Boston - The UMBC men's soccer team (9-5-3, 6-1 America East) clinched a first round bye in the upcoming America East with a 3-0 at Boston University (6-7-3, 2-2-3) on a snow-covered Nickerson Field.
The Retrievers will be no lower than a #2 seed and will host a semi-final game at UMBC Stadium on Wednesday, November 9. UMBC would clinch the regular season title and the #1 seed with a Stony Brook loss or tie at Maine on Sunday or a win or tie vs. those Seawolves at home on November 2.
The Retrievers scored all three goals in the second half. Freshman Manuel Mariel scored his second game-winning goal of the season when he bent a shot in under the crossbar at the 54:17 mark.
Sophomore midfielder Matt Watson took over the game down the stretch. His shot off the post was knocked in by senior midfielder Steve Goddard to give UMBC a 2-0 advantage with 3:15 remaining. Watson drove the ball all the way from the midfield stripe and scored an unassisted tally with 28 seconds remaining.
All six UMBC conference victories have come by shutout. Freshman goalkeeper Steve King made six saves to record his eighth shutout of the season. Boston U. outshot UMBC, 12-11.
