UMBC at Binghamton, Sun., April 6
An early battle of America East unbeaten will take place in Vestal, N.Y. on Sunday, April 6, as the UMBC Retrievers (5-4, 1-0 America East) face the Binghamton Bearcats (3-6, 1-0 AE) at the Bearcats' Sports Complex. The opening face-off is set for 2:00 p.m. Live video streaming is available on www.americaeast.tv and the game will be broadcast on Q1370 AM (www.q1370.com) with Steve Levy on the call.
RETRIEVER UPDATE: Sophomore midfielder Pat Young scored with 9.6 seconds remaining in the first overtime period as the Retrievers edged Stony Brook, 12-11, in the America East opening game for both squads on March 28. Young and SR A Matt Gregoire led a balanced attack in goal-scoring with three apiece. Gregoire, who leads the team with 29 goals and 32 points, has scored all of his season's goals in the last eight games. Entering the week, he is fifth nationally with 3.22 goals per game and has already set a new single-season high for goals scored. Red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Connor Gordon is ranked sixth in the nation with 12.33 saves per game. The reigning AE Rookie of the Week owns a save percentage of 56.3 percent, which is 14th-best in the country. The win over Stony Brook moved UMBC's overtime record in America East play to 4-1 in regular season competition.
BEARCAT UPDATE: Binghamton gave No. 8 Syracuse all they could handle on Wednesday night, losing a tight 10-8 non-conference contest in front of 1,847 fans at the Carrier Dome. JR A Tucker Nelson led the way for Binghamton with a four-point effort against the Orange with a one-goal, three-assist night. BU edged Hartford, 11-10, in their America East opener from Al-Marzook Field on Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats fought back from a four-goal deficit in the first half and their defense withstood a late Hartford rally in the final minute. SR A Matt Springer registered his fourth hat trick of the season with a four-goal effort. Nelson leads BU in points with 10 goals and a team-best 19 assists, while SR A Matt Springer has tallied a team-best 25 goals. Seven of the Bearcats' nine games have been decided by two goals or less and BU is 3-4 in those contests.
LAST YEAR'S RESULT/ALL-TIME SERIES: Young scored his fourth goal with 1:18 remaining and the host Retrievers outlasted Binghamton, 10-9, to clinch a berth in the America East Tournament for the tenth consecutive year on April 27, 2013. Young, who led the Retrievers with four scores, scored his third game-winning goal of the season.
Binghamton won the first meeting in New York in 2004 and the most recent one in Vestal in 2012, but UMBC won the 11 contests in between and last year's game to increase the series lead to 12-2. Five of the 14 decisions in the series have been determined by a single goal and UMBC has won a pair of overtime decisions versus the Bearcats.
WHO'S UP NEXT: UMBC returns home for back-to-back America East contests, starting with a Saturday, April 12 contest versus Hartford. The opening face-off is slated for 3:30 p.m.
