UMBC

Jen Kasper scored twice, each time tying the game for UMBC.

Baltimore-Moira Talbot’s unassisted goal with 3:47 left broke a 9-9 tie and gave New Hampshire (4-3, 1-0 America East) a 10-9 victory over host UMBC (3-6, 0-1 America East) Saturday afternoon at UMBC Stadium in both teams’ America East Conference opener. The loss is the Retrievers’ fourth in a row.

The see-saw game included seven ties and five lead changes. The Retrievers got on the board first when junior attack Ali Levendusky scored 3:05 into the game, but the Wildcats quickly tied it up with an Ashley Durepo goal three minutes later.

The game remained knotted at 1-1 for 15 minutes before New Hampshire’s Shaunna Kaplan found the back of the net on an 8-meter shot at the 8:47 mark. But UMBC came right back when sophomore attack Abbey Swift scored a free-position goal of her own less than a minute later.

Levendusky notched her second goal of the game with 5:54 on the clock, but the Retrievers’ lead was short-lived, as Alexa Webster converted on a free-position attempt at the 5:23 mark.

UMBC again went ahead with senior attack Jen Kasper found freshman midfielder Sarah Willis, who scored her first career goal with 2:57 remaining in the first half, but New Hampshire’s Beth Sabiston again tied the game just 20 seconds later. The teams went to halftime with the score knotted at 4-4.

The Wildcats came out strong to start the second half, as Kaplan won the opening draw and charged downfield, feeding Talbot for the score just 10 seconds into the period. New Hampshire then opened a game-high two-goal lead when Webster converted a pass from Sarah Von Bargen at the 27:23 mark.

UMBC cut the deficit in half when Swift scored her second goal of the game one minute later, and the score remained 6-5 for more than nine minutes until Talbot fed Sabiston at the 17:46 mark to again give New Hampshire a two-goal lead, 7-5.

But the Retrievers tallied three in a row in a span of three minutes, with two goals by senior midfielder Kelly Fahey and one by Kasper to regain the lead at 8-7 with 13:31 to play, before the Wildcats scored three of the final four goals for the 10-9 victory.

Kasper, Levendusky and Swift led the Retrievers with three points apiece, each tallying two goals and one assist, while Fahey also scored twice for UMBC. Talbot led the Wildcats with three points on two goals and an assist, as well, while Webster, Sabiston and Durepo also scored twice.

Sophomore goalie Susie Sweeney recorded eight saves for the Retrievers, while New Hampshire’s Natalie Jones stopped six UMBC shots.

The Wildcats held a 12-9 advantage on draw controls and a 19-18 edge on ground balls. The teams each took 27 shots in the game.

The Retrievers return to action on Saturday, March 31, when they head to Boston to take on two-time defending America East champion Boston University. Game time is 12 p.m.