Boxscore

File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

BALTIMORE, Md. -- The University of Delaware women’s lacrosse team led seven different times, and never trailed in the second half until Amanda Pappas’ scored her second straight goal with 33 seconds left in regulation to put the University of Maryland Baltimore County ahead 9-8 and send the Hens to their third straight loss to start the season.

This was just the second time Delaware has lost to UMBC in eight meetings. The Blue Hens have not started a season 0-3 since 1996.

Both teams took 22 shots on the night, but UMBC outshot Delaware 10-7 in the second half. The Retrievers also won more groundballs (22-18), draw controls (11-8) and turned the ball over one less time (19 turnovers to UD's 20). The Blue Hens committed 34 fouls to UMBC's 20, as Pappas' game-tying goal came on a free-position shot following a UD foul with 2:18 left to play.

Delaware was led by its senior captain Deb Sloan (at right), who scored two goals and pitched in three assists. Delaware sophomore midfielder Julianna Jeffers would also score two goals and junior attack Courtney Aburn posted a team-high five shots. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Cerveny suffered her third loss of the year after stopping eight shots and allowing nine goals.

Aburn opened the scoring just over three minutes into the game with her first goal of the season off a Corinne Drost assist as the Blue Hens took an opening lead for the first time this season.

UMBC would answer with two unassisted goals by Amanda Gable and Ashley Stodter at 22:57 and 17:59, respectively. Stodter’s goal, her seventh of the season, would put the Retrievers up 2-1.

Jeffers would tie the score before the 15-minute mark on an unassisted goal, and then tally her third goal of the season at 13:37 to put Delaware back in front 3-2. Senior captain Deb Sloan was credited with the assist on Jeffers’ second goal.

Just under the nine minute mark of the first half, UMBC’s Erika Braerman would find Pappas, who sent a shot past Cerveny to tie the score once more, 3-3.

Sloan’s unassisted fourth goal of the season nearing the four-minute mark again put Delaware in front, but Gable would score her second goal of the night off an assist by Emily Coady to tie the score for the third time with forty seconds left before the intermission.

Just when it looked as though the first half would end in a tie, Sloan found junior attack Nicole Flego who sent a shot past Retriever goalkeeper Kate Quick, with just twenty seconds left before the buzzer.

Neither team would score for nearly 11 minutes of play in the second half, but Delaware junior captain Morgan Marino would score her first goal of the season off Sloan’s third assist of the night, and then last year’s 1st Team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, junior attack Emily Schaknowski, would get into the scoring mix near the 15-minute mark to give Delaware its largest lead of the night, and the season, 7-4.

But Coady and the Retrievers would not go away. The freshman attack led a UMBC three-goal run within three minutes, scoring two goals of her own, and the Retrievers would tie the score for the fourth time of the night at seven apiece. Coady scored the first and third goal of that run.

Sloan would put Delaware ahead for the final time at 8-7 with 3:16 left in regulation, but Pappas would tie it again about a minute later, and then score the game-winner with 33 seconds left in the game.

Delaware, still looking for its first win of the season, will host the University at Albany on Friday afternoon, 4 p.m. at Rullo Stadium. The Blue Hens will try to avoid their first ever 0-4 start to a season.