The UMBC men's soccer squad (1-1-1, 0-1-1 AE) plays for the third time in eight days when they welcome the UAlbany Great Danes (0-3-1, 0-2-0 AE) to Retriever Soccer Park on Friday, March 12. The America East contest game kicks off at 4:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on the America East digital network. 

As of March 12, UMBC Athletics is allowing limited spectator attendance at our outdoor sports, including Men's and Women's Lacrosse, Men's and Women's Soccer, Baseball and Softball. The lower hill and bleachers are closed at Retriever Soccer Park. Fans are only allowed in the upper section of the park. The upper entrance to the soccer park is open to spectators, but the lower entrance is closed.

The complete UMBC Athletics COVID-19 attendance policy can be found here.

Last Time Out

America East newcomer NJIT scored a pair of second half goals and edged UMBC, 2-1, in a high-energy match played at Retriever Soccer Park on Tuesday evening. UMBC reserve midfielder Kyle Waggoner (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) scored his first collegiate in the 40' to give the Retrievers a 1-0 halftime lead. But the high-powered Highlanders scored off a rebound of a penalty kick in the 54' and got the game-winner in the 75' to prevail. UMBC outshot NJIT, 18-13, and had three sterling chances when the game was knotted at 1-1, but could not finish the opportunities.

Foes Finally Dent the Net

UMBC opened the season by not allowing a goal for the first 260 minutes of action before NJIT converted on the PK rebound.

Milestone

Head Coach Pete Caringi, Jr.is the third coach in UMBC history to mentor a program for 30 or more seasons. He recorded his 300th is next victory on Feb. 27, as UMBC defeated George Washington, 1-0, in double overtime.

Honored

UMBC freshman forward Taylor Calheira (Towson, Md./Concordia Pre) and junior goalkeeper Quantrell Jones (Baltimore, Md./Kenwood) earned two of the three weekly honors from the America East Conference on March 1.  

Calheira earned Rookie of the Week honors, while Jones was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week.

Making his collegiate debut, Calheira struck off a corner kick in the 106' as the host Retrievers opened the 2020-21 campaign with a 1-0 double overtime victory over George Washington on February 23. Jones set a new career high with nine saves and recorded his eighth career shutout in the Retrievers' 1-0 double-overtime victory over the Colonials.

Dawg Bytes

• The back-to-back shutouts of GW and Stony Brook were the Retrievers' first since the first two games of the 2017 campaign
• The Retrievers received 18 votes (30th-most) in Soccer Wire's Week 1 national rankings (March 2).  
• UMBC is set to play six America East Conference games, which includes home and away dates with NJIT and Stony Brook and single game versus UAlbany and at Binghamton.

• The America East Championships will be held April 15 and 17 at a single site, with the champion advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
• Juniors Jordan Ehart (Severna Park, Md./Mount St. Joseph) and Quantrell Jones and sophomore Julian Conze (Telgte, Germany) will serve as tri-captains for the 2020-21 campaign.
• Twelve of 23 players on the squad are newcomers. Five freshmen (Calheira, Hanks, Jago Lott, Hans Nesheim, William Forby) have started both games to date.
• The Great Danes opened the season with a 1-1 double overtime draw at Syracuse, but have dropped three straight, including conference contests at Binghamton (2-1) and versus Hartford (2-0). Most recently, UAlbany fell at UMass, 3-0, on March 7.
• Freshman Adam Aoumaich scored in the 84' to knot the game versus the Orange. Syracuse outshot UA by a narrow 9-8 margin.
• UAlbany has not scored in 212 minutes, since junior midfielder Haflidi Sigurdarson equalized the contest versus Binghamon in the 58'.  
• UAlbany was picked third and received two first-place votes in the preseason America East poll.
• The Retrievers hold a narrow 8-7-4 series lead over UAlbany, but are winless (0-2-1) in the last three contests. The Great Danes won a 2-1 overtime decision at UMBC in 2019. Quantrell Jones made seven saves in the contest.
• UMBC's last win occurred in 2017 when they triumphed, 3-1, at Retriever Soccer Park. 
• UMBC gets back into action on Friday, March 19 when they travel to Binghamton to take on the Bearcats. The kick-off is set for 3:00 p.m.