Courtesy of UMBC Athletic Communications
BALTIMORE—Less
than two months after leading the Retrievers to their first-ever
America East championship game, UMBC head women’s lacrosse coach Kelly
Berger has signed a three-year contract extension that runs
through the 2012-13 season, Director of Athletics Dr. Charles Brown
announced today.
“I am honored that UMBC
has given me the opportunity to not only do what I’ve already done but
have faith that I can accomplish more in the years to come,” Berger
said. “With their tremendous support, I feel that UMBC will be a great
place to continue my career for years to come. Coming off a great first
year with lots of fun and success, I feel that we can accomplish that
again and more, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
In her first season as a
head coach, Berger guided the Retrievers, who were picked to finish
fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll, to the four-team America East
Championship for the first time since 2006. UMBC knocked off
regular-season champion and host Albany
in the semifinals before falling to six-time defending champ Boston University in an 11-10
heartbreaker in the title game.
The Retrievers’ win over the 19th-ranked Great Danes
was their first postseason victory since 2003 while a member of the
Northeast Conference. It was also the program’s first win over a top-20
team since defeating No. 11 Boston U. on April 1, 2006.
UMBC finished with an
11-7 record in Berger’s inaugural campaign, the most victories for the
team since 2002 and the most wins for a first-year head coach in program
history.
Berger’s Retrievers were
prolific on both ends of the field, ranking second in the conference in
both goals per game (12.39) and goals-against average (8.85). In
addition, freshman defender Jamie
Fahey became the first Retriever ever to be named America East
Rookie of the Year and the first UMBC freshman to be recognized on an
IWLCA All-Region team.
“Kelly has done an outstanding job in her first year
as head coach,” Dr. Brown said. “The team achieved all of its preset
goals and exceeded all expectations by getting to the championship game
and losing to an outstanding Boston University
squad by one goal. We think the best is yet to come.”
Berger, 25, was named
UMBC’s fourth head coach on May 18, 2009, after spending the previous
two seasons as an assistant coach for the Retrievers, making her one of
the youngest Division I head coaches in the country.
Berger was a four-year
starter at James Madison University, where she led the Dukes in scoring
in each of her last three seasons and finished her career in 2007
ranking second all-time in career goals (184) and points (262). A highly
decorated midfielder, Berger is a two-time IWLCA All-American, and she
was named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year in 2006
and a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee in 2007. In addition, she has been
involved with the U.S. National Team since 2005.
A native of nearby Columbia, Md.,
Berger graduated from James Madison in May 2007 with a degree in
kinesiology with a concentration in sport management.