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News Release

Men's Soccer Hosts Albany in Regular Season Home Finale on Saturday

10/23/2009

The UMBC men’s soccer team plays (11-3-0, 2-2-0 America East) its final regular season home contest of the 2009 when they entertain Albany (0-11-3, 0-3-1 on Saturday, Oct. 24 at UMBC Soccer Stadium. The opening kick-off takes place at 1:00 p.m.

 

On Wednesday, junior midfielder Dustin Dzwonkowski (Archbishop Curley) scored his first goal of the season to break a 1-1 tie in the second half and lead the visiting Retrievers to a 2-1 win over Boston University (7-6-2, 1-4) in a match-up of teams that were both nationally-ranked  just two weeks ago. 

Retriever junior Levi Houapeu (Germantown, Md./Watkins Mill) recorded the game-tying goal in the 71st minute just 30 seconds after Boston’s Aaron O’Neal gave the Terriers a 1-0 advantage. After a Terrier foul, junior Andrew Bulls (McDonogh) drove the ensuing free kick from UMBC’s side of the midfield stripe. Dzwonkowski flicked the ball to Houapeu, who wheeled and drilled a bullet into the corner of the net.   

Less than five minutes later, Houapeu captured a ball and cut toward the inside of the field, where he laid the ball off to Dzwonkowski.  The reserve midfielder blasted a shot high into the net, beyond Terrier netmidner Hrafn Davidsson. Dzwonkowski’s goal was just the second for a Retriever other than Houapeu and Bulls since Sept. 10 (Matt Knight vs. La Salle, Sept. 29).  

Bulls continues to lead the nation in goals and points per game, according to the latest NCAA Men’s Soccer statistics released on Oct. 19, 2009. Houapeu is third in points per game and fourth in assists per contest.

 

Bulls has registered 15 goals (1.15 per game) and six assists and leads the nation with 2.77 points per game. His goal total is the most for a Retriever since Derek McElligott scored 15 in 2003 and is the sixth-most in a single season in school history.  He also drew an assist on Houapeu’s goal on Saturday, and now has at least three points in six games this season. Houapeu was averaging 2.23 points per contest.

 

UMBC is fourth in the country in scoring, averaging 2.46 goals per outing.

 

Bulls scored the game’s first goal vs. Stony Brook, producing a point in his 11th consecutive game. That tied the mark set by Retriever all-time great, Giuliano Celenza, who scored in 11 consecutive contests in 2000.

 

Houapeu’s multiple-point effort vs. Boston University was his seventh of the season. His 10-assist campaign is only the sixth time a UMBC Division I player has reached double figures and is the most in a season since Michael Joseph recorded 10 in 2003.

 

The 11 wins are the most for a UMBC team since an 11-6-3 mark in 2002.

Freshman netmdiner Phil Saunders recorded his sixth shutout of the season in the win over Stony Brook.  Saunders had posted four straight shutouts in wins over CAA foes Towson (1-0) and Drexel, Loyola and La Salle. The four consecutive shutouts are UMBC’s first-such streak since a similar string in 2007.

 

The Retrievers’ 9-0-0 start was the best in school history and the longest winning streak since 1999, when the NCAA-bound team won 13 straight contests. The 1977 team (15-2-0) started its NCAA Division II tournament-bound season at 7-0-0, while the 1999 Retriever Division I squad opened with six straight wins en route to the nation’s best record that campaign at 19-1-2. 

 

Head Coach Pete Caringi now has 197 wins (197-124-37) at UMBC.

 

Rankings

The Retrievers were ranked 18th overall nationally by the NSCAA and also debuted at No. 25 in Soccer America and at No. 21 in Soccer Times on Sept. 28.

 

Game Reviews and Notes

Bulls scored a pair of first half goals, leading the visiting Retrievers to a 3-0 victory over La Salle (3-4-1) in the team’s first road contest of the season on Sept. 26. Bulls netted his 11th and 12th goals of the season in the 22nd and 29th minutes and freshman Matt Knight added an insurance goal in the 89th minute to extend UMBC’s school-record winning streak to start a campaign. UMBC freshman goalkeeper Phil Saunders made five saves to record his fourth consecutive shutout and his fifth of the season.  UMBC snapped an 11-game road winless streak, which dated back to the 2007 season.

 

Bulls scored on a free kick in the 44th minute and Saunders made three outstanding saves in the final two minutes as UMBC edged Loyola , 1-0, before 1,505 fans at UMBC Stadium on Sept. 22. Saunders finished with six saves. It was UMBC’s first-ever win over Loyola on home turf.  The Greyhounds lead the series, 18-2-2, with the Retrievers’ lone previous win occurring at Towson in 2003.

 

Houapeu recorded the Retrievers’ first three-goal game in three years, leading the Retrievers to a 3-0 win over Drexel on Sept. 19. The team’s seven wins to start a season broke the school Division I record of the 1999 team, which played Fairleigh Dickinson to a 1-1 draw in the seventh game of the season were 6-0-1 after seven games. Houapeu recorded UMBC’s first three-goal game since Kevin Mezzadra scored three times in a home win over Howard on Sept. 20, 2006. The win was UMBC’s first-ever over Drexel, which leads the all-time series, 4-1-1. Bulls did not score a goal for the first time this season, but his assist on Houapeu’s final goal kept his scoring streak alive. Bulls scored goals in UMBC’s first six games and his eight goals in six games was the fastest to get to that plateau in UMBC’s Division I history. Ty Engram scored 11 goals through the first eight games of the 1999 campaign.

 

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.

 

UMBC has outscored its opponents, 34-13, through 13 games this season… the Retrievers are 7-2-0 at home this season and 16-6-5 vs. America East opponents at home in six-plus seasons of league play…All three of UMBC’s losses this season have occurred against teams which had a losing record at the time of the contest…The Retrievers have dropped their last three Saturday contests. 

 

Series Notes 

The Great Danes hold a 3-2-1 series lead after last season’s wild 5-4 win in Albany. UMBC took a 4-2 lead into halftime, before the Danes scored three answered goals in the second half. Andrew Bulls and John Paul Waraksa scored for the Retrievers. UMBC is 2-0-1 vs. Albany in Baltimore, including a 2-0 win in the last meeting at UMBC Soccer Stadium in 2007. Chris Williams scored for the hosts in that contest.

 

The Great Danes

Albany (0-11-3, 0-3-1) posted a 12-4-2 mark and 5-1-2 (second place) record in the America East in 2008 and were ranked fifth in the nation in scoring. Since Sept. 23, the Great Danes have lost five one goal decisions and tied a pair of games. In 2009, offense has been the main culprit, as Albany has managed only five goals this season and has not scored multiple goals in any contests. Sophomore goalkeeper Adrian Foncette leads America East with 6.8 saves per game.