College Park, Md.- Third-ranked Maryland (4-0-1) used two late
goals after visiting UMBC (2-1-2) tied the game with 28 minutes
left and defeated the Retrievers, 3-1, at Ludwig Field.
The Terrapins took the lead in 28th minute on an
own goal. A Maryland serve deflected off a UMBC defender around the
12-yard area and eluded Saunders before settling into the right
corner of the net. The Retrievers limited the hosts to four
first-half shots.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime, UMBC opened up the attack in the
second half and it paid dividends with the tying score
with 28:01 remaining. Milo Kapor's (Toronto,
Ont./Emily Carr) corner from the left side found junior
midfielder Kadeem
Dacres (Rosedale, N.Y./Mercer County CC) at the 11-yard
line and the junior headed it into the right portion of the
cage.
It was Dacres' first collegiate goal and Kapor has now assisted
on all five UMBC scores in 2012.
The tie lasted just over eight minutes. Maryland's Mikey Ambrose
served a box deep into the box and Patrick Mullins outleaped a UMBC
defender to head the ball past Saunders and give the hosts the lead
for good.
The Terps added an insurance marker with a shaken-up senior
defender Liam Paddock (Worcestershire, England) on the
sideline. In the 75th minute, Saunders got a piece
of an initial shot, but the ball deflected off the crossbar and
Jake Pace knocked in the rebound from one yard away.
Sophomore defender Oumar Ballos (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop
Curley/CCBC-Essex) had a golden opportunity to bring UMBC within a
goal in the 83rd minute, but his shot from close
range was deflected away by Terrapin netminder Jordan
Tatum.
"I thought we gave about as good of an effort as we could and to
have them 1-1 in the second half, we had them where we wanted
them," said head coach Pete Caringi. "I
am proud of how we fought back and how hard we played."
Saunders made six saves for UMBC, while Tatum turned aside three
Retriever shots.
The Retrievers return to action to face George Mason on Saturday
in Fairfax, Va. The Patriots received the
28th most-votes in the latest NSCAA poll.
