UMBC women in it to win it

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - UMBC attack Ali Levendusky had a hard time accepting that her junior season ended with a 16-7 loss to Albany.

The loss capped the end to a disappointing season for the Retrievers (7-10, 2-4 America East), which failed to qualify for the conference tournament for the first time since the Catonsville school joined the league in 2004. The losing season also came after UMBC went 10-8 in 2006 and just missed out on the NCAA Tournament.

Now, Levendusky, a former John Carroll standout, is back for her final season wanting to do more than just make the tournament. The Baldwin resident wants to win it.

“We definitely have a strong team this year,” Levendusky said. “We can give any team in our conference a run for their money.”

Levendusky is coming off a season in which she was second on the team in goals with 28 and third in points with 38, which garnered her All-America East second-team honors. The year before, she led UMBC with 41 goals and 54 points, making the All-America East first team.

Now that last year’s leading scorers — Kelly Fahey and Jen Kasper — have graduated, Levendusky knows she needs her to have her best season yet and she has to make sure to keep all of her teammates involved.

Levendusky said this is especially important with UMBC having just two other seniors on the roster — defender Maggie Chizmar and attacker Meghan Keelan — making the Retrievers one of the youngest teams in the America East.

“I think this year we’re smarter, we take care of the ball better and make better decisions,” said junior midfielder Kara Dorr, who led the team last year with 29 goals. “Since we’re working harder it just kind of falls into place.”

Dorr (C. Milton Wright) is one of a number of younger players asked to take on larger roles in 2008 for UMBC, including sophomore goalie Kate Quick, who took over the starting job midway through last year as a freshman, while sophomore midifielder Kelly Burgoyne was selected to the conference’s All-Rookie team. However, UMBC coach Courtney Connor views Levendusky as the key to the Retrievers success this season.

“She always seems to find a way for the ball to be in the back of the cage, which is great,” Connor said. “You always need one of those players.”