Burlington, VT – The UMBC men's soccer team knocked off their second Top 20 opponent of the season as they stunned #16 ranked Vermont, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at Virtue Field. The Retrievers, who won for the second straight season against the Catamounts, moved into first place in the America East standings with two games remaining in the regular season.

"We went into a hornet's nest and emptied the tank to beat a good Vermont team," said UMBC Head Coach Anthony Adams. "I couldn't be prouder of the effort of our players."
 
UMBC (7-3-3, 3-1-1 AE) wasted little time as senior striker Alek Wroblewski put the visitors on the board just 1:55 into the contest with his sixth tally of the season. Senior striker Taylor Calheira, America East's leading scorer, initiated the play with a long through ball from midfield and was credited with his third assist of the campaign. Wroblewski snuck past the defensive line and then converted a one-on-one opportunity. 'Cats senior goalkeeper Owen Jack (2 saves) tried to make a sliding play on the ball, but Wroblewski tapped a low shot into the right corner of the net.
 
The Retrievers picked up a huge insurance marker on a free kick in the 48^th minute after senior midfielder Loc San was tripped just outside of the right side of the box. Sophomore defender Lasse Kelp took the kick and beat Jack with a 25-yard blast just over the outstretched right arm of Jack. It was Kelp's second tally of the season.
 
Vermont (10-3-2, 3-2 AE) made things interesting in the 84' when junior defender Adrian Schulze Solano beat UMBC sophomore keeper Emigdio Tormo Lopez with a low shot from 25 yards out after receiving a short cross to the center from graduate student midfielder Niels Hartman.
 
The Catamounts, who outshot the Retrievers by a 13-7 margin, had a couple of chances late but UMBC's defense was up to the task and the Dawgs held on for the critical victory.
 
UMBC, who defeated then #16 Cornell back on Sept. 16, had not defeated Vermont on the road since 2013 as they were 0-5-1 during the stretch.
 
The Catamounts entered the contest with a 6-0 mark at Virtue Field this season and had not lost a conference regular season game since Sept. 18, 2021 (2-0 against Stony Brook). It was also the first time they have allowed two goals this season.
 
Tormo Lopez made five saves in the contest to earn his fifth victory of the season.
 
The Retrievers travel to NJIT on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. before rounding out the regular season versus Binghamton on Halloween evening.