The UMBC men's soccer squad (5-5-1) competes in their final non-conference game of the 2021 season on Wednesday, Oct. 6 when Howard University (1-6-3) visits Retriever Soccer Park. The game gets underway at 7:00 a.m. and will be broadcast by the America East digital network.
The Retrievers will try to snap a three-game slide, while Howard has dropped four consecutive matches.
The script has been similar in all three recent setbacks, as UMBC fell behind, 1-0, in the first half. On Saturday, the Retrievers trailed host Vermont, 2-0, before senior Jackson Becher (Hummelstown, Pa.) scored in the 82' to halve the deficit. But the visitors could not complete the rally in the early afternoon hours in Burlington.
HONORED
· Sophomore forward Taylor Calheira (Towson, Md./Concordia Prep) earned the America East Conference's Offensive Player of the Week honor on Sept. 20, as he registered three goals and two assists on the week.
· Junior midfielder Ryan Becher (Hummelstown, Pa.) earned #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 2 after a two-goal effort at Maryland. The younger Becher had his second of two four-game scoring streaks snapped at Vermont.
DAWG BYTES
· UMBC has yet to suffer a shutout in 2021. The last time a Retriever team scored goals in each of its first 11 games was 2009 and that squad was blanked, 2-0, in Game No. 12 by UNH.
The Retrievers are second in the America East averaging 2.0 goals per game.
· Calheira leads America East in goals (8), game-winning goals (4, tied) and is second in points per game (1.73). He is tied for fourth in the nation with his eight scores. He already has the seventh-most goals in school history by a sophomore and is the first Retriever to hit the 20-point plateau since Kay Banjo recorded 22 (8-6-22) in the College Cup season of 2014.
· Junior back Julian Conze (Telgte, Germany) is tied for the top spot in America East and ranks tied for for eighth nationally with six assists. UMBC is 5-0-1 when Conze hits the scoreboard.
· Calheira's three-goal game at Lehigh was UMBC's third multi-goal game of the season. He recorded a two-goal game vs. Mount St. Mary's on Sept. 14 and Becher scored twice in the 4-3 loss at Maryland.
· Becher now has 11 career goals and 31 total points (11-9-31).
· Sophomore goalkeeper Jailon Gillespie (Laurel, Del.) has started seven consecutive games in the net for UMBC. He made his first career appearance and start at LIU two weeks ago, posted his first win vs. Mount St. Mary's and registered his first career shutout (and the team's first on the season) vs. Hartford. He then blanked Lehigh, 3-0, making a career high eight saves.
· UMBC is 2-0-1 in overtime this season.
· Jackson Becher's goal at Vermont was his first since Sept. 14, 2019, a late score versus LIU. He has now appeared in 51 matches for the Retrievers since 2018.
· The shutouts over Hartford and Lehigh were the first back-to-back clean sheets since the first two games of the 2017 season.
· Head Coach Pete Caringi, Jr., enters his 31st campaign at UMBC and now has a record of 307-195-77. At the start of the season, he was ranked 20th amongst active NCAA I coaches with the 302 victories and the most recent mentor to reach the 300-win level (Feb. 23, 2021 vs. GW) and 36th with a winning percentage of 59.9.
· Associate Head Coach Anthony Adams, '97, begins his 25th season, patrolling the sidelines with his former coach, while former Retriever All-American Pete Caringi III, enters his eighth.
A GLANCE AT THE BISON
· Howard achieved a result in three of its first five games, producing a win and a pair of draws. The Bison opened with back-to-back draws at Monmouth (3-3, 2ot) and versus GW (1-1, 2ot) and capped the surge with a convincing 4-0 victory at VMI.
· But since that Sept. 21 triumph, the Bison (1-6-2, 0-3-0 NEC) have dropped four straight and been outscored, 13-0. One of those losses was a 4-0 setback at No. 4 Duke.
· Most recently, HU dropped a 3-0 decision at Central Connecticut State on Sunday.
· Local product and freshman striker Bryson Baker (Centennial HS) recorded a hat trick at VMI and leads HU with four goals on the season. Senior forward Duncan Dunkwu scored all three of HU's goals at Monmouth and has added a team-best two assists.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
· This will be the 20th meeting between the two schools, with the Retrievers holding a 14-2-3 overall lead. UMBC is riding a nine-game unbeaten streak versus Howard (6-0-3), dating back to the last Bison win in 2002.
· In the last meeting, the two teams played to a 2-2 double overtime draw on Sept. 18, 2018 at Retriever Soccer Park. UMBC led, 2-0, before Howard scored twice in the span of six minutes midway through the second half to earn the draw.
UP NEXT
UMBC hosts America East rival Stony Brook for #Homecoming2021. The game is set for Saturday, Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m. There will be an Alumni Social before the match on the top of the hill overlooking Retriever Soccer Park and a post-game fireworks display.
