Yeakel

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - UMBC's first trip to the NCAA women's lacrosse tournament was one to remember - but for all the wrong reasons. Third-seeded North Carolina scored the game's first 11 goals in a 22-6 rout of the Retrievers yesterday in a first-round matchup at Henry Stadium. "We knew they were going to be aggressive," said UMBC coach Monica Yeakel. "I was a little disappointed in the beginning of the first half. We backed off a little bit, which was not what we wanted." Yeakel called a timeout after the Tar Heels scored four goals in the opening 3:32, but she couldn't stop the onslaught.

WASHINGTON -- At a coffee in Wilkes-Barre a few days before the Pennsylvania primary, Lynn Yeakel was asked for her views on the "notch babies." As she cheerfully admitted later, she had no idea who the "notch babies" might be.In another year, the idea of a leading candidate for the U.S. Senate who didn't know about the notch babies would have been unthinkable. For 15 years now, presidential and Senate and House candidates have become accustomed to being confronted by representatives of this group -- Americans born between 1917 and 1926 who because of an anomaly in the law receive lower Social Security benefits than others who came before and after them.

The Rev. St. George I. B. Crosse III, conservative Republican politician, HUD official, local TV personality and outspoken critic of what he sees as too-liberal tendencies in the United Methodist Church, has been defrocked as an ordained minister in the denomination.Mr. Crosse, a former head of the Baltimore office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and currently an official of HUD's fair housing and equal opportunity section in Washington, said yesterday that Bishop Joseph H. Yeakel illegally denied him a church trial as required by the rules before a minister may be involuntarily dismissed.

Last year, UMBC's women beat Towson with one second remaining on a goal by Lauren Traber. This year, the Tigers had Becky Trumbo. Trumbo, a freshman sensation from Liberty High, scored four goals and assisted on one last night as Towson prevailed in another tight one, 10-9, at UMBC Stadium. The five points moved Trumbo two from the school's freshman record set by Nikki Popolano five years ago. "She has just been a huge contributor, someone who elevates everyone's game around her," said Tigers coach Linda Ohrin.

Galston is panelist for annual forum of Woodstock centerWilliam A. Galston, a professor in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland, will be a panelist for the annual Woodstock Theological Center Forum at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Bunn Intercultural Center Auditorium, Georgetown University, 37th and O streets N.W., Washington, D.C. The title of this year's free, public forum is "A New Era of Church-State Relations? John Courtney Murray, S.J., and Religious Pluralism."Other participants will be the Rev. J. Leon Hooper, S.J., senior fellow of the Woodstock center; and Michael J. Perry, a professor the Northwestern University School of Law. The moderator will be Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, editor of Commonweal magazine.

Moves Baseball DIAMONDBACKS: Purchased contract of P Armando Almanza from Triple-A Tuscon. Designated P Javier Lopez for assignment. DODGERS: Placed SS Cesar Izturis on 15-day DL with sore right hamstring. Activated P Odalis Perez. INDIANS: Recalled P Fernando Cabrera from Triple-A Buffalo. Optioned P Jason Davis to Buffalo. NATIONALS: Activated 2B Jose Vidro from 15-day DL. Optioned IF Rick Short to Triple-A New Orleans. REDS: Purchased contract of P Jason Standridge from Triple-A Louisville.

Owners of three North Carroll farms took the first step yesterday toward permanent protection of their land from development, winning acceptance into the county's agricultural land preservation program.The county commissioners voted unanimously to designate the farms, totaling 376 acres, as agricultural preservation districts.If the districts are approved by the state Agricultural Preservation Foundation this month, the farms will be eligible for permanent protection and owners will be eligible to sell the development rights to the state.

Coach Diane Geppi-Aikens doesn't think her No. 11 Loyola team has reached its potential yet, and she likes being in that position going into this weekend's Colonial Athletic Association tournament in Richmond. After adjusting to the loss of three injured starters, Megan Santacroce, Suzanne Eyler and Marianne Gioffre, the Greyhounds (9-2, 5-1 CAA) have won seven straight. "We're just coming into our own," said Geppi-Aikens. "We've had to change some things on our offense and on defense and we're getting better every day. Some other teams in the country, I think, are maxing out and this team is nowhere near reaching its potential."

For a game to be won on the final possession is not new when UMBC and Towson University get together in women's lacrosse. A game-winning goal with one second left, though? That's indeed special. UMBC junior midfielder Lauren Traber provided it yesterday, a shovel shot with her back to the goal after a defender appeared to have her sealed off. The goal, her first of the game but 18th this season, gave the Retrievers a character-building, 12-11 win over the Tigers in 90-degree-plus heat at UMBC Stadium.

If the UMBC women's lacrosse team was feeling any pressure at the start of yesterday's Northeast Conference tournament championship game against Monmouth, it didn't show. The Retrievers scored the game's first four goals and never looked back, pounding the Hawks, 15-5, at UMBC Stadium to win their fourth conference championship in the past five years and earn their first trip to the NCAA tournament. The win marked the realization of a year-long mission for the Retrievers (12-4), who lost to Monmouth in last season's title game and had to sit and watch as the Hawks played in the NCAAs.