The University of Maryland-Baltimore County men?s lacrosse team might have lost to Delaware, 10-6, in the NCAA quarterfinals, but Retrievers coach Don Zimmerman walked off the field feeling like a winner.
UMBC completed an 11-6 season that included the program?s first-ever victory in the Division I tournament, a 13-9 win over in-state rival Maryland in the first round. The Retrievers received unprecedented exposure thanks to the Maryland win. And the school will soon start work on a new fieldhouse, giving Zimmerman an even more optimistic outlook for the future.
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“Obviously, the further in the tournament, the more attention you get, which certainly helps the program,” said Zimmerman, who is 101-90 in 14 seasons at UMBC. “Growth and good kids, along with the support from the school, help to recruit better than we could in the past.”
Zimmerman feels confident that the postseason success will aid the maturation progress of a relatively young team, which had more than 20 new players on the roster. Freshman attack Cayle Ratcliff, a Canadian who had team-high 42 goals this year, highlighted that group. Also expected back in 2008 are goalie Jeremy Blevins (195 saves) and midfielders Terry Kimener (18 goals, 20 assists), Alex Hopmann (20, 8) and Taylor Marino (168 of 342 face-off wins).
“I think the experience is great because now everyone has it,” Blevins said. “The seniors helped lead us here, and it is going to [stink] losing them because they have been so great.”
Zimmerman said it was the upperclassmen who helped rally UMBC following a 3-3 start, which included a lackluster 11-7 loss at Maryland on March 17 .
The biggest senior loss comes on the attack, as Drew Westervelt and Andy Gallagher closed out their careers Sunday. Westervelt finished the season with 35 goals and 36 assists, while Gallagher had 35 goals and 16 assists.
“[The seniors] helped set the tone for the younger kids to follow,” Zimmerman said. “I don?t want to talk about the juniors [right now]. I will talk about the seniors because they have been great leaders. The kids learn through peer interaction and obviously I step in for discipline, but I have had far less of that this year because the seniors took the team from me.”
