Bowles Tallies 100th Career Point and Propels No. 19/18 Women's Lacrosse to 12-8 Win at UMBC
BOX SCORE
BALTIMORE, MD.- No. 19/18 University at Albany women's lacrosse (12-2, 3-1 AE) secured a spot in the 2014 America East Tournament on Saturday afternoon with a 12-8 victory at UMBC (7-8, 1-3 AE).
"We made good reads on offense, and our defense made nice stands,” said head coach John Battaglino. “We capitalized when we needed to, and the team showed good resilience on the road."
Ariana Parker and Rachel Bowles combined for the first three goals to put UAlbany up 3-1. Parker kicked off scoring four minutes into the game before the Great Danes went on a four-goal run. Bowles and Parker scored unassisted. Anna Berman made a save in the UAlbany end to set up Sarah Martin's first goal of the game from Maureen Keggins.
Bowles found the back of the net again on a pass from Allie Phelan with 11:20 remaining in the first half. The score marked her 100th career point.
The Retrievers bounced back for three unanswered goals, coming within one of UAlbany with six minutes left in the first, 5-4. Phelan responded with a free position goal one minute later.
After UMBC managed a man-down goal, Katherine Sweeney took advantage for the Purple & Gold on the other end on an assist from Bowles to make the score 7-5 at the break.
The Great Danes went scoreless for 13 minutes before Parker scored to give UAlbany some breathing room, 8-6. Bowles extended the lead to three, 9-6 two minutes later for her 40th goal of the year.
Two goals from Martin and one from Nichole Eamer closed out scoring for UAlbany and insured the win.
The Great Danes never lost the lead against the Retrievers on the road. UAlbany went a perfect 2-for-2 on free position shots and committed a season-low five turnovers.
In addition to recording her 103rd career point, Bowles notched her second-straight game with five points (3g, 2a). She has scored 40 goals this season to rank tied for eighth all-time in single season goals. The only underclassman to score more goals in one season is teammate Ariana Parker, who notched 44 goals in her freshman campaign.
"It was a physical game, and we knew we had to win to get into the America East Tournament,” said Bowles. “It started on defense, carried through the midfield and we finished our shots."
The Great Danes will await their fate in America East Tournament seeding next week on Saturday at noon at New Hampshire (7-8, 2-2 AE). The Wildcats fell 15-5 to Stony Brook on Saturday, and as a result the Seawolves will host the 2014 America East Women's Lacrosse Tournament as the No. 1 seed. A win against New Hampshire will lock the Purple & Gold into the No. 2 seed.
