BALTIMORE – UMBC sophomore
attackman Scott Jones (Coquitlam, B.C.) scored three
goals, added two assists and recorded the game-winning goal with 41
seconds remaining as the host Retrievers nipped Vermont, 9-8, in a
critical America East Conference game.
The Retrievers won for the fourth straight time and improved to
6-5 overall and 3-1 in league play. UMBC clinched a spot in the
four-team America East Tournament for the eighth time in eight
conference campaigns.
Vermont dropped its third straight and fell to 6-8, 1-3.
Jones was UMBC's America East Player of the Game, while
Vermont junior attackman Geoff Worley tallied three goals and added
a helper and was the Catamount's Player of the Game.
Vermont tied the game at 8-all on a goal by sophomore attackman
Thomas Galvin with 9:09 remaining and the Catamounts had two man-up
opportunities down the stretch to take the lead. But Galvin
committed a turnover on the second penalty and UMBC gained
possession and called time out with 54 seconds remaining.
Retriever sophomore attackman Joe Lustgarten (Wading
River, N.Y.) operated behind the cage and fed a cutting Jones, who
buried his three-yard shot past Vermont netminder David Barton and
inside the far left post.
Vermont had one last opportunity, but Garrett Virtue's
left-handed shot from 12 yards away missed wide right with two
seconds remaining.
Senior midfielder Jamie Kimbles (Centreville,
Md./Queen Anne's) and junior attackman Rob
Grimm (Black River, N.Y.) each added two goals and one assist
for the hosts. Freshman midfielder Conor
Finch (Westminster, Md./Boys' Latin) scored his first
two collegiate goals, both in the first quarter.
Galvin recorded two goals and an assist for the Catamounts,
while Vermont's leading scorer, sophomore attackman Drew
Philie, added a goal and two helpers.
Vermont took a 4-3 lead after 15 minutes, but UMBC outscored the
visitors, 4-1, in the second stanza. Jones fed Grimm on a fast
break for the game-tying goal with 8:49 remaining in the period,
and Grimm returned the favor to Jones just 35 seconds later.
Worley scored a man-up goal with 5:00 left in the period to tie
the score, but Kimbles equalized that with an extra-man goal with
1:21 to play. After a Retriever time-out and restart, Grimm went
right to the cage and made it 7-5 21 seconds later.
UMBC took that lead into halftime and went ahead, 8-5 on Jones
goal with 7:25 to play in the third period. But UMBC would go
scoreless for the next 21:49, while the Catamounts eventually tied
the score.
Retriever sophomore Joseph Impallaria (Lutherville,
Md./Calvert Hall) came off the bench and won 12 of 17 draws as UMBC
outdrew Vermont, 13-8.
The Catamounts outshot UMBC, 38-25, and UMBC junior
netminder Brian McCullough (Garden City, N.Y.) made 11
saves. Barton had eight stops for
Vermont.
Jones reached the 20-goal plateau and now leads the team with 28
points.
UMBC is 4-0 in games decided by three goals or less this season
and 23-11 in those situations since 2007. They have won their last
six games decided by a single goal, dating back to a 6-5 loss to
Princeton in 2009. The Retrievers have never lost to Vermont (8-0),
but three of the last four games have been decided by one or two
goals.
The Retrievers conclude the regular season at Hartford on April
30.
