Kelsi Morris was one of five seniors honored before her final collegiate home game.

Junior forward Rachel McKee scored her seventh goal of the season while sophomore Lauren Kadet made nine saves on an emotional senior day for the women’s soccer team but it was still not enough to get their first victory of the season as they tied New Hampshire, 1-1.

In the 23rd minute Sarah Purdum played the ball up the field to McKee, who hit a rocket shot inside the right post with the Wildcats goalkeeper out of position to take an early advantage. It was Purdum’s first career assists.

The Retrievers played a very sound first half, allowing New Hampshire to take only three shots on goal, but they got caught in the 62nd minute when Stephanie Gilkenson controlled a free kick and blasted it over Kadet’s head from 30 yards out in the middle of the field.

UMBC had their fair share of chances in the second half but were unable to capitalize on any of them.

The game was the last at UMBC Soccer Park for seniors LeAnne Edgar, Megan McDonald, Kelsi Morris, Brooke Piper, and Mo Van Vlerah.

The women’s team has one final chance to earn a victory this year when they travel to Binghamton on Sunday.

The women’s soccer team was outshot 31-4 by the Terriers and lost the cornerkick battle 7-1. UMBC just struggled to possess the ball for any stretch of time and managed only two shots on goal in the game, one from Jessy Brown and another from Sarah Kopytko.

UMBC held the Terriers off for the first 14 minutes but then Madison Clemens collected a cross from Tiya Gallegos from the right side and put it in the top of the goal, opening the flood gates for Boston U. Six minutes later Gallegos sent another ball across the field and this time Kylie Strom flicked it past sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Kadet.

The Retriever defense started to settle down a bit after going down 2-0 and held the Terriers in check for the better part of 15 minutes but at 34:02 Jessica Luscinski kicked in from the top right corner of the box and at 41:53 Megan McGoldrick hit a long shot into the right side of the goal from the left side of the field, taking a 4-0 lead over the Retrievers.

After allowing four goals in the half Kadet, who had eight saves in the first 45 minutes, was taken out of the game in favor of senior Mo Van Vlerah but things didn’t fair any better for her as she allowed four more goals and saved just one shot.

Five minutes into the second half Gallegos headed in a ball off a short cross to take a 5-0 lead over the Retrievers before horrible luck struck and UMBC went down 6-0 by an own goal. With the ball out on the right side of the field Van Vlerah ran out to scoop it up but the Terrier midfielder got to it first and sent it into the middle of the field with an open net. Sarah Purdum went to slide for the ball to prevent a Terrier player from slipping it in but she mistimed the slide and kicked it into the goal in the 61st minute.

Boston scored two more goals in the 72nd and 76th minutes as they dropped the Retrievers to 0-13-2 and 0-5-1 in conference play with only two games left on the schedule.

Amazingly, UMBC is not mathematically eliminated from the America East tournament. If UMBC beats both New Hampshire and Binghamton and have other results go in their favor, they could sneak into the tournament as the sixth-seed.

Amy Savage scored her second goal of the season against the Tigers.

The hopes of a competitive 2011 season took another big hit on Friday night when the women’s soccer team fell to 0-6-0 on the season with a 3-1 loss to cross-town rival Towson.

Cheyenne Skidmore put UMBC in an early hole when she controlled a cross from Alex Evitts right in front of the net and booted it just past senior goalkeeper Mo Van Vlerah in the 28th minute.

Less than ten minutes later UMBC was able to knot the game up when junior defender Aly Gazarek sent a cross to freshman Lilly Rydon, who headed the ball down to sophomore Amy Savage. Savage was along in front of the goal for her second score of the season.

But Towson was able to break away in the second half. As the clock hit 56:00 Emily Banes scored a go-ahead goal when she knocked a corner kick from Sofia Read just inside the far post. Fifteen minutes later Towson doubled their lead when Read scored from a free kick just outside the top right corner of the box.

UMBC was able to rip off 11 shots but were outshot by eight and only managed five shots on goal to Towson’s 10.

Van Vlerah made a season-high seven saves in the game and now ranks seventh all-time at UMBC with 159 career saves, two behind Catie Bukowski for sixth place.

Towson also had an 11-3 advantage in corner kicks in the contest.

Nearly 11 minutes into the game Marin McDermott knocked in a goal to put the Retrievers in a whole. UMBC, which has struggled to put the ball in the net for the past few years, could never find an equalizer and eventually Penn built on the lead. In the 47th minute Kathryn Barth bumped the ball into the goal to double-up on the Retrievers and in the 75th minute Erin Beck scored off a cross from the right side to give Penn an insurmountable lead.

UMBC was outshot 16-3 in the match and 8-1 in the second half. Sophomore Amy Savage was the only Retriever to shoot the ball and only two were on target. Her first shot came at 6:55 but Quaker goalkeeper Sarah Banks made a stop before jumping in front of Savage’s next shot at 30:02. Her shot at 32:40 was off target and her shot at 67:46 was blocked by the defense.

Lauren Kadet started the game in goal, making four saves in 79 minutes but after allowing a third score senior Mo Van Vlerah was brought in for the final 11, in which she recorded a save.

Amy Savage scored the game's first goal in the eighth minute.

Amy Savage broke away down the right side in the eight minute and blasted the ball into the goal from 15-yards out to give the Retrievers a 1-0 lead on the road against a tough Temple Owls team.

The defense played nearly flawless defense for the first 59 minutes too but unfortunately the Owls finally got into their rhythm and in the 60th minute Morgyn Sigfried scored off an assist from Kate Yurkovic to tie the game at one a piece and in the 115th minute, nearly five minutes into the game’s second overtime, Casey Greco hit the game-winner to sent UMBC home with a 2-1 loss.

Temple dominated the shot battle, 22-8, but the Retriever defense generally forced them to rush their shots or take bad one as the Owls only had seven shots on target, much closer to UMBC’s five. But the difference in shots on goal was the number of goals Temple had. Temple also dominated the corner kick battle with seven to UMBC’s three.

An injury forced sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Kadet sit out against the Owls but senior Mo Van Vlerah played 115 minutes and made five stops but was credited with the loss.

Sophomore’s Jessy Brown and Savage also played the entire time, as did freshmen Melissa Hummel and Morgan Taylor.

Savage and junior defender Aly Gazarek led UMBC with two shots each like Kelsi Morris, Sarah Kopytko, Stephanie Smith, and Hummel all took chances as well.

Amy Savage was one of the women's soccer teams best player last year as only a freshman. She should be an even bigger threat as a sophomore.

Despite a 2-14-1 record in 2010 the women’s soccer team actually showed a lot of improvement from their 2-14-1 record in 2009.

This year there should be even more improvement and saying the team could compete for that final spot in the six-team America East tournament wouldn’t be wrong at all.

Last year the women’s soccer team got big contributions from their freshmen: Jessy Brown, Lauren Kadet, Amy Savage, Stephanie Smith, and Nichole Clark. The defense also played to a level that kept them in contention most of their games.

Unfortunately Clark is not returning to the team, two of the team’s top defenders graduated, and another will be out all of this season after suffering a bad neck injury in the spring that nearly ended her career.

But all is not lost, Aly Gazarek and Kelsi Morris are two upper classmen set to lead the back line and both senior Mo Van Vlerah and Kadet are very capable goalkeepers that led the America East in saves in consecutive years, respectively.

The question is who will step into those spots as center back that Christine Sadowski, Erin Johnson, and Gitlin played so well in. Morris and Gazarek could certainly move inside but junior Sarah Purdum, sophomore Shannon McGuinness, and freshmen Estelle Bol, Melissa Hummel, and Morgan Taylor will all be in the mix. Taylor was named to the Elite Clubs National League Under-17 All-Event Team at the ECNL/PDA College Showcase earlier this summer and may be the front runner to take one of those two spots.

Now the question is who is going to put the ball in the net. Last year the team only scored 13 goals all season and six of them are gone with the losses of Clark, Vacarino, and Sadowski.

Savage, a sophomore midfielder, is definitely going to be a threat on offense. Last season Savage was named to the America East All-Rookie team after scoring two goals and two assists and finishing tied for the most points among Retrievers. While she played mostly midfield this year she could move up if she continues to prove to be one of the team’s best offensive threats.

But the team is also loaded with three very experienced forwards, who have been plagued by bad luck more than anything. Seniors LeAnne Edgar, who may move back to midfield, and Brooke Piper have both shown offensive ability at points in their career but both have struggled to score, combining for only three career goals. Meanwhile, junior Rachel McKee is fearless when it comes to shooting the ball but has only scored one in each of her two seasons at UMBC.

Early on those three veterans, along with Savage, will be called on to get the job done. They all have the awareness and experience to lead a successful Retriever offense but time will have to tell if years of bad luck (hitting the cross bar, having the opposing goalkeepers making tremendous saves, just missing the net, etc.) has taken their toll on them.

But the team still has plenty of other weapons too. Junior Sarah Kopytko has played in 26 games in her career at UMBC and netted her lone career goal last season.

Brown and Smith should both continue to provide the team with quality play and should be even better now that they have a year under their belts.

Freshmen Lilly Rydon, a member of the 2008 U-17 Australian National Team, Alyssa Brummitt, a two-time all-state honorable mention from Maryland, and Paige Preston, a first-team All-District and All-Division and second-team All-County and All-Shore selection in 2010 from New Jersey, should all be in the mix on offense as well.

The women’s soccer team kicks off their season on August 18 at 4 p.m. on the road at American before hosting Campbell on August 21 at 1 p.m. for their home opener. The women’s soccer team will host nine games this season and will plan eight more on the road.

Lauren Kadet leads the AEC with 103 saves.

Vote for freshman goalie Lauren Kadet for America East Conference women’s soccer fans’ choice Player of the Year

Alyssa Radu took a big gamble when she replaced incumbent goalkeeper Mo Van Vlerah, who was coming off a season in which she led the America East Conference with 109 saves, with an unknown player in freshman Lauren Kadet, but there is no question that it was the right decision. While Kadet may not have had the goal support needed to have a successful record, she did everything she possibly could to get the team wins.

After Van Vlerah got a win over Delaware State in the season opener, Kadet was brought into the goal and has recorded 103 saves, which leads the AEC. More impressively, however, is that Kadet has stopped over 81 percent of the shots she has been faced with.

Voting for the award will end Monday, Oct. 26 at noon and the winner will be announced the next day.

Lauren Kadet

True freshman Lauren Kadet was in a goalkeeper battle with incumbent Mo Van Vlerah all preseason and proved to be the victor as she has started the last two games. Van Vlerah is a very talented goalkeeper, which is apparent by her 109 saves last year, but coach Alyssa Radu just couldn’t keep Kadet on the bench this season and put her in goal over Van Vlerah after the season opener. Kadet absolutely shined in her collegiate debut, making 11 saves in a game against Drexel. Then in her second match she saved seven of 10 shots, giving her 18 total saves on the weekend, which was 82 percent of the shots she was faced with.

Stat Line:
Longwood: 11 saves, 1 goal allowed, 91%
George Washington: 7 saves, 3 goals allowed, 70%

Junior goalkeeper Mo Van Vlerah is currently in a very interesting position battle with freshman Lauren Kadet.

Longwood may be just 0-2 to start the season, but they are a much better team than their record. Last year the Lancers went 9-8-1, and return most of the key players from that campaign, including a strong senior class of goalkeeper Marcia Biddle, defenders Kayle Huggins, Katie Devlin, and Lauren Trizna, and forward Jessica Varela.

With three seniors across the back line, and a senior in goal, Longwood has a stingy defense. But what really helps them out in this game is that they will be playing at home, where they are 27-9-1 since 2006.

UMBC can certainly win the game. The team already has four goals this season and have been more aggressive and confident, when in possession with the ball. Last year the women’s soccer team, when they had control, always took to long to take a shot, wasting opportunities to take shots to try and set up better shots. Sometimes that can be a good move, but this year the team is taking their chances and already has 23 shots in just two games, nine of which were on target.

One big boost to the team could be the return of senior defender Erin Johnson. She was held out of he first two games after suffering some minor preseason injuries, and is expected to be back for this game. Johnson is a very talented and experienced center back. She came right in her freshman year and started every game en route to an All-Rookie Team selection. In three years she has played in every game (54) and has started 52 of them.

The other story line that deserves special attention is the goal keeper battle between junior Mo Van Vlerah and freshman Lauren Kadet, who have been battling for the starting job all preseason. Van Vlerah started every game last year, and despite being stormed by shots ever game, was very successful. She started the season and wasn’t faced with much action, but saved three shots while conceding a goal. But coach Alyssa Radu made a surprise change for the second game, starting Kadet. And Kadet had a stellar debut. It was ashame she didn’t have any offensive help, as she lost the game 1-0, but she saved 11 shots, which is impressive for a collegiate debut to say the least.

Probably Starters:

Jessy Brown is one of the freshman who has already become an impact player.

UMBC (1-1):
F- LeAnne Edgar (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
F- Rachel McKee (0 goals, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
M- Jessy Brown (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 SOG)
M- Sandra Vacarino (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
M- Katie Gitlin (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG, played defense the last two games)
M- Morgan Andrews (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Aly Gazarek (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Erin Johnson (Has not played)
B- Christine Sadowski (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
B- Kelsi Morris (0 goals, 1 assists, 0 SOG)
GK- Lauren Kadet (11 saves, 1 ga, 91.7%)

Key Reserves:
F- Brooke Piper (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Amy Savage (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 SOG)
M- Nicole Clark (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 SOG)
M- Sarah Purdum (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
GK- Mo Van Vlerah (3 saves, 1 GA, 75.0%)

Longwood (0-1):
F- Lindsey Ottavio (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
F- Lindsay Booth (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Kelsey Pardue (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
M- Dylan Spicker (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Jessica Varela (0 goals, 1 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Katie Devlin (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Kacie Oliver (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
B- Natalie Massey (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Kayla Huggins (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
B- Lauren Trizna (1 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
GK- Marcia Biddle (11 saves, 3 ga, 78.6%)

Key Reserves:
F- Nikki Glisson (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 SOG)
M- Lindsay Wilshaw (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Kristi Dixon (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Mackenzie King (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 SOG)

Rachel McKee

You can’t take credit away from the women’s soccer team for opening their season with a because Delaware State just honestly wasn’t a great team because all they could do was beat the opposition at hand. But it will be harder to get a win on the road against Drexel, who is playing their season opener, in their second game.

This is going to be an interesting game. Drexel did only win four games last season, which would at first glance means UMBC had an amazing chance to get a 2-0 start. But Drexel does return every single player who scored a goal for them a season ago. While that is only 10 players who totaled just 20 goals, it means they do have players who know how to score, and what it’s like to score.

Jenna Lindsay is clearly going to be the go-to-scorer for Drexel as she was their top scorer with five goals and 11 points. The team’s second leading goal scorer, Elizabeth Matta (3 goals) is also a solid scoring option who can come off the bench and make a difference.

The Retrievers will also be going up against a good goalie, Nicole Sinclair, who saves over 72% of the shots she was faced with a season ago.

UMBC beat Delaware State by working the ball on the outside and getting it in to their scorers like Sandra Vacarino and LeAnne Edgar. You have to go with what works and likely be doing the same thing again.

If UMBC cam one again work the ball down the field with their wings and make good crosses, it very well may lead to a 2-0 start. But it won’t be easy to do. Drexel is a very young team, but at the same time they are experience as they return 12 players who started at least one game last season. They also return nine of their primary starters from last season.

Probable Starters:

UMBC (1-0):
F- Brooke Piper (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
F- Rachel McKee (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
M- Jessy Brown (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 sog)
M- Sandra Vacarino (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 sog)
M- LeAnne Edgar (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 sog)
M- Morgan Andrews (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
B- Aly Gazarek (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 sog)
B- Christine Sadowski (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 sog)
B- Katie Gitlin (0 goals, 0 assists, 1 sog)
B- Kelsi Morris (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 sog)
GK- Mo Van Vlerah (3 saves, 1 GA, 75% saves)

Key Reserves:
F- Amy Savage (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 sog)
M- Nicole Clark (0 goals, 1 assist, 0 sog)
M- Sarah Kopytko (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
M- Sarah Purdum (0 goals, 0 assists, 0 sog)
M- Shannon McGuinness (1 goal, 0 assists, 1 sog)