UMBC

Satruday's game marks Jamie Kimbles' sixth game vs. Binghamton.

The UMBC men's lacrosse team gets back to the America East battles on Saturday, April 9 when they host the Binghamton Bearcats at UMBC Stadium. The opening face-off is set for 12:00 p.m. Although it's much better live, the game is also being broadcast on WMAR-TV, espn3.com, and umbcretrievers.tv. Both teams are coming in off victories, as UMBC (3-5, 0-1 America East0 held off Towson, 10-9, on Wednesday evening, while Binghamton (5-5, 1-0) opened their league season with a thrilling 8-7 overtime decision over Vermont.

Junior A Rob Grimm leads the team with 23 points (10g, 13a). He scored five points in a game for the third time this season with three goals and two assists in Wednesday’s win over Towson. Senior midfielder Jamie Kimbles and freshman attackman Ryan Johnston also scored two goals apiece vs. the Tigers. 

After missing two games due an injured thumb, junior G Brian McCullough returned to the nets vs. Quinnipiac. He has recorded 37 saves in each of the last three games and has been credited with UMBC’s three wins to date.

Did you know

... that Binghamton won the first match-up between the two teams in 2004 (5-4), but UMBC has won the last ten straight?

 ... that the last two AEC tournament games between the two teams  have gone to overtime (2008, 2009)?

UMBC is now 21-11 in games decided by three goals or less since the beginning of the 2007 season. UMBC had won eight straight overtime decisions in the last three seasons, until dropping the Feb. 20, 2010 triple overtime decision to Delaware. UMBC’s previous overtime loss was an 11-10 setback at Penn early in the 2006 season. In one-goal decisions, UMBC has now won 14 of its last 18. UMBC is now 15-5 in Don Zimmerman’s 17 seasons in overtime and in his career, Coach Zimmerman is 17-7 in extra time.

HOME, SWEET HOME: After 14 consecutive winning seasons at UMBC Stadium, the Retrievers were 1-6 at home in 2010.   From 2006-09, UMBC had posted a mark of 29-5 on the home stadium turf.

FOR OPENERS: Prior to the loss to the Blue Hens last sesaon, UMBC had won its last seven home openers since an 11-4 loss to Navy in 2002. After the setback to Rutgers last week, Coach Zimmerman is now 11-7 in UMBC home openers.

THE HITS JUST KEEP COMING: UMBC’s 45 wins over a four-year period (2006-09) is the most in the school’s history, surpassing the 42 wins recorded from 1974-1977. For the first time in school history, UMBC won 10 or more games in four consecutive seasons.

Programs With Most Victories, 2006-09

1. Virginia 58

2. Duke 56

3. Cornell 50

4. Syracuse 47

5. UMBC 45

DON’T LOOK BACK: UMBC is now in its 44thd season of varsity men’s lacrosse with a record of 330-273 (.547). The Retrievers  played their 600th intercollegiate match on March 18 at Maryland. They are 214-208 (.507) in their 30th year at the Division I level, achieving win No. 200 vs. Ohio State on March 21, 2009. Before the win over Towson on April 1, 2008, the last time the program was last over the .500 mark at the Division I level was when at the end of its third season (1983) when the record was 19-18.

POWERFUL POWER PLAY: UMBC has been nationally ranked in man-up percentage in four of the past five years. In 2009, the Retrievers led the country in man-up situations and set a school record by converting on 51.7% (30 of 57) of its opportunities.

Early in the campaign, UMBC hit on six of its first 14 man-up opportunities of the season, highlighted by a 3-for-3 effort at North Carolina on March 5. UMBC scored at least one man-up goal in its first four games this season and five in a row overall, but was blanked in three attempts at Maryland on March 18. UMBC had failied to score an extra-man tally in the four consecutive contests a season ago. (4/10/10-5/1/10).

Year    Man-Up Pct. Year-End National Rank

2009    .517                  1st

2007    .464                  5th

2006    .417                  7th

2005    .444                  2nd

2004    .379                  10th

HONORED: Dave Brown and Matt Gregoire received America East Conference Men’s Lacrosse Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, for games ending Feb. 20. Brown, a sophomore midfielder, had a career day tallying four goals and three assists in the Retrievers’ 16-10 win over Presbyterian. The seven-point game for Brown is still tied for the 13th-most productive game in Division I to date. He had just one assist in 11 games all last season. Gregoire tallied three points in his collegiate debut. The redshirt freshman attack scored twice and added an assist in the Retrievers’ win at Presbyterian. His third quarter score was the game-winner.

Junior attackman Rob Grimm set a personal high with four assists at Presbyterian. He has tied his career high with five points on three occasions this season. Grimm has points in 33 of 37 games played in his career. His 11-game scoring streak was snapped on April 1 at Stony Brook - Grimm did not record a shot in that game. Entering play this week, he was still third in America East wtih 1.57 assists per game and eighth in the conference with 2.57 points per contest. He is UMBC’s active leading scorer with 36-41-77.

Grimm’s scoring streak started after he was blanked at Towson on April 7 of 2010. Ironically, his first career five-point game occurred vs. Towson (2g, 3a) on March 31, 2009 at UMBC Stadium and he equalled that with 3-2-5 vs. the Tigers on April 6, 2011.

Grimm’s Five-Point Games

March 31, 2009            2g, 3a vs. Towson

Feb. 19, 2011              1g, 4a at Presbyterian

March 5, 2011              3g, 2a at North Carolina

April 6, 2011                3g, 2a vs. Towson

In addition to Brown and Gregoire, sophomore Neill Lewnes and freshman Greg Korvin both scored their first collegiate goals at Presbyterian. Lewnes added team highs with 11 ground balls and three caused turnovers. He posted his first multiple-point game with a goal and a helper vs. Quinnipiac on March 26.

Freshman midfielder Zach Linkous scored his first collegiate goal (he had a pair) at North Carolina on March 5. Linkous posted a season high three points (1-2-3) to lead UMBC at Stony Brook.

Junior netminder Brian McCullough recorded a career-high 14 saves vs. the Tar Heels on March 5. McCullough’s previous high was the eight stops he was credited with in the 16-10 setback at Homewood Field last season. Five of his seven career starts have been away from UMBC Stadium.

But McCullough suffered a thumb injury during the game vs. the Tar Heels and sophomore Adam Cohen made his first start of he season on March 12 vs. Johns Hopkins. He came within one save of his career high, making 11 saves in the loss to the Blue Jays. McCullough returned the nets and was UMBC’s America East Player of the Game with 13 saves in the 9-7 win over Quinnipiac. He made eight saves and allowed only two goals in the final 30 minutes.

HAT TRICK: Sophomore Scott Jones posted his second career three-goal game by tallying UMBC’s first three of the contest at Maryland. He recorded four goals in the opener at Presbyterian. It was UMBC’s 5th hat trick of the season with others coming from Dave Brown (4g at Presbyterian) Rob Grimm (UNC), and Scott Hopmann (Presbyterian). Jones scored his first career goal at Towson last season. 

I’M YOUR CAPTAIN: Kimbles scored his first goal of the season and posted his first multiple-goal game with 1-1-2 vs. Quinnipiac on March 26. He posted a season-best two goals vs. Towson and now has 25 career goals (25-18-43).

OTHER PLAYER BRIEFS: Sophomore Neill Lewnes posted his second straight multiple-point game with a goal and an assist at Stony Brook... Lewnes leads UMBC with 31 ground balls, but has corralled just two in the last two contests... UMBC has been sparked by the efforts of freshman midfielder Phil Poe in the last three games... Poe has won 26 of 43 face-offs (60.5%) in that span and scored his first collegiate goal vs. Towson on April 6...Freshman A/M Ryan Johnston scored his first two collegiate goals on his first two shots in the fourth quarter at Stony Brook and added two goals in his first collegiate start vs. Towson on April 6... Junior defender Tim Shaeffer scored his first collegiate goal in the second quarter vs. Quinnipiac on March 26.

TOUGH STANZA: In its five losses, UMBC has been outscored, 25-4, in the second quarter. 

REMEMBER THIS ONE?: The Retrievers trailed QU, 5-4, after three quarters - UMBC’s last win when trailing after three quarters occurred in the 2008 America East title game vs. Albany when the Retrievers were behind 12-9 after 45 minutes.

 A Glance at the Bearcats:

This afternoon’s matchup with UMBC marks the fourth road game in the last five contests for the Bearcats. Last weekend, Binghamton posted a thrilling 8-7 overtime triumph over Vermont in the America East opener for both teams. By obtaining its fifth win of the season Saturday, Binghamton set the program’s third-highest win total since its inception in 2002.

Led by sophomore standout Matt Springer, Binghamton boasts four players in the top-20 of various national statistical rankings. Springer, who leads the squad with 21 goals, ranks 19th in the country with 2.3 goals per game. An All-Rookie Team selection last season, Springer is the catalyst behind a man-up offense that ranks 18th nationally with a 37.1 conversion percentage

The key to Binghamton’s five victories has been stellar defensive play as BU features a scoring defense that averages six goals against in five wins. Sophomore goalie Kraig Heston, who has a 5-2 record in seven starts, is tabbed ninth nationally in goals against average (7.31).

Binghamton has wins over Canisius, Hobart, Marist, Colgate and Vermont and losses to Penn State, Lafayette, Cornell, Siena and Lehigh.