BALTIMORE- UMBC senior goalkeeper Adam
Cohen made 12 of his 13 saves in the final 45 minutes and
the host Retrievers utilized a 5-1 third quarter surge to knock off
Rutgers, 11-7, at UMBC Stadium.
UMBC evened its early season record at 1-1, while Rutgers fell
to 2-2.
Eight different Retrievers scored goals and the hosts were
led by senior attackman Matt
Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River), who scored his first
three goals of the season. Linemates Joe
Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River)
andScott
Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox) also had strong
effots for the Retrievers. Lustgarten led UMBC with four points,
scoring once and adding three assists, while Jones scored twice and
added a helper.
Rutgers junior attackman Scott Klimchak led all players with
five goals.
UMBC defeated Rutgers by the identical 11-7 score in Piscataway,
N.J. last season. Cohen also shined in that game, making 14 saves
and scoring a goal late in the contest.
The Scarlet Knights jumped on top, 2-0, less than
five minutes into the contest, but UMBC closed the quarter with
goals by junior midfielder Conor
Finch (Westminster, Md./Boys' Latin) and Gregoire. Jones
gave UMBC its first lead of the day midway through the second
quarter, but Klimchak evened the score with 4:09 remaining in the
half and the teams went to the locker room knotted at 3-3.
But UMBC came out with a determined third quarter effort.
Despite losing all six face-offs in the quarter, the Retrievers
scored on five of 12 shots. Sophomore midfielder Derek
Bertolini(Madison, Conn./Choate) gave the hosts the lead for
good with an unassisted goal from deep on the right wing just 1:44
into the stanza.
After an exchange of goals, the Retrievers scored three times in
the final 2:38 of the quarter to take command. Jones converted a
Lustgarten feed on a man-up situation, rifling a shot past RU
netminder Kris Alleyne from eight yards out.
The Retrievers' next two goals were tough chances as Gregoire
managed to dump in a Lustgarten feed from just outside the crease
after initially bobbling the pass from Lustgarten with 77 seconds
to play in the third. Then , freshman midfielder Pat
Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch School) took a pass from
Jones and converted an acrobatic shot while driving to the goal
with 0.7 to play in the stanza.
UMBC led, 8-4, after three quarters and extended the run to 6-1
as Lustgarten scored on a fast-break 54 seconds into the fourth.
But RU kept coming, as Klimchak scored twice and freshman
midfielder Jacob Coretti cut the deficit to 9-7 with 5:21
remaining.
Rutgers won the ensuing draw, but Cohen made a save and
triggered a fast break. Jones' shot from the left side was saved by
Alleyne, but Gregoire knocked in the rebound to restore a
three-goal lead with 4:08 remaining.
UMBC held the ball for the majority of the final four minutes
and freshman attackman Nate
Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary's) beat a double-team and
added the 11th goal with 1:49 to play.
Rutgers outshot UMBC, 40-35 and outdrew the hosts, 13-8.
Lustgarten now has multiple assists in his last 11 outings, one
shy of Steve Marohl's 1992 school record of 12.
UMBC faces defending national champion Loyola at the Ridley
Athletic Complex on Tuesday evening.
