Cathy Reese?s tenure as the Maryland women?s lacrosse coach got off to an earlier start than anticipated, but the results are what she expected after taking over at her alma mater in August.
Junior midfielder Dana Dobbie scored six goals, and junior attack Katie Princiotto had three goals and six assists as No. 6 Maryland defeated the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, 23-8, Monday at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville.
The Terps also got big games from a pair of freshmen. Midfielder Amanda Spinnenweber scored four goals and had two assists, while attack Ali Perkins had a goal and three assists in their first college game. Monday?s game came together last week after both teams had an open date following Ohio?s elimination of its program.
“This was a great start for us, and not just because of the score,” said Reese, whotook over for Cindy Timchal after she left for Navy following 16 record-breaking seasons at College Park.
Reese, who spent the three previous seasons as the University of Denver?s coach, and UMBC counterpart Courtney Connor are no strangers to each other. They were teammates together in College Park during Maryland?s unprecedented run of seven straight national titles from 1995 to 2001. Reese graduated in 1998 and Connor graduated in 2001.
Despite their long history together, Reese was not easy on her good friend. Maryland (1-0) scored the game?s first seven goals and never looked back. The Terps also out-shot the Retrievers, 48-24, and won 22 of 32 draw controls. Sophomore midfielder Kara Dorr scored three goals to lead UMBC (1-1).
Monday?s game was a far different story for UMBC than its season opener Saturday, when the Retrievers routed Howard, 23-7. Still, Connor has high hopes for her team, which went 10-7 last year and won the America East Conference regular-season title.
“This game was a good experience for our team,” Connor said. “We were playing against a high level of competition and made some mistakes today. But those mistakes are fixable.”
UMBC returns to action Friday night when it hosts Bucknell. Maryland next plays Saturday when it hosts Boston College.
