UMBC

Baltimore, Md.—Senior attackman Drew Westervelt scored with one second remaining in the second overtime period to give host No. 15 UMBC (7-4, 2-1 America East) a 11-10 victory over Binghamton (3-7, 2-1) in a wild contest before 1,031 rain-soaked fans at UMBC Stadium.

UMBC has a 5-1 home record this season and three of the wins have occurred in overtime. The five wins have come by a total of seven goals. The Retrievers have now won three straight games for the first time this season.

The Bearcats had rallied from a 10-4 deficit after three quarters and tied the score on a goal by freshman attackman Andy Cook with one second left in regulation. Both teams had one possession in each overtime, and came up empty in the first stanza. Bearcat reserve goalie Jeff Walker made a routine save on UMBC’s Josh Porcell midway through the second period and UMBC back-up David Coker did the same on a Chris Mulheron shot with 18 seconds left.

The Retrievers quickly advanced the ball up the field, and Andy Gallagher couldn’t get a shot off while receiving the ball inside. He recovered and fed the ball back to Westervelt who took a desperation shot from 12 yards away, but the attempt was perfect, bounding over Walker’s shoulder and under the crossbar.

UMBC led, 6-4 at intermission and built a seemingly safe lead with four unanswered scores in the third period.  But Bearcat face-off specialist sophomore J.P. Wioncek won 11 of 13 draws second half draws and freshman Steve Carlson took over the contest in the fourth quarter. Carlson scored four times on four consecutive shots in a span of 5:04 to bring Binghamton to within 10-8 with 9:25 to play. Sophomore attackman Jake Boyce scored just 48 seconds later and Coker replaced starting netminder Jeremy Blevins in the UMBC net.

UMBC seemed to again be in good shape when Binghamton’s John Dreska was called for slashing with just 1:18 to play, but the Retrievers committed two turnovers with the man advantage. Coker bailed them out once with a save on Cook with 40 seconds left, but, after a Westervelt turnover with 18 seconds left, the Bearcats raced the length of the the field and attackman Chris Mulheron found Cook in front and he bounced a shot past Coker to knot the game with one second remaining in regulation.

Carlson led all goal scorers with five goals, while Mulheron had a goal and two helpers.

Westervelt led UMBC with three goals and two assists and now has 98 career goals. Freshman Cayle Ratcliffe kept the hot hand as he scored three goals and continues to lead the team with 25 scores. Gallagher added two goals and two assists and senior midfielder P.J. Kimener recorded his first career multi-goal game with a pair of scores.

Both starting netminders struggled, as Blevins allowed nine goals, while making seven saves in 51:23 and Bearcat regular Larry Kline allowed ten scores, while making six stops in 41:49. Reserves Coker (four saves) and Walker (three saves) performed admirably in relief. Wioncek had 12 ground balls for Binghamton and won 16 of 25 face-offs overall.    

UMBC concludes its home schedule next Saturday as they host league foe Vermont, while Binghamton travels to Stony Brook.