Box Score Durham, N.H. – UMBC senior attacker
Grace Bruce tied her career-high by scoring six goals as the Retrievers defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats 20-11 in an America East Conference matchup on Friday afternoon. Five Retrievers recorded hat tricks, the most for UMBC since joining the conference in 2004.
Leading from start to finish, the Retrievers improved their overall record to 9-1 and achieved a conference record of 2-0 for the first time since 2013.
Bruce, who scored six goals against UNH last season, has now totaled 34 goals for the season, with 11 of those coming in her last two games. She also added a career-high eight draw controls.
Freshman sensation
Emily Knapp contributed four goals and an assist, maintaining her position as the conference leader with an average of 4.60 points per game.
Senior midfielder
Katana Nelson, freshman midfielder
Tess Curtis, and junior midfielder
Lauryn Warfield each scored three goals, while junior attacker
Lizzie Bateman led the game with three assists.
The Retrievers scored four goals within the first 3:36 of the game, quickly establishing a 4-0 lead following Nelson's first goal of the afternoon.
The Wildcats closed the gap to 5-3 after Dale Meskill scored with 1:41 left in the first quarter. However, the Retrievers responded with three consecutive goals, extending their lead to 8-3 after Knapp scored at 10:01 in the second quarter.
Meskill (3 goals) brought UNH within 9-5 with a free position goal at 4:46 left in the half, but Curtis and Bruce countered with goals to give the Retrievers a six-goal advantage at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Retrievers outscored UNH 4-3, with Nelson netting two goals for the Retrievers.
The Wildcats (2-7, 0-2 AE) made a final push, coming within 10-5 with 11:55 left in the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, the Retrievers responded by scoring five consecutive goals to secure the victory, with Warfield and Knapp contributing two goals each during that run.
UMBC outshot UNH by a margin of 44-22.
The Retrievers travel to Binghamton next Saturday afternoon.
