BALTIMORE - Winners of three straight conference contests, UMBC men's lacrosse will host NJIT on Saturday afternoon as the program celebrates Senior Day. UMBC will honor 10 student-athletes:
Zack Johnson,
Nick Gutierrez,
Conner Layden,
Casey Pung,
Connor Chick,
Dante Marinello,
Connor McMahon,
Dylan Hendrix,
Alex Steers, and
Ethan Wiech, during a pregame ceremony starting at 11:15 a.m.
Saturday will be the sixth all-time meeting between UMBC and NJIT, with the Retrievers winning all five contests to this point. Four of the five meetings, including last year's,O were decided by seven or more goals. In the 2025 meeting, UMBC jumped out to a 9-4 halftime lead before walking away with a 19-11 victory. Connor Chick, Nathan Ward, and Tyler Barnett all recorded hat tricks in the win. Jordan Galloway handed out four assists to go along with a pair of goals, while Connor McMahon made 11 saves.
LAST TIME OUT
- UMBC used a strong second-half effort to pull away from Binghamton and win its third straight America East contest on Saturday afternoon, 14-8. The Retrievers move to 4-6 on the season and 3-2 in conference play. Binghamton drops to 2-9 and 1-3. Ryan Demato had a career-high six points in the win, recording his fifth game this season with three or more goals and handing out three assists in a game for the first time in his career. Demato has scored multiple goals in eight straight games. Connor Chick recorded his second hat trick of the season, adding five points to the cause on the day.
- Freshman Blake Piscitiello led the Highlanders offense with three goals, three assists for six points as the Highlanders defeated visiting UMass Lowell, 10-8, Saturday evening at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium. The Highlanders (5-7, 2-2 America East) took control in the second quarter, scoring five goals to establish a lead they maintained throughout the game.
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
- NJIT comes into Baltimore with a 5-7 record and a 2-2 record in America East play. The Highlanders opened the conference season with a six-goal win over Binghamton, before dropping contests at Vermont and Bryant. NJIT bounced back with a win over UMass Lowell on Saturday.
- Blake Piscitiello ranks second in the America East in goals, assists, and points in 2026, trailing only UAlbany's Silas Richmond. Piscitiello has totaled 30 goals and 25 assists, recording a hat trick or better in six games this season, including the last three. He opened the season on a tear, totaling 17 points in the first two games, scoring three goals and dishing out five assists versus Hampton before adding six goals and three assists versus St. John's. In conference play, the freshman has nine goals and 10 assists in four games.
- Classmate Will Corry is second on the team with 26 goals, scoring multiple in eight games this season. Corry also started the year off with a bang, totaling 12 points in the opening two contests. Vermont is the only team to keep Corry off the score sheet this year.
- Blake's twin Carson Piscitiello is second on the team with 15 assists and third with 27 points. He had a five-assist day versus Sacred Heart and has upped his scoring production with nine of his 12 goals coming during conference play.
- The Highlanders have three players with 11 or more caused turnovers this season, starting with Emmerick Dopona with 19. Dopona, a redshirt junior, caused four turnovers versus Monmouth and has two games with three. Junior Sullivan O'Brien has two cames with four caused turnovers this year, Hampton and Sacred Heart. Alexander Cartwright rounds out the group, causing 11 this season, with a season-best three coming on Saturday versus UMass Lowell.
- Cameron Kurdyla leads the America East with 174 saves and ranks second with a save percentage of .554, but is seventh out of qualified goalies with a 12.23 GAA. Kurdyla has at least 11 saves in every game this season, setting a new season-best with 21 on Saturday.
SCOUTING THE DAWGS
- UMBC won its third straight America East Conference contest on Saturday afternoon at Binghamton. Tied 6-6 at halftime, the Retrievers outscored the Bearcats 8-2 in the final 30 minutes to improve to 4-6 on the season and 3-2 in the conference. The Retrievers have now defeated Bryant, UMass Lowell, and Binghamton in consecutive weeks.
- After posting a career-high six points in Saturday's win, Ryan Demato ranks fourth in the America East with 32 points this season. The junior from New Jersey scored three goals and added a career-best three assists on Saturday, giving him eight straight multi-goal games. Demato is sixth in the conference in total goals and fourth in goals per game, leading the Retriever offense with a consistent offensive presence.
- Connor Chick also added a hat trick and two assists in Saturday's win, scoring all three of his goals in the final quarter to put the game away. Chick is second on the team with 26 points on the season, scoring 14 goals and handing out 12 assists. He surpassed 50 points for his career and has now scored 38 goals in 27 games.
- After just three points in the first three conference games, Jake Kucinski has turned the tide in the last two weeks, totaling seven points in the two wins (5 goals, 2 assists). Kucinski recorded his first hat trick as a Retriever against UMass Lowell before adding two points and one assist versus Binghamton. He ranks third on the team with 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists).
- Defensively, Casey Pung leads the way for UMBC, causing 11 turnovers this season and adding two assists on the offensive end. Pung is also third on the team with 27 ground balls. Dylan Hendrix, Dylan Sharpe, and Dante Marinello each have eight caused turnovers for UMBC, with Hendrix leading that group with 19 ground balls. Marinello has three goals and an assist.
- Connor McMahon has made 98 saves this season and holds a 9.95 GAA through 10 games. McMahon has had at least seven saves in each game this year, setting a new season-high last month against Bryant with 14, including a number of highlight reel saves.
2026 AMERICA EAST STAT RANKINGS
TEAM
- 1st in Goals Allowed - 99
- 1st in Goals Allowed Average - 9.90
- 1st in Turnovers - 150
- 2nd in Penalty Killing Percentage - 69.0%
INDIVIDUAL
- Ryan Demato - 4th in Goals Per Game - 2.40
- Demato - 4th in Points - 32
- Demato - 4th in Points Per Game - 3.20
- Connor McMahon - 2nd in GAA - 9.95
- Alex Steers - 3rd in Face-Offs Won - 104
- Steers - 4th in Face-Off Win Percentage - .559
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
- RETURNERS - #0 Noah Hall, #1 Corey Myers, #2 Zack Johnson, #3 Mike Dunleavy, #5 Justin Webber, #6 Ryan Demato, #8 Cam Dick, #9 Braden Smith, #10 Nick Gutierrez, #11 Conner Layden, #12 Casey Pung, #13 Connor Chick, #14 Gavin Batelka, #15 Keegan Ryan, #17 Alec Howard, #18 Logan Earl, #20 Dante Marinello, #21 Connor McMahon, #22 Kevin Bredeck, #23 Dylan Sharpe, #24 Zach Coyle, #28 Ayden Davis, #30 Billy Stephens, #31 Griffen McNeir, #33 Dylan Hendrix, #36 Josh Schrader, #38 Landon Greenberg, #39 Alex Steers, #40 Nathan Ward, #43 Xander Maxwell, #44 Logan Duffy, #55 Jameson Coffman
- TRANSFERS - #50 Jake Kucinski, #53 Ethan Wiech
- FRESHMEN - #4 Grant Mauldin, #16 Thomas Keating, #19 Todd Freeman, #25 Paulo Vazquez, #26 Elliott McClendon, #27 Caiden Merritt, #34 Drew Lapointe, #45 Jack Fish, #49 Than Souza
2025 IN REWIND
- UMBC opened up the season with victories over Drexel and Mount St. Mary's, beginning the year 2-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Retrievers dropped games to Towson and #13 Richmond before opening up America East play on March 15.
- The Retrievers opened up league play with victories over Vermont and UAlbany, taking wins by final scores of 10-7 and 13-12 in overtime. UMBC fell at Bryant, 12-7, its lone America East regular season loss.
- The Dawgs bonced back with wins over UMass Lowell and Binghamton at home before winning 19-11 at NJIT. UMBC finished off the regular season with a neutral site loss to Holy Cross before heading to Smithfield, Rhode Island for the America East Championships. UMBC fell 9-7 in a rematch of the regular season thriller with UAlbany. The Retrievers led 6-3 in the second, but UAlbany scored six of the final seven goals to come away victorious.
AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL
1. UAlbany - 40 (6)
2. Bryant - 29 (1)
3. Vermont - 24
4. UMBC - 21
5. Binghamton - 18
6. UMass Lowell - 8
7. NJIT - 7
WHAT'S NEXT
