UMBC

Baltimore, Md.—Nick Williams’ goal with 2:30 left broke a 7-7 tie and propelled the visiting Towson Tigers (5-4) to an 8-7 win over UMBC (4-4) before 1,318 fans at chilly UMBC Stadium.

UMBC had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but Tiger netminder Mark DeGroat made an outstanding save on Brendan Mundorf’s shot from close range. Mundorf was slashed on the play, but with only three seconds left, Retriever midfielder Evan Kay could not get a shot off before the horn.

The Retrievers had defeated two straight ranks teams in #12 Denver and #15 Albany, but could not defeat three straight for the first time in the school’s Division history.

UMBC, which had allowed only six first quarter goals through the first seven games, allowed the Tigers to score four in the first 14 minutes of play. Mundorf cut the Tiger lead to 4-2 after the first quarter when he tallied just before the horn.

The Retrievers rallied in the second quarter, getting goals from sophomore midfielder Terry Kimener (5:56) and junior middie Evan Kay (2:44) to tie the score at four-all at intermission.

UMBC took its lone lead of the game at 5-4 when junior attackman Andy Gallagher scored just 1:27 into the third quarter.  But Towson was able to kill off a UMBC extra-man situation and scored three times in a span of 2:55 to take a 7-5 advantage after three quarters.

The Retrievers fought back again, as Mundorf scored at the 5:22 mark and Kay tied the game on an outside shot at 9:21. UMBC won the next face-off, but committed a turnover and after a long possession, Tiger midfielder Keith Obloj found Williams with time and space and he buried a high shot from ten yards out.

Mundorf led all scorers with three goals and one assist, while Kay contributed a pair of goals and Kimener had a goal and an assist. Senior attackman Phil Grillo added three goals for Towson and Williams scored a pair. DeGroat was outstanding in the Tiger net, making 12 saves, while UMBC freshman netminder Jeremy Blevins stopped seven Towson efforts.

Towson held UMBC without an extra-man goal in four attempts as the Retrievers came into the game the nation’s top team (56.5%) on man-up situations. The Tigers have won three straight in the series and five of the last six and now lead the all-time series, 26-11.

UMBC will play the final four regular season games vs. America East foes, starting with Hartford at home on Saturday.