UMBC's Ricky Brown and Mt. St. Mary's Reid Shaklee each scored late first half goals, as the Retrievers (9-4-2, 6-3-1 NEC) and the Mountaineers (5-8-3, 3-5-2 NEC) battled to a 1-1 draw at chilly UMBC Soccer Stadium. The tie does guarantee UMBC a spot in the four-team NEC Tournament to be played at Quinnipiac on November 9 and 11.
Brown, a senior playing in his final home game, gave UMBC a 1-0 lead at the 38:50 mark, when teammate Derek McElligott redirected James Hamilton's corner kick, and Brown knocked it in from close range. But with time winding down in the half, the Mount got the equalizer. Brandon Scarfield's free kick was headed in by Shaklee, who beat Retriever netminder Brian Rowland to the ball about 14 yards away from the net. The goal was scored with just 36 seconds remaining in the half.
UMBC had a territorial edge for most of the game, but neither team created many dangerous opportunites in the final 85 minutes. UMBC outshot the Mount, 14-11, and did take 10 corners to the Mount's 1, but Mount netminder Brian Crum made four saves to preserve the tie. Rowland had five stops in the UMBC net.
The Retrievers finish the regular season at George Mason on Wednesday, before the tournament begins the following weekend. UMBC finished the season at 7-1-1 at home this year, and played before a season-high crowd of 947.
