Baltimore, MD - Graham Munro's successful penalty kick with just 3:42 remaining in regulation lifted visiting Binghamton (6-2-3, 0-1-1) to a 2-2 tie against a stunned UMBC (5-1-5, 1-0-3) squad in an America East match-up.
The Retrievers had rallied to take a 2-1 lead on junior forward Derek McElligott's 12th goal of the season with 13:51 remaining. With 3:42 left, Binghamton had a corner kick opportunity which harmlessly went over the goal line. However, the assistant referee detected a foul on UMBC senior midfielder Mike Joseph, well away from the action, but in the box, and, after a lengthy discussion, the head official awarded the Bearcats the penalty kick. Munro converted into the left corner of the net and the two teams played the next 23:42 without a score.
Binghamton's Charles Barkwah scored his sixth goal in the last five games to give the visitors a 1-0 lead just 11:19 into the contest. He pounced on the rebound of his own deflected first attempt, and beat UMBC netminder Andy Marchica from 12 yards out. The normally potent Retrievers were held to just three first half shots, but came out aggressively in the second half and knotted the game at 1-1 just 3:13 into the stanza. Sophomore back Matt McGowan crossed the ball from the left side to the right post, where sophomore back Marcus Gross headed it back toward goal mouth. Junior forward George Bakoulas headed the cross in from 8 yards away for his second goal in two games.
McElligott kept his scoring streak alive late in the half. Machica's driving goal kick was flicked ahead by Bakoulas. McElligott beat Binghamton netminder Stefan Gonet to the ball and rolled it in from 20 yards away, just before the Bearcat defenders could clear it. McElligott, who was tied for the lead in the nation in goals scored entering the week, has matched his season total of both his freshman and sophomore seasons and became the fourth player in school history to reach the 80-point (36g, 8a) plateau.
UMBC enjoyed an 8-3 shot margin in the second half and outshot Binghamton, 13-11 for the game. Marchica recorded four saves, while Gonet made three for the Bearcats. The Retrievers' fifth draw is a new school Division I (1986) record, and they have tied four consecutive home games.
