The UMBC women's soccer team (5-5-2, 1-3-0 America East makes its penultimate regular season road trip of the 2021 campaign when they take on host New Hampshire on Sunday, Oct. 10 at Wildcat Stadium. The contest gets underway at noon and will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Retrievers are fresh from a 5-1 victory at Delaware State on Thursday. Freshman midfielder Izzy Binko (Selbyville, Del.) recorded her first collegiate hat trick, while junior midfielder Juliana Rafaniello (Old Bridge, N.J.) posted a goal and assisted on all three Binko goals.

After an opening America East win at Maine, the Retrievers are looking to break back into the win column in league play.

NOTABLE:

• The five goals scored by UMBC is the most by the program since a 6-0 victory over Mount St. Mary's in September of 2014.
• Binko's hat trick is UMBC's first since graduate student Erin Stevenson (Sellersville, Pa.)  recorded one against New Hampshire in her freshman season of 2017.
• After her five-point night at DSU, Rafaniello leads the squad with five goals and 14 total points. She has netted the game-winning goal in three of five Retriever wins this season.
• Binko has recorded all four of her freshman year goals in the last three games. Junior midfielder Carolyn Koutsos (Boyds, Md./Good Counsel) has added three goals for UMBC, while sophomore midfielder Grace Harvey (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) and Stevenson have two apiece.
• Stevenson attempted and converted UMBC's first penalty kick of the season to knot the score versus Delaware State. She now has 10 career goals.
• Junior goalkeeper Morgan McGruder (Overland Park, Kan.) is second in the conference with 6.3 saves per game. She made a career high 11 stops in the 1-0 loss to UMass Lowell.

A GLANCE AT THE WILDCATS:

• UNH is 3-6-1 and 1-2-1 in America East play, but are coming off a big 3-0 win at Stony Brook on Oct. 3.
• Senior forward Francesca Picicci scored two goals and assisted on another in the Wildcats win on Long Island.  
• UNH has scored 11 goals and allowed 12 on the season.
• Senior goalkeeper Cat Sheppard ranks fourth in America East with a 1.05 goals against average. She has four shutouts on the season.

SERIES NOTES:

• This will be the 19th meeting between New Hampshire and UMBC.
• The Wildcats hold an 11-4-3 series advantage and have won the last two contests, including a 2-0 win at Retriever Soccer Park in 2019. The Retrievers' last victory occurred in 2017, a 3-1 triumph as Erin Stevenson scored three times in an 11-minute span late in the second half.
• UMBC last won in New Hampshire in 2015.

UP NEXT:

UMBC will play three of the final four America East contests at home, starting with Thursday's home match vs. NJIT (7:00 p.m.)