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News Release

Men's Soccer Hosts Towson in Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day Game on Wednesday

9/15/2009

UMBC plays the middle game of a season-high five-game homestand on Wednesday, Sept. 16, when they host the Towson Tigers at UMBC Soccer Stadium. Kick-off time is set for 4:00 p.m. All UMBC faculty and staff will be admitted free (w/I.D.) to the game.

UMBC boasts the nation’s top scorer in sophomore forward Andrew Bulls, who is averaging 4.0 points per game (eight goals, four assists through five games) and its third-leading scorer in junior forward Levi Houapeu (3.2 ppg—five goals, six assists). The UMBC offense is ranked second nationally with 3.8 goals per game, behind only Liberty, as the Flames are netting four goals per outing.

The Tigers

The Tigers defeated St. Joseph’s by a score of 3-1 on Sept. 13… Liam Maloney scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season for Towson (3-1-0) and Marco Mangione added his third goal of the ‘09 campaign in the victory…Maloney and Mangione both scored goals to lead the Tigers past Lehigh by a score of 2-0 on Sept. 10..The Tigers only loss this season came at the hands of Rutgers 4-3 on Sept. 1…The Tigers were 8-5-4 last season.

Series Record

The series record between the Retrievers and Towson is tied at 11-11-3…Last season the Retrievers dropped a close call at Towson, 2-1… The Tigers’ goals were scored by current TU players Liam Maloney and Tommy Appel-Schumacher… The Retrievers’ goal was scored by Andrew Bulls… Today’s match will be only the third meeting between Towson and UMBC since 1994 and the first meeting at UMBC since 1993. UMBC holds a 6-4-1 advantage in 11 meetings since 1986, when the Retrievers first earned NCAA Division I status.

National Leaders: (as of Sept. 13, 2009)

Scoring Offense:                        2. UMBC 3.8 goals per game    (1. Liberty, 4.0 gpg)                   

Points per game:                       1. Andrew Bulls, 4.0 ppg; 3. Levi Houapeu, 3.2 ppg

Goals per game:                        2. Andrew Bulls, 1.6 gpg (1. Matt Eliason 1.75 gpg)

                                                7. Levi Houapeu, 1.0 gpg

Assists per game:                      4. Levi Houapeu 1.2 apg (1. Bryan Burke, San Fran., 1.33 apg)

                                                12. Andrew Bulls, 0.8 apg

Notes

For the second consecutive year, UMBC won both games in its adidas Kick-Off Classic, but placed second to Navy… The Mids also defeated Mount St. Mary’s and St. Francis and allowed only one goal, compared to two allowed by the Retrievers… Nevertheless, UMBC’s 5-0-0 start is its best since the 1999 season, when the Retrievers opened at 6-0-0 before a 1-1 tie vs. Fairleigh Dickinson… That 1999 team would not lose (19-1-2) until an NCAA First Round setback (4-3 in overtime) at top-ranked Duke…

Junior forward Levi Houapeu converted on a penalty kick in the 77^th minute as UMBC (5-0-0) edged Mount St. Mary’s (1-3-0), 2-1, in the finale of the tournament… Sophomore forward Andrew Bulls scored his eighth goal of the season in the first half and earned the tournament’s Most Valuable Player honors…  Bulls has already matched his season total of a year ago with eight goals and has surpassed ’08 scoring totals with 20 points… He became the first player in school’s Division I history to score eight goals in the first five games of a season… The NSCAA Player of the Week (Sept. 8) posted his third consecutive two-goal game in the 3-1 win over St. Francis (PA)… Bulls was named America East Conference Men’s Soccer Player of the Week for games ending Sept. 13, 2009, earning the league’s top honor for the second consecutive week. He also was named to Soccer America’s Team of the Week (Sept. 15).

UMBC has now won six straight games vs. Mount St. Mary’s and is unbeaten against their state rival in the last 11 contests (10-0-1)… The Retrievers lead the all-time series, 20-11-2.

Houapeu, who also earned All-Tournament team honors, assisted on all three UMBC in the 3-1 win over St. Francis (Pa.)… It was UMBC’s first three-assist effort since Powell Cucchiella posted four in a 10-0 win over NJIT in the opener of the 2004 campaign… Houapeu has five goals and six assists on the campaign… The six helpers are the most in a single season for UMBC since Matt Watson amassed seven in 2005… A pair of UMBC defenders, junior Chris Williams and sophomore Vince Savarese  also were named to the All-Tournament team… Freshman midfielder Milo Kapor scored his first collegiate goal (85’) in the win over the Red Flash, just 29 seconds after Bulls’ second goal of the game… UMBC hosts Drexel on Saturday.