BALTIMORE – After a defensive battle through almost 90 minutes of play, the UMBC women's soccer team fell in its opening game, 1-0, to the Robert Morris Colonials on Friday night.

STRAIGHT FACTS

• Both teams stayed quiet during the opening half, with only seven shots on goal during the first 45 minutes.
• UMBC's Jess Hopkins (Clarksville, Md./River Hill) gave the Retrievers their best chance of scoring with a shot that was saved by RMU's Sydney Bruckner in the 37^th minute.
• Before the half, Leah Roth (Valencia, Pa.) made a sliding save to keep the game knotted at 0-0 entering intermission.
• In the second half, Hopkins, Nikki Saad (Hummelstown, Pa.), and Elysia Paolillo (Worcester, Mass.) all had early saved shots to give the Retrievers a score, but Bruckner blocked them all.
• Roth made another diving save in the 56^th minute that kept the Colonials from scoring, before Erin Stevenson (Sellersville, Pa.) turned around and tried to give UMBC another chance at a goal.
• After a foul was called on the Retrievers in the 90^th minute, RMU's free kick was sent into the box and headed back out into play, landing at the feet of Jane Schleicher who netted the winning goal.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

12: UMBC outshout Robert Morris, 12-8, overall in the contest.
5: The Colonials held a 5-2 advantage over the Retrievers in corner kicks on the night.
4: Four UMBC freshman made their debut on the pitch in tonight's contest.

MINDING THE NET

Bruckner made seven saves on seven shots faced, while Roth picked up three saves on the night for UMBC.

ONTO THE NEXT ONE

The Retrievers will travel to Philadelphia on Sunday as they face the La Salle Explorers at McCarthy Stadium with a 1 p.m. kickoff.