BALTIMORE - UMBC men's soccer used a pair of first-half goals to push past Howard, 2-0, on Tuesday night at Retriever Soccer Park.
The Retrievers snapped a two-game skid, improving to 3-2-1 overall and 3-1 at home in 2026.
After a number of early chances, UMBC struck first in the 30th minute. A long throw-in sent the ball into the box where a failed clearance from the Howard defense was volleyed home off the right boot of
Gunder Miller, beating the keeper at the far post. The goal was Miller's second of the season and first since the opening contest against Loyola (Md.).
With just under five minutes remaining in the first half, the Retrievers added to their lead as
Abdi Bahur beat his defender on the end line and tried to sneak it past the keeper. The ball took a hop up and hit the crossbar before deflecting onto the head of
Jack Reilly, who headed home his first goal as a Retriever. Reilly, a freshman from College Park, Md. earned his first real run with UMBC and found a way to make a positive impact in his 37 minutes on the pitch.
UMBC nearly added a third before the halftime horn, sending a cross in as the clock went under 10 seconds, but Reilly and
Adamo Pantaleo were both turned away by Howard keeper Liam Keiller.
The Retrievers continued to push the pace and attack in the final 45 minutes, but didn't force Keiller's hand. An offside call in the 59th minute took the Retrievers' third goal of the night off the board. UMBC played the final 20 minutes of the match up a man after Bryson Clarke was given a red for stopping a clear scoring chance from behind.
The UMBC back line allowed just five total shots from the Bison in the contest, with
Joe Pollard not needing to record a save to earn the clean sheet. UMBC outshot Howard 25-5, with the Retrievers putting seven shots on goal.
The Retrievers have played 14 straight matches against the Bison without a loss, dating back to 2002.
UMBC returns to action at RSP on Saturday evening for Youth Night as it plays host to William & Mary at 7 p.m.
