UMBC

Junior midfielder Kevin Mezzadra’s (Fallston, Md./Loyola-Blakefield) second goal of the game snapped a two-all tie and propelled UMBC (3-3-1) to a 3-2 victory over Mt. St. Mary’s (1-3-2) at UMBC Stadium.

Mezzadra scored the game’s first goal at the 32:39 mark, hitting a low laser from 23 yards away, which hit netminder Mark Murphy’s hands, but trickled into the net.

The Retrievers seemed to have the game in hand when junior forward David Feazell (Bel Air, Md./Fallston) scored UMBC’s second goal at 57:57. Senior forward Powell Cucchiella (Baltimore, Md./Eastern Tech) led sophomore midfielder Matt Watson (Redditch, England) down the right wing and Feazell ran onto Watson’s cross, volleying home his third goal of the year from eight yards out.

But Feazell’s goal was just the first of four in a stretch of 14:27. The Mount took advantage of a pair of deep throw-ins to score twice and tie the game. Steve Dellamore’s first throw-in hit some traffic, but Phillip Rub got to the loose ball and volleyed it in from eight yards away at the 60:27 mark. Nearly ten minutes later, at 70:23, Dellamore’s throw from nearly the same spot could not be cleared, and a loose ball deflected to Howdy Long, who blasted the ball into the net unattended at close range.

But Mezzadra, who has already set his career high with five goals, took advantage of a fortunate deflection on the other end of the field. Esteban Mariel’s direct kick from 24 yards away skimmed off a Mount player in the box, and Mezzadra headed in the loose ball from four yards out. It was Mezzadra’s second two-goal game this season.

UMBC outshot the visitors, 12-10, and Retriever netminder Andy Marchica made five saves to three by Murphy.

UMBC has played the Mount more times than any other school and now holds an 18-11-2 advantage in the series. The Retrieves are 8-0-1 in the last nine meetings with the Mountaineers and also extended their home unbeaten streak to 24 (17-0-7) dating back to 2002.

The Retrievers open the America East schedule at Hartford on Saturday.

UMBC 3, Mt. St. Mary’s 2

Scoring: U-Kevin Mezzadra (Matt Watson, Kevin Gnatiko) 32:39; U-David Feazell (Powell Cucchiella, Watson) 57:57; M-Phillip Rub (Steve Dellamore) 60:27; M-Howdy Long 70:23; U-Mezzadra (Esteban Mariel) 72:24. Saves: M-Mark Murphy 3 (3ga, 90 min.) ; U-Andy Marchica 5 (2ga, 90 min.)

Shots: M-10, U-12. Corners: M-3, U-4. Fouls: M-6, U-9. Halftime: UMBC, 1-0. Att: 445