play. Ashley Stodter scored on a free position shot to finally get UMBC on the board soon after but UAlbany came right back for another goal.

With 19 seconds remaining in the first half Emily Coady scored her first of four goals to cut the deficit to three by halftime, and for the second game in a row the team came out on fire as they outscored the Great Danes 9-4 after the break.

While Coady led all scorers with four goals, both Stodter and Amanda Pappas scored two goals in the game while Lindsay Cox, Alicia Krause, and Bria Phillips all added one.

But the biggest difference for UMBC was solid goalie play as Kate Quick made six of her eight saves in the second half to help keep UMBC in the game. UMBC also dominated ground balls, getting 22 to UAlbany’s 12. They also turned the ball over six fewer times than the Great Danes.

Freshman defender Jamie Fahey became the first ever women’s lacrosse player earn Rookie of the Year honors. She started all 16 games this year and totaled 35 ground balls, 32 draw controls, and caused nine turnovers. Along with being named Rookie of the Year she earned second team honors.

Joining Fahey on the second team were Erika Braerman, Bria Phillips, and Amanda Pappas.

Braerman led the Retrievers in all three major stat categories this season with 32 goals, 22 assists, and 54 points.

Phillips finished the year with 22 goals and 10 assists with 16 ground balls while Pappas scored 29 goals and had eight assists. She also had 15 ground balls, 13 draw controls, and had 12 caused turnovers.

Also honored with post season awards were three Retrievers on the all-academic team. Emily Coady finished with a 3.39 GPA in Polical Science, Phillips earned a 3.54 GPA in Business Technology Administration, and Kate Quick finished with a 3.37 GPA in psychology.

Wimer leads UMBC with 30 points off 12 goals and a team high 18 assists. He was a pre-season first team All-American by Inside Lacrosse and currently leads the nation with a 29 straight game scoring streak.

Camardo has had another outstanding season with 38 ground balls and 3.2 caused turnovers per game, which ranks second in the nation. Last season he was the AEC Championship Most Outstanding Player and a Second-Team All-AEC selection.

Men’s Ballot

On the women’s side of lacrosse, Erika Braerman and Kate Quick have been nominated for the Women’s Lacrosse Fan’s Choice Player of the Year award.

Braerman leads UMBC with 29 goals and 21 assists for 50 points. She is second in the AEC in points per game and third in assists. She currently ranks fifth all-time for most assists in a season.

Quick, the First-Team All-Conference goalie, leads the stingiest defense in the AEC, which ranks 14th in the nation with just an 8.79 goals-against average. So far this season she has recorded 106 saves, 34 ground balls, and 15 caused turnovers.

Women’s Ballot

UMBC was just 52 seconds away from an overtime game but then Albany’s Rachael Burek netted a goal for the victory.

Kate Quick, Amanda Gable, Rachel Pincus, Erika Welck, and Sarah Willis all played in their final home game, and were put in a must win situation against Binghamton if they can dream about getting to their first America East Conference tournament.

Bria Phillips recorded her second straight hat trick while Amanda Pappas, Ashley Stodter, and Emily Coady all recorded two goals. Alicia Krause had one.

In goal Quick recorded five goals in 60 minutes.

The women’s lacrosse team gave up six early goals to Boston U, including three-straight in which they did not even touch the ball on the possession.

A slow start like that is too much for any team to come back from, much less against the defending conference champions, causing the retrievers to lose, 12-8.

Bria Phillips led the team with three goals while Amanda Pappas scored two against the Terriers.

Emily Coady broke the Terriers run with a goal at 18:44 off a pass from Alicia Krause as she came around from the back of the goal.

After struggling early Kate Quick was replaced by freshman Kendall Mason but did return to the game, making eight saves in 51:21.

The team trailed 9-4 at the half but did out play the Terriers in the second half as they outscored them, 4-3 after the break.

They scored the first 14 goals of the game, and went into the half with a 14-1 lead. In the second half they did not have as much offensive success but they outscored Fresno State 4-2 after the break, giving them an 18-2 victory.

It was senior midfielder Amanda Gable’s turn to have a solid offensive night. She led the team with five goals and also had four draw controls.

Erika Braerman and Bria Phillips each had three goals and three assists while Ashley Stodter netted two. Alicia Krause, Kristen Milligan, Emily Coady, Lindsay Cox, and Meagan Linkous all had a goal a piece. In goal Kate Quick got the start and made a save and gave up no goals, but was taken out 24 minutes into the game after the team has a very sizable lead. Kendal Mason and Natalie Rau each had one save.