BALTIMORE – For the second consecutive year, the UMBC men's soccer team (7-3-5, 3-1-3 America East) will host the Binghamton Bearcats (4-9-3, 2-2-3) in the America East Conference Championships quarter-final round.

The two teams, who played to a 2-2 draw at Retriever Soccer Park on Tuesday, Oct. 31, collide again on the same Bermuda turf on Saturday, Nov. 4. The game will kick-off at 7:00 p.m. and the broadcast is available on AE.tv.   

BREAKING NEWS
 

• UMBC clinched a home berth in the upcoming America East Conference Men's Soccer Championships by recording a 2-2 draw versus Binghamton in the regular season finale on Oct. 31.
• For the second consecutive game, the Retrievers dominated the shot chart, cranking off 20 shots, while holding Binghamton to seven. Freshman Ryan Calheira scored his first collegiate goal just before halftime to knot the game at 1-1 and senior defender Hans Nesheim tallied his first of the season to give the hosts a 2-1 lead in the 83'. But Binghamton knotted the score two minutes later, setting up the same match-up in the playoffs.
• The America East Conference men's soccer coaches tabbed senior forward Taylor Calheira and sophomore defender Lasse Kelp to the league's All-Conference First Team as the league revealed its four all-league teams on the eve of the championships.
• Calheira, Kelp and senior defender Hans Nesheim also earned All-Academic Team honors, while senior forward Alek Wroblewski was again selected to the league's Second Team and freshman defender Giuseppe Indelicato landed on the All-Rookie Team.  
• After earning All-Rookie Team honors in the spring of 2020, Calheira has been selected to the First Team over the past three fall campaigns, becoming the first Retriever since striker Pete Caringi III (2011-13) to earn three consecutive top honors.
• UMBC's one conference loss is the fewest since a 6-0-1 slate in 2014. They duplicated their 12-point standings' effort from a year ago. The three draws is the most for UMBC in an America East season since the Retrievers' first year in the league. UMBC posted a 5-1-3 mark in 2003, winning the regular season title 20 years ago.  
• UMBC knocked off a ranked opponent for the second time this season, upsetting No. 16 Vermont, 2-1, at Virtue Field on Oct. 21. It was also UMBC's second consecutive defeat of the Catamounts and both have occurred when UVM has been in the national Top 20.
• The Retrievers were ranked No. 33 in the Oct. 29 RPI rankings. The league is ranked No. 5, with UNH (7), Vermont (14) and Bryant (16) and UMBC all in the top 35. UMBC received votes in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll for the week ending Oct. 22, 2023.  
• Lasse Kelp earned both America East Defensive Players of the Week and College Soccer News Team of the Week honors on Oct. 23. His GWG versus Vermont was the defender's second of the season and second in three America East road games.
• UMBC in now unbeaten in its last four road games, their longest unbeaten streak since winning four in a row away from home in 2013.
• Calheira has reached the 10-goal plateau in back-to-back seasons and his 32nd career strike vs. UNH moved him into eighth place on the school's all-time list. He has also moved into a tie for eighth place on the Retrievers' all-time points list with 79.
• Calheira finished the year second in the America East Conference in goals (10) and total points (24).  Calheira is tied for 23rd nationally in goal scoring and in goals per contest (0.67) as of the last statistical report on November 1. He was the 40th-ranked player in Top Drawer Soccer's Men's National Top 100 player rankings. 
• Senior forward Alek Wroblewski, the America East's Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 16, is sixth in the league with a career-best six goals scored.
• UMBC was ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches Northeast Regional poll as of Oct. 23. Along with the Retrievers, UNH (1), Vermont (2) and Bryant (3) comprise four teams in the poll. Cornell, a team which UMBC edged, 2-1, on Sept. 16, is ranked No. 5 in the region.

 
RETRIEVERS IN THE AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT    

• UMBC has competed in 13 tournaments in 21 conference seasons, four in a row and six of the past seven. The Retrievers have a record of 10-8-6 in 24 matches. 

• The Retrievers have won four titles – in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014. They advanced over UNH in 2010 and 2012 and defeated Hartford in 2013 and 2014. All four championship games were played at Retriever Soccer Park.

• They also reached the 2009 and 2018 title games, losing at Stony Brook and UNH.

• After losing the first two times in Baltimore, the Retrievers are 6-2-1 (6-4-1 overall) in their last nine home matches in America East Tournament play.

 
A GLANCE AT THE BEARCATS                  

• Binghamton is 1-3-1 over its last five contests.
• Graduate student midfielder Jack Green leads the Bearcat attack with three goals and four assists.
• Senior Markos Tourokis scored the game-winning goal in BU's quarter-final win over UMBC last November and tallied the game-tying goal in the 85' minute in Tuesday's regular season finale.

 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES/PLAYOFF MEETINGS

• Binghamton leads the all-time series, 12-8-5 and won both contests played in 2022.
• UMBC is 5-4-3 versus Binghamton in Baltimore, but the Bearcats are 6-2-2 versus UMBC since 2015.
• This will be the fourth meeting between UMBC and Binghamton in America East Championship action. The Bearcats have won both meetings in Baltimore (4-1, 2005 and 3-2 in 2022), while UMBC earned a 2-1 victory in the 2009 contest in Vestal, N.Y.

AMERICA EAST SEMI-FINALS

• The winner of the UMBC-Binghamton contest will travel to Smithfield, R.I. to take on second-seeded Bryant (14-1-2) on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The opening kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m.