COLLEGE PARK, Md. - First-year head coach Cathy Reese and the Maryland women's lacrosse team open the 2007 season at UMBC on Monday, February 19 at UMBC Stadium at 3:00 p.m. The action can be heard live on WMUC (88.1 FM) at wmucsports.com.

Reese will make her debut on Monday as the Terrapins' new head coach. The 1998 graduate of Maryland won seven national titles at Maryland as a player and an assistant coach from 1995-2003. During that span, the Terps record was an impressive 169-19.

Reese Era Opens With Trip To UMBC
• The No. 8 Maryland women's lacrosse team opens the 2007 season at UMBC on Monday, February 19 at 3:00 p.m. at UMBC Stadium. The Terrapins have not faced an in-state opponent in a season-opener since 1979 when Maryland opened the campaign with a 4-2 win against Towson.
• The Terps have lost their last two season openers against Duke in 2005 and the defending national champion Northwestern Wildcats last year.
• Maryland is 23-10 all-time in season openers and it won eight straight lid lifters from 1990-97.
• Maryland and UMBC have not met since the 2001 season when the Terps won 23-2 in College Park. The last time the two met in Baltimore was in 1995 with Maryland taking an 11-2 decision. The Terps own a 7-0 record all-time against the Retrievers.

Terps Ranked In Preseason Top-10
• Maryland is ranked in the top-10 in both national preseason polls.
• The Terrapins came in at No. 6 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and No. 8 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll.
• Duke is ranked No. 2 in both polls and North Carolina ranks No. 3 in the Inside Lacrosse poll and No. 4 by the IWLCA.
• Northwestern, the two-time defending national champion, is ranked No. 1 in both polls.

Reese's Success at Maryland
• Head coach Cathy Reese isn't knew to the Maryland lacrosse world. In fact, she has been a vital part of the program's legacy. As a player and assistant coach from 1995-2003, Reese helped the Terps win seven national championships.
• Reese and the Terps did not lose a game in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
• In her first seven years on campus, Reese's record with Maryland is a staggering 169-19.

Reese Turns Denver Program Around
• Reese will look to do in College Park what she achieved in the Mile High City as Denver's head coach for three seasons. The Pioneers saw limited success prior to her arrival in 2004, but that all changed.
• Denver had one winning season since the program's inception in 1999 and in her third year at the helm, the Pioneers soared to new heights. Denver went 16-5 and won the regular season Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) title and advanced to the finals of the conference tournament.
• For her success, Reese was tabbed MPSF Coach of the Year. She also mentored the first Pioneer women's lacrosse student-athlete to All-America status.

Preseason Honors Handed Out
• Seniors Becky Clipp and Katie Doolittle and junior Kelly Kasper earned a pair of preseason accolades last week. All three were placed on the 2007 Preseason Tewaaraton Watch List. The Tewaaraton is given annually to the nation's top lacrosse student-athlete.
• Current associate head coach Jen Adams was the first-ever winner of the Tewaaraton back in 2001.
• Clipp and Kasper were also honored as second-team preseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse.
• Senior Krista Pellizzi and junior Dana Dobbie were the other Terrapins recognized by Inside Lacrosse as they were both put on the third team.

Scouting The Retrievers
• UMBC notched a season-opening win on Saturday, February 17 when it handily beat Howard, 23-7, at UMBC Stadium. Eleven Retrievers scored multiple points led by Ali Levendusky with two goals and four assists.
• UMBC is headed by Courtney Connor who graduated from Maryland in 2001. She is in her second season at the helm and has compiled a 56-38 record in her coaching career. Prior to going to UMBC, Connor coached at Mount St. Mary's.
• The Retrievers return five of their top six goal scorers from a year ago. Junior Ali Levendusky was the team's top scorer last season with 41 goals and 13 assists and earned America East First Team accolades last season.
• Senior Kelly Fahey scored 33 goals and added 12 assists and was a second team all-conference selection. Classmate Jen Kasper recorded 26 goals and 16 assists and was also named to the second team.
• Sophomore Kara Dorr, an America East All-Rookie Team member, contributes in all aspects of the game as she compiled 24 goals, 46 ground balls, and 37 draw controls.
• The Retrievers weakness last season was its defense as it allowed over 12 goals a game last year while scoring just over 10.
• With a 5-1 conference record in 2006, UMBC won a share of its first ever America East regular season title. With 10 wins in 2006 (10-7), the Retrievers doubled their win total from the previous season.

Series History
• Maryland and UMBC have not met since the 2001 season when the Terps won 23-2 in College Park. The last time the two met in Baltimore was in 1995 with Maryland taking an 11-2 decision. The Terps own a 7-0 record all-time against the Retrievers.

Last 10 Meetings:
March 21, 2001: Maryland 23, UMBC 2 (College Park)
March 26, 1996: Maryland 18, UMBC 2 (College Park)
March 28, 1995: Maryland 11, UMBC 2 (Baltimore)
April 9, 1991: Maryland 14, UMBC 7 (College Park)
April 10, 1990: Maryland 16, UMBC 3 (Baltimore)
April 25, 1980: Maryland 16, UMBC 2 (College Park)
April 27, 1974: Maryland 14, UMBC 0 (College Park)

All In The Family
• Junior Kelly Kasper will find a familiar face on the opposing team on Monday when her sister, Jen, takes the field for UMBC.
• Both Kaspers have excelled in their environment. Jen, a senior with the Retrievers who was named a captain this year, was picked as an All-America East Second Team selection last season. She notched 26 goals and 16 assists while picking up 42 ground balls.
• Kelly, a preseason Inside Lacrosse second-team All-American and a Tewaaraton candidate, is Maryland's top returning scorer from last season. The IWLCA/US Lacrosse Second Team All-America selection in 2006 led the team with 27 assists, 62 draw controls, and 42 caused turnovers. She was also second on the team with 44 goals and third with 44 ground balls.
• Kelly scored a goal and caused a turnovers in all 20 games last year.
• This marks the first time that Jen and Kelly will play against each other in college.

ACC Shows Its Power Again
• The Atlantic Coast Conference continues to be one of the premier conferences in women's lacrosse. The ACC sports four teams in the top 20 of the IWLCA preseason Coaches Poll.
• Duke is ranked No. 2 and North Carolina comes in at No. 4. The ACC and the BIG EAST both have two teams in the top five as Georgetown and Notre Dame are ranked No. 3 and No. 5, respectively.
• Maryland is ranked No. 8 and Virginia is right behind the Terps at No. 9.

To Be The Best...
• Maryland will have to beat the best as 11 of its 17 regular season contests will be against teams ranked in the IWLCA preseason Coacges Poll.
• Eight of those 11 teams are ranked in the top 10 and three are in the top five.
• The Terrapins will go through its toughest stretch from March 13 to April 3 when it plays six-straight ranked opponents. The slate begins at No. 9 Virginia and then is followed up by No. 6 Dartmouth, No. 10 Johns Hopkins, No. 4 North Carolina, No. 18 Stanford, and No. 3 Georgetown.

Scoring Streaks
• Junior Kelly Kasper has an impressive scoring streak heading into the season as she notched a goal in all 20 games last season. She also caused a turnover in every contest in 2006. She has found the back of the cage in 26 straight games going back to her freshman year in 2005. The last time she didn't score a goal was against Johns Hopkins on April 9, 2005.
• Kasper has also caused a turnover in 24 straight games dating back to April 29, 2005.

Loaded With Experience
• Maryland returns eight student-athletes who started all 20 games last season. Junior Allie Buote returns to the cage and will anchor the defense. The back line is familiar with each other as Becky Clipp started every game last season along with Martha Raver. Megan Cassara also appeared in all 20 contests with four starts.
• The Terps' are experienced in every area on the field as the midfield returns Kelly Kasper, Katie Doolittle, and Lauren Cohen who all started every game last year as well. At attack, Casey Magor and Krista Pellizzi all notched 20 starts as well.