BRIAN BILLICK's Baltimore
Located roughly six miles west of M&T Bank Stadium just beyond the Baltimore Beltway, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County has unleashed a potent scoring machine in field hockey freshman Paige Hartman (Colonial Forge).
Hartman leads the Retrievers in scoring with six goals and one assist and is this week's American East Conference player of the week after scoring a school-record four goals in the team's 9-3 victory over Robert Morris on Sunday.
"Paige is what we describe as a triple threat. She has quick wrists, quick feet and knows how to score," Retrievers head coach Kristy Hartman Mumma said. "Robert Morris was a perfect match-up for her because their goalkeeper goes down a lot. Paige has a good flick and gets the ball up."
UMBC is in a rebuilding mode after finishing seventh in the conference with a 4-13 mark a season ago. The Retrievers regularly start four or five freshmen each game and there has been a period of adjustment to the faster pace for the newcomers, according to Mumma.
Senior Katie Cutchall (three goals and six assists) assisted on three of Hartman's goals against Robert Morris and possesses a sense of anticipation where to feed passes to the team's rookie standout, according to Mumma.
Hartman should be an important building block in UMBC's bid for future success. She currently is second in the conference with a 0.55-goals-per-game average and sixth with 1.18 points per game.
The Retrievers (2-9, 0-2) play four of their final five games on the road in striving to qualify for a berth in the conference tournament. The top four teams in the six-team league qualify for the Nov. 4-6 event. The highest seed that possesses a turf field will host the event.
Terry paces YoungstownSophomore linebacker James Terry (Stafford County) recorded a team-high eight tackles with a pair of quarterback sacks as Youngstown State (5-1) blanked Indiana University, 45-0. The Penguins amassed 567 yards of total offense while limiting Indiana to 59 yards on the ground.
Terry, who played his high school football at Woodbridge, is tied for the team lead with 40 tackles.
Timely goal scorersRutgers' Joe Lyonnais (Massaponax) and Navy's Anthony Parker (Chancellor) netted key goals in lifting their respective soccer teams to victory last weekend.
Receiving a 35-yard pass from teammate Alieu Terry, Lyonnais converted a bicycle kick from 10 yards out with five minutes left in the first half as Rutgers topped Villanova, 1-0. It was the freshman's first collegiate goal.
Meanwhile, Navy scored a pair of goals in a four-minute span late in the first half to spark a 3-1 victory over Holy Cross.
Parker received a crossing pass from Kris Huff on the left flanked and bounced a shot past the Holy Cross keeper to tie the score at 1-1. It was the sophomore's second goal of the season.
Kill spree by HermesOutside hitter Marsha Hermes (Liberty) registered 13 kills in a semifinal victory over Guilford on Saturday, then totaled 17 kills as the Bridgewater women's volleyball team edged Christopher Newport 31-29, 19-30, 26-30, 30-26. 15-13 to claim the Guilford Invitational championship. The sophomore was named to the all-tournament team.
Shufford leads LancersLongwood's Chris Shufford (Colonial Forge) was tied for 12th place heading into today's final round of the James Madison Invitational golf tournament at Lakeview Golf Course in Harrisonburg.
The sophomore posted his best 36-hole score of the season following rounds of 76-68--140 on Monday.
Stellar performancesSome top recent efforts by Fredericksburg area athletes:
Senior quarterback Stacy Tutt (Essex) passed for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns and ran 25 yards for another score in leading Richmond to a 38-20 football victory over Villanova.
Virginia Commonwealth's Amy Gallivan (Stafford) scored on a backhanded scoop 2:02 into overtime as the Rams field hockey team posted a 1-0 victory over Drexel. Teammate Nikki Hollibaugh (Massaponax) excelled on defense and was on the field during the seven-on-seven OT period.
Shepherd University's Kori Ford (Chancellor) achieved a double-double with 11 kills and 11 assists as the women's volleyball team posted its third victory in a row, downing Glenville State, 30-25, 30-18, 30-18.
Virginia Military's Nat Jackson (Massaponax) rushed for a career-high 96 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the football team's 34-12 Big South Conference victory over Charleston Southern.
Appalachian State's Erica Muschamp (Liberty) netted her team-high fourth goal in a losing cause as the field hockey team fell to Longwood 3-2. The Mountaineers were playing just their second game since Julie Nagel died in a car accident two weekends ago.
Virginia-Wise's Eric Ludden (Massaponax) recorded 11 tackles and forced a fumble in the football team's 15-7 loss to Kentucky Wesleyan.
To reach KURT NICOLL: