CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The first women's lacrosse weekly awards of 2009 were handed out by the America East Conference office to Vermont senior midfielder Kristen Millar (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair Secondary), UMBC sophomore defender Meagan Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) and New Hampshire freshman attacker JoJo Curro (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan). Millar was named the Player of the Week, Linkous was awarded the Defender of the Week, and Curro received the Rookie of the Week honor.
Millar, who finished with three goals, led Vermont to a 14-11 season-opening win at UConn. Two of her goals came in the Catamounts' 6-0 run to end the game and came from behind to pick up the win. Millar also recorded five ground balls and nine draw controls while extending her consecutive points streak to 48 games, the fourth longest in the country.
Linkous scored three goals on defense and tied for the team lead with four ground balls and three caused turnovers to go along with five draw controls in two games. She notched a hat trick in the victory over Howard, then posted three ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers at 12th-ranked Vanderbilt.
In her collegiate debut, Curro recorded two goals and two assists for four points against Bryant. She also tallied two ground balls and a draw control. Her first collegiate point came just 61 seconds into the contest when she assisted on the game's first goal. Both of her goals came in the second half.
Team Notebooks:
UAlbany (1-2, 0-0 AE) began their schedule with a three-game road trip to California... The Great Danes played three teams from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, including No. 16/17 Stanford... The Cardinal posted a 15-10 win in a game delayed 24 hours due to rain... UAlbany won its opener for the just the second time in its Division I history in a 14-9 victory over Saint Mary’s, Calif.... The Gaels sliced a second-half deficit to 8-7, but Nikki Branchini (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) and freshman Melanie Sosnowski (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) scored one minute and 14 seconds apart to help their team pull away... Julie Bush (Jordan, N.Y./ Jordan-Elbridge) had two goals and one assist, as her team avenged an 11-9 loss in the only other meeting between the programs in 2003... Bush, who had three goals and four assists last week, is making a successful return to the field after missing most of the last two seasons with knee injuries... Jodi Battaglia (Amherst, N.Y./Amherst) and Taylor Frink (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) each had a pair of goals against Stanford, while Mel Rorie (Landsdale, Pa./North Penn) added a career-high three assists... Kayla Best (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) extended her goal-scoring streak to 33 consecutive games with a season-best four goals at California... Best has scored four or more points 15 times as a collegian... The junior became the 11th player in school history to reach the 100-career point mark at Stanford... She is now tied for 10th all-time in scoring with 105 points and is eighth in goals (86).
The Bearcats (0-1, 0-0) jumped out to an early lead against No. 20 Denver with 28:41 to go in the first half. At the 18:04 mark, off a goal by sophomore captain Beth Moore, Binghamton took a 3-2 advantage. However, Denver dominated the rest of the first half, running off four goals straight that was part of a 12-4 run to put the Pioneers up 14-7 at the half.... Binghamton stormed back in the second half, out-shooting Denver 23-14. The Bearcats held the Pioneers without a goal for the last 21 minutes and scored the last five goals of the game. However, it was not enough to overcome the halftime deficit.
Boston University (0-0, 0-0) will open its season on Wednesday, February 25 when they host Massachusetts at 4 p.m. The Terriers were picked the coaches' preseason favorite in the conference and are ranked tenth in the preseason IWLCA poll.
UMBC (1-1, 0-0) split its first two games of the season, routing Howard, 19-1, on Feb. 14, then falling at 12th-ranked Vanderbilt, 15-6, on Feb. 21... Four Retrievers notched hat tricks in the Retrievers’ season-opening victory over the Bison... UMBC scored the first 16 goals of the game and led 12-0 at halftime... In all, eight Retrievers scored a goal and 13 recorded at least one point... Senior midfielder Kara Dorr (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) finished with a game-high four goals and five points, both career bests... Senior attack Abbey Swift (Baltimore, Md./Towson), sophomore midfielder Meagan Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) and freshman midfielder Bria Phillips (Davidsonville, Md./Coronado (Calif.)) each scored three times, while freshman attack Emily Coady (Westminster, Md./Westminster) tallied a game-high four assists... Dorr and Coady each scored twice against the Commodores... Down 8-1 at halftime, the Retrievers opened the second half with a 5-2 run to pull back to within four... Junior goalie Kate Quick (Phoenix, Md./Maryvale Prep) tallied 11 saves in the game... Next up for the Retrievers is cross-town rival Loyola on Feb. 25.
Fourteenth-ranked UNH (1-0, 0-0) won its season opener Feb. 22 with a 19-2 victory at home against Bryant University ... Senior attack Sarah Von Bargen (East Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) matched her career high of six points in that game ... Sophomore attack Susie Piotrkowski (Franklin, Conn./Norwich Free Academy) had a personal-best three assists and also tallied two goals ... Junior attack Shaunna Kaplan (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) matched her career high of three assists and scored once ... Overall, 10 Wildcats scored a goal and a total of 12 recorded at least one point vs. the Bulldogs ... In their collegiate debuts, Ilana Cohen (Andover, Mass./Andover), JoJo Curro (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan), and Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) all scored twice ... Sophomore attack Allie Bratton (Windermere, Fla./West Orange) tallied her first career point with an assist. Rookie goalkeeper Kate Gunts (Wilton, Conn.) got the start in her collegiate debut and earned the win by stopping two of three shots on goal in the first half ... In the last six years, UNH has won the season opener in the odd years and lost them in the even years ... With the Feb. 22 win at home, the Wildcats have now won seven consecutive home games ... UNH recorded 35 shots vs. Bryant; last year, the ?Cats had 35+ shots five times ... New Hampshire yielded just six shots; the last time UNH held the opposition to single-digit shots was April 15, 2006 (seven; Binghamton).
Stony Brook (0-3, 0-0) lost both of its games last week... The Seawolves fell in their home opener, 15-7 to Loyola... senior Kaitlin Leggio (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) led Stony Brook with two goals and three assists... senior Jenna Celano (Farmingdale, N.Y./George Mason) and sophomore Samantha Djaha (East Islip, N.Y.) had two goals each... Stony Brook got within 9-6 against Loyola but the Greyhounds scored five straight to put the game away... The Seawolves faced Oregon on Sunday and lost to the Ducks, 11-8... junior Mickey Cahill (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) was spectacular, making a season-high 14 saves... Leggio had three goals against the Ducks, who led by as many as six, 9-3... Stony Brook plays host to LeMoyne on Saturday, February 28 in its only game of the week.
The Catamounts (1-0, 0-0) opened the 2009 campaign with a 14-11 victory at UConn on Saturday ... Senior Kristen Millar (Whitby, Ontario/Sinclair Secondary), sophomore Megan MacDonald (Wayland, Mass./Wayland) and freshman Allison Pfohl (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) each had three goals for Vermont ... Millar also picked up nine draw controls to close in on the all-time NCAA mark ... Nine newcomers to the program made their debut in the game ... For the first time in four years Vermont had a different goalkeeper in net as well ... Freshmen Laura Barber (Middlebury, Vt./Middlebury) and Olivia Hatfield (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) each played a half in the game and combined for 12 saves ... Vermont hosts No. 13 Dartmouth on Tuesday (Feb. 24) at 3 p.m. and Holy Cross on Saturday (Feb. 28) at 1 p.m. this week.