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News Release
MEN'S SOCCER HOSTS ALBANY IN AMERICA EAST MATCH-UP ON SATURDAY
9/30/2005
The men's soccer team (4-3-2, 1-0 America East) plays the first of four America East Conference home games on Saturday, October 1, at 1p.m.,when they take on the Albany Great Danes (4-4-2, 1-0 America East). This is the first game of three straight leauge contests in an eight-game span for UMBC as they face Binghamton and Vermont on the road on October 5 and October 8.
HOME, SWEET HOME: UMBC was 6-0-2 at home last season as they continue to play outstanding soccer at UMBC Soccer Stadium. The Retrievers had a brief hiccough in 2002, but have been dominant since the Soccer Stadium has hosted games, beginning in 1998. In that span, UMBC is 45-8-9 (.798), with 3 losses and 2 ties occurring in the 2002 campaign.
UMBC has not lost a regular season home game since falling to Navy, 3-1, in September of 2002. They are 17-0-7 in that span. UMBC is 6-1-2 vs. America East Conference opponents at UMBC Soccer Stadium. They have outscored their league foes, 18-6 at home. Today’s game will be the first vs. an America East opponent on the artificial surface of UMBC Stadium.
RANKED: UMBC was ranked tenth in the South Atlantic region this week, marking the 13th time in Pete Caringi’s 15 years at UMBC that the Retrievers have dented the regional rankings.
STREAK HALTED: UMBC had qualified for its conference’s post season tournament for nine straight seasons until a seventh-place finish (4-5 America East, 8-6-3 overall) last season. The Retrievers’ last early November vacation occured in 1994, when they also posted a record of better than .500 (9-8-1).
DUELING HOME SITES: UMBC will play its four September home games and several October contests on newly-renovated UMBC Stadium’s Momentum Turf surface. The other games will take place at UMBC Soccer Stadium.
HIGH PRAISE: America East coaches picked UMBC third in the pre-season league men’s soccer poll. Defending champion Boston University was the unanimous pick to retake the title, followed by Binghamton, UMBC and Stony Brook.
IN REVIEW: The UMBC defense has tightened in the last two games as the Retrievers have posted back-to-back shutouts with a 2-0 win at Hartford and a 0-0 overtime draw at Howard. UMBC did not record back-to-back blankings last year and has not posted three straight since the first three games of the 2003 campaign. The Retrievers are unbeaten in four games (3-0-1) and are 4-1-2 in its last seven outings. The 0-0 overtime draw at Howard marked the second straight year where those squads battled for 110 minutes with no goals scored. UMBC had scored at least once in seven straight games until none of the 25 shots (25-7) recorded vs. the Bison found the mark.
SERIES HISTORY: Albany holds a 1-0-1 lead in the series. The two teams played to a 2-2 overtime draw at UMBC Soccer Stadium in ‘03 and the Great Danes won last year’s league lid lifter, 1-0, in Albany, NY. It was the first time that UMBC was blanked in league play and just one of two shutouts that UMBC has suffered in 19 league games.
UMBC PLAYER NOTES: Freshman goalkeeper Steve King has gotten his career off quite well, as he has two shutouts in his first two collegiate starts...King is unscored upon in 203 minutes of action...junior midfielder Kevin Mezzadra, who leads the team with five goals, and junior forward David Feazell, who is just behind with four tallies, each have surpassed their single season career bests in goals...Feazell has two of UMBC’s four game winning goals this year (vs. Rider and Hartford)...sophomore midfielder Matt Watson and senior midfielder Eric Mahon share the team lead with four assists apiece...senior back Matt McGowan has now started 56 consecutive games for UMBC.
A LOOK AT THE ALBANY GREAT DANES
Last five results
Wed. 14 at Colgate L 1-2
Sat. 17 at Holy Cross L 0-5
Wed. 21 at Siena L 0-1
Sat. 24 *New Hampshire W 1-0
Wed. 28 Marist T 3-3 (2OT)
Notes: The Great Danes, now 3-0-1 at home this season, managed a 3-3 tie with Marist on Wednesday...Albany posted a 1-0 victory over 23rd-ranked New Hampshire on Saturday, Sept. 24. The loss was the Wildcats’ first of the season… junior Timba Bimont , a junior transfer from the Globe Institute in Sweden, came off the bench to score his first career goal...freshman goalkeeper Steward Ceus made five key saves to preserve his second career shutout... junior captain Stephan Hall (Denver, Colo./Denver East) leads the team with 12 points on four goals and four assists.
RECORD SITUATIONS (2006)
At Home: 3-0-1
On Road: 1-1-1
Neutral: 0-2-0
On Grass: 1-3-0
On Artificial: 3-0-2
On Wednesday: 1-1-1
On Saturday: 1-0-0
Other Days: 2-2-1
When Scoring First: 4-2-1
When Allowing First: 0-1-0
One Goal Games: 2-2-0
Decided by >1 goal: 2-1-0
Outshooting Opponent: 3-2-1
Outshot: 0-1-1
In September: 4-3-2
In October: 0-0-0
In November 0-0-0