Ratcliffe

WASHINGTON -- When Georgetown goalkeeper Scott Schroeder dove across the net to steal a late fourth-quarter goal from UMBC attackman Jeff Ratcliffe, the sophomore likely preserved the first No. 4 lacrosse ranking in the nation for the Hoyas and an 11-10 victory yesterday over the Retrievers in an important East Coast Athletic Conference matchup. Not to mention giving Ratcliffe nightmares after an afternoon in which he scored five goals. The hot-handed Retriever brought his team back from a 7-3 second-quarter deficit to a 10-9 lead with 14: 09 left in the game.

GEORGETOWN, Del. - The birds of Central America have returned to the green depths of Delaware's largest forest The flocks are up from such places as the Maya Forest of Guatemala and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, a death-defying journey.In the forest, the bird known as the black-and-white warbler has a cry like a tiny wheel, squeaking round and round and round. The ground-nesting ovenbirds, stirring unseen in the underbrush, cry "teacher teacher teacher teacher." Above, two prothonotary warblers burst into view, two flashes of yellow, one male fending another from a nesting place.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It isn't a mainstream life but it's the right life, the compassionate life. Animals are worth going to prison for, worth risking death for. A life for a life. All lives are equal, Dawn Ratcliffe says.A roach on the kitchen counter? Go, be free. Huge spider in the bathroom? Live long and prosper. Even a gnat feels pain. Oysters, clams, they can't scream, but that doesn't mean they can't feel. Who knows whether clams feel pain? You'd have to be a clam.Ratcliffe sighs. She is a young woman, 24. When she's not working in the recycling center at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, she travels all over to demonstrate for animal rights.

Jeff Ratcliffe's 3,000-mile trip from British Columbia to UMBC two years ago was a journey that will go down as one of the most productive recruiting ventures in the history of the university's lacrosse program.Once Ratcliffe arrived on campus from the small island of Coquitlam, near Vancouver, a quick connection took place between the 20-year-old box lacrosse specialist and Retrievers coach Don Zimmerman."Five minutes was all it took for me to know I wanted this guy to play for me," Zimmerman said.

EMMITSBURG -- Growing up playing the fast-paced sport of Canadian box lacrosse, UMBC's Jeff Ratcliffe is no stranger to scoring goals in bunches. Recently, however, the sophomore has begun to make a habit of it.Entering yesterday's game against host Mount St. Mary's ranked second in the nation in goals per game, Ratcliffe scored a career-high seven, all in the first 42 minutes, in leading the Retrievers to a 14-8 win over the Mountaineers.For the Coquitlam, British Columbia native, who has now scored at least three goals in seven of his team's nine games, this season has seemed just like old times.

Lightly regarded Fairfield was in town.UMBC preseason All-American Dan Marohl was out with a shoulder injury.L Always tough Penn State is next on the Retrievers' schedule.And it was a rainy, cold and miserable afternoon at UMBC Stadium.So no one could blame UMBC for being something less than at the top of its game yesterday as it recorded a 13-5 win over Fairfield."Penn State was on our mind," said UMBC crease attackman Jeff Ratcliffe, who scored four goals and had one assist in the win."We respect everybody and try to take one game at a time.

In the long run, maybe it will work out to UMBC's advantage losing the first two games of the lacrosse season to Navy and Towson.Since those setbacks, "We've had a couple of good weeks of practice," said Retrievers coach Don Zimmerman, "and if we continue to practice well, it will undoubtedly show up down the road."The latest ranking in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll -- UMBC, No. 23; Lehigh, No. 24 -- suggested the matchup at Retriever Stadium yesterday was going to be close, perhaps even a tossup.

Kathleen Ratcliffe, who has led the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association's far-flung convention marketing efforts for 6 1/2 years, is resigning to become president of the Jacksonville, Fla., convention bureau.Ratcliffe, the Baltimore agency's vice president since her failed bid to become its president 15 months ago, will leave June 30 to take the helm at the Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau.Working with a budget far below that of competitors for most of her tenure in the effort to lure conventions to Baltimore, Ratcliffe nonetheless won accolades here and throughout the convention industry for a work ethic and a knack for selling and for delivering on what she promised from the city.

CHICAGO -- On a flawless Tuesday afternoon made for playing hooky and taking the El directly to the ballpark, the rowhouse by Wrigley Field beckons with some of the hottest seats in town.Perched just beyond right-center on a carpeted rooftop, the blue box seats glisten in the sunshine. Drinks flow freely at outdoor bars and inside the converted rowhouse where power-brokers within shouting distance of bleacher bums come to play and to schmooze. Cool breezes off Lake Michigan carry the tantalizing aroma of sausage, beef, shrimp and vegetables sizzling nonstop on rooftop grills.

STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- UMBC rallied from an early three-goal deficit and survived four fourth-quarter goals by Stony Brook to win, 12-11, yesterday in a men's lacrosse game.The Retrievers (8-2), who have won four games in a row, ended a three-game win streak by Stony Brook (8-3).Trailing 3-0, UMBC scored six unanswered goals in the first quarter and led 9-6 at halftime. But the Seawolves cut the lead to one on Chris Kollmer's goal with 9: 34 left.UMBC's Andrew Hampson (24 saves) denied Stony Brook the equalizer despite facing 24 shots.