The UMBC men's soccer squad (5-2-1, 1-0-0 America East) returns to America East play on Saturday, Sept. 25 when they face the UMass Lowell River Hawks (1-6-1, 0-1-1). The opening kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Cushing Field and the contest will be broadcast on the America East Digital Network.

The Retrievers have won three straight games and are coming off a 3-0 win at Lehigh on Tuesday.

UMBC sophomore forward Taylor Calheira (Towson, Md./Concordia Prep) ramped up his torrid play, registering a first half hat-trick, while sophomore goalkeeper Jailon Gillespie (Laurel, Del.) made a career high eight saves as UMBC posted its second consecutive 3-0 shutout.

HONORED

Calheira 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. Hence, he now has six goals and 14 points in his last three outings.

Junior midfielder Ryan Becher (Hummelstown, Pa.) earned #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week honors in Week 2.

DAWG BYTES

• In three consecutive games, UMBC has played the Hawks, Mountain Hawks and River Hawks.
• UMBC has scored two or more goals in seven of its eight games on the season. The Retrievers were ranked 26th national in scoring offense to open the week and are now first in America East with 2.33 goals per game.  
• Calheira leads America East in shots (3.9 per game) and shots on goal (2.9 per game), game-winning goals (4) and is second in goals per game (.88) and points per game (2.1).
• After his two-assist effort at Lehigh, hunior back Julian Conze (Telgte, Germany) leads America East with six assists.     
• Three players – Calheira (7-4-18), Becher (5-3-13), and Conze (3-6-12) are already in double figures in scoring and are ranked 2-3-4 in the conference in points per game.
• Entering the week, Calheira was tied for first in the country with three game-winning goals and he added his fourth at Lehigh.
• 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 ten career goals and 28 total points (10-8-28).
• Gillespie 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.  
• UMBC is 2-0-1 in overtime this season.
• In the first three games of the season, UMBC rallied four times from a goal down to knot the score. The Retrievers have scored the game's first goal in the last five contests and are 4-1-0 in those games.
• Head Coach Pete Caringi, Jr., enters his 31st campaign at UMBC and now has a record of 307-192-77. 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 RIVER HAWKS

• UMass Lowell is 1-6-1 and has dropped six straight games after opening the season with a draw at St. Francis Brooklyn (1-1) and a 1-0 win versus Siena.
• Five of the River Hawks' six losses have occurred by one goal.
• UML dropped its AE opener, 2-1, in overtime at NJIT last Saturday and fell, 2-1, in double overtime vs. UMass on Tuesday.
• Senior forward Borna Miklic gave UML a 1-0 lead in the 72' at NJIT, but the River Hawks allowed goals in the 75' and 95' to suffer the setback.
• Miklic scored his team-high third goal to give his side a 1-0 led over the Minutemen on Tuesday, but the hosts equalized in the 42' and won the game in the 103'.
• Senior Christian Miesch has played all 759 in the nets for the River Hawks and is maintaining a 1.42 GAA.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES

• The Retrievers and the River Hawks will meet for the eighth time with UMBC holding a narrow 4-3 series advantage.
• The last meeting, which took place in 2019, resulted in a 1-0 loss for the Retrievers in Lowell.
• The two teams have split four previous matches at Cushing Field.

UP NEXT

UMBC hosts Delaware in a non-conference contest on Tuesday, Sept. 28. Game time from Retriever Soccer Park is set for 7:00 p.m.