BALTIMORE–Coming off a big win over America East rival Hartford on Sunday, the UMBC women's soccer team (2-10-1, 1-3-0 AE) continues its conference schedule this week with two matches. The Retrievers will host Albany (6-7-1, 1-2-1 AE) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at UMBC Stadium. Following the match against the Great Danes, the Retrievers will travel to Binghamton (6-5-1, 3-2-0 AE) on 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon kickoff.
Last Time Out: Freshman forward Rachel McKee (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) scored her first career goal and sophomore goalkeeper Mo Van Vlerah (Ijamsville, Md./Northwest) recorded her first career shutout as the Retrievers downed Hartford, 1-0, for their first conference win of the season Sunday afternoon at UMBC Soccer Stadium. The Hawks held a 23-7 shot advantage, but a strong defensive effort that included Van Vlerah's seven saves lifted UMBC to victory. It was UMBC's first shutout since a 1-0 victory over Maine on Sept. 28, 2008.
On The Great Danes: Coming off a 3-0 loss to Boston University on Sunday, Albany is 6-7-1 on the season and 1-2-1 in conference play… The six wins are the Great Danes' highest total in 11 seasons of Division I play… Freshman forward Chelsea DeVerna leads Albany in scoring with five goals and three assists for 13 points on the season… She ranks second in the conference in goals and points… Sophomore goalie Cate Crenson recorded a career-high 11 saves against the Terriers… She has split time between the pipes with freshman Breanna Maggio… Both have posted identical .844 save percentages, but Maggio boasts the better goals-against average at 0.89, which ranks third in the league... Crenson and Maggio have combined for five shutouts this season… Albany ranks second in the America East with 15.5 shots per game and third with a 1.17 team GAA.
The Series: UMBC leads the all-time series with the Great Danes, 5-1, including last season's 4-3 Retriever victory in Albany.
On The Bearcats: Binghamton is coming off back-to-back 1-0 victories over America East opponents that propelled the Bearcats into third place in the conference standings, despite ranking eighth in scoring… Freshman midfielder Emily Pape is the reigning America East Rookie of the Week after scoring the game-winner in both victories… Freshman forward Jamie Holliday leads the Bearcats in scoring with eight points and is tied with Pape for the team lead in goals with three apiece… With goalies Erin Iman and Jen McEachron splitting time in the net this season, Binghamton has allowed just one goal per game, ranking second in the conference… McEachron owns the better GAA at 0.83, which ranks second in the league, while Iman's .854 save percentage is tops and also ranks second in the conference… Binghamton will face a non-conference opponent in Penn on Wednesday before hosting the Retrievers.
The Series: UMBC trails Binghamton in the all-time series, 0-5-2, including last season's 1-0 Retriever loss at UMBC Soccer Stadium.
First Time for Everything: UMBC experienced a number of firsts on Sunday against Hartford, including McKee's first career goal and Van Vlerah's first career shutout, as well as the team's first America East victory of the season.
First Time for Everything, Part II: In addition to McKee, a number of Retrievers have picked up their first career goals this season. Freshman midfielder Katie Gitlin's (Owings, Md./Northern) goal against George Washington was the Retrievers' first offensive goal of the season. Freshman back Aly Gazarek's (Manassas, Va./Freedom/South Florida) game-winner against Delaware State was her first career tally, while junior midfielders Elyse Bilardo (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) and Megan McDonald (Wyoming, Pa./Dallas) also found the back of the net for the first time against the Hornets. In addition, freshman midfielder Sarah Purdum (West Fenwick Island, Del./Indian River) notched her first career goal against Vermont.
Spreading the Wealth: Nine different players have scored for UMBC this season, the most since 12 Retrievers found the back of the net in 2004. The Retrievers are led by sophomore midfielder Danielle Kell (Willards, Md./Parkside) and junior midfielder Sandra Vacarino (Mantua, N.J./Clearview Regional), who each have six points on two goals and two assists.
Underclassmen on Top: Of UMBC's 39 goals since 2007, 31 have been scored by underclassmen, including 21 by freshmen. Both of the Retrievers' game-winners this season have been scored by rookies in Gazarek and McKee.
Saving the Day: Van Vlerah ranks third in the America East with 83 saves and 6.38 saves per game this season. She stopped a career-high 14 shots at George Mason on Sept. 22.
Offensive Outburst: After scoring just two goals through the first eight games of the season, the Retrievers tallied nine in two contests against Delaware State and Vermont, and they now have12 on the year, surpassing last season's total. The nine goals were the most UMBC has scored in two games since tallying 13 from Sept. 20-22, 2002 with a 1-0 win over Delaware and a 12-0 victory over Delaware State, while the five goals against Vermont are the most the Retrievers have scored in one game since a 5-1 victory over Howard on Sept. 30, 2005.
Vacarino Vanquishes: Vacarino scored the first two goals of the game against the Catamounts, then added an assist on the final tally to finish with five points. It was the first multi-goal game for a Retriever since Morgan Warrington scored twice at Albany on Oct. 26, 2008, and the first five-point game by a Retriever since Lori Quintavalle posted six at Mount St. Mary's on Oct. 25, 2002. Vacarino's totals against Vermont matched her career totals from her first two seasons at UMBC.
Extra, Extra: The Retrievers' double-overtime tie with George Washington on Sept. 18 was their first overtime game since Oct. 7, 2007, at Maine, and their first tie since Sept. 21, 2007, at Sacred Heart. UMBC then went to extra time with VMI on Sept. 24 for its second game of more than 90 minutes this season after not playing one for nearly two years.
Shaping Up the Conference: Through three weeks of conference play, Boston University sits atop the America East standings at 5-0-0 (15 points), followed closely by Stony Brook at 4-0-1 (13 points), while Binghamton (3-2-0) has also separated itself from the pack with nine points. The remaining six teams are separated by just four points, led by Vermont in fourth (1-2-2, 5 points) and Maine and Albany (1-2-1, 4 points) tied for fifth. UMBC and New Hampshire are tied for seventh but just one point out of the playoff picture at 1-3-0 (3 points), while Hartford rounds out the pack at 0-3-1 (1 point). The top six teams at the end of the season will advance to the America East Championship.
Up Next: The Retrievers will face New Hampshire (2-11-1, 1-3-0 AE) on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 3 p.m. at UMBC Soccer Stadium. UMBC will honor five seniors in a pregame Senior Day ceremony.
Follow the Retrievers: UMBC fans can now keep up with their favorite teams in a number of new ways, as UMBC Athletics is now on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.
