Retrievers

The UMBC women's basketball team will not need the assistance of MapQuest to find its way to its first NCAA Division I tournament game. "We know how to get there," coach Phil Stern said after the tournament committee last night paired the 16th-seeded Retrievers with No. 1 Connecticut in a first-round game in Hartford, Conn., on Sunday. "We've played at Hartford before. We just haven't played in front of 16,000 people." UMBC VS. Connecticut Fresno Regional first round, Hartford (Conn.)

DURHAM, N.C. -- When this journey began, the UMBC men's soccer team thought success would be measured by gaining respect. Yesterday, having had victory within reach, even "success" was no consolation for blowing a lead and an opportunity to oust No. 1 Duke at home.In the 102nd minute of the game, regulation having passed and the first overtime drawing to an end, Duke freshman midfielder Trevor Perea scored a bizarre, game-winning goal off a corner kick to give the top-seeded Blue Devils a 4-3 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Coppin State's introduction to the Battle of Baltimore was a rude one last night.A poised and seasoned UMBC team rationed the Eagles to one field goal for more than eight minutes in the second half and pulled away to a surprisingly easy 72-58 victory at the Coppin Center.The result sends the Retrievers into today's 9 p.m. final against Loyola, which dispatched Towson, 74-67, in the opener. Loyola beat UMBC, 73-61, in the tournament's first game last year.Defense was the catalyst for UMBC, which captured 16 of 17 games after opening last season 0-4, including two losses in the Battle of Baltimore.

NEW YORK -- The UMBC men's basketball team that lost, 82-72, to Central Connecticut last night in the Northeast Conference tournament semifinals was not the same one that had won the NEC's respect this season.Those Retrievers were missing. The UMBC team that showed up looked a lot like the Retrievers of November -- the ones who were devoured by Pittsburgh and Maryland. Instead of Steve Francis and Obinna Ekezie, though, the tormentors were guys like Rick Mickens, Victor Payne and Lake Clifton product Corsley Edwards, who had 23 points and 13 rebounds.

NEW YORK -- UMBC's 13-year wait for its first Division I conference championship will have to last a little longer.Needing a victory over second-place St. Francis, N.Y., to clinch the regular-season title in their inaugural Northeast Conference season, the Retrievers found themselves on the losing end for only the second time in 18 league games.An 87-77 defeat last night helped tighten up the race with the Terriers. St. Francis (18-6, 15-3) closes the regular season at UMBC (17-7) on Saturday.

Will one of the biggest fourth-quarter collapses in Division I men's lacrosse tournament history be remembered for how quickly UMBC folded or how slowly the deciding goal rolled into the net?Faster than you can say season-ending breakdown, UMBC squandered a six-goal lead with 10: 25 left in regulation, watching its brief playoff run crawl to a halt when Sean Carney's shot 42 seconds into overtime inched into the goal to complete No. 8 Delaware's 12-11 stunning victory yesterday at Towson's Minnegan Stadium.

The UMBC men's basketball team held Drexel to 34 percent shooting and was nearly flawless at the free-throw line while downing the Dragons, 71-57, in the first game of the Conference Challenge last night at the Retriever Activities Complex in Catonsville.Terence Ward led with 19 points, followed by 13 points from Brad Martin and 12 from Kennedy Okafor, as the Retrievers (3-3) got back to .500 for the first time since Nov. 19.In beating the America East representative Drexel (1-3), UMBC got revenge for the Northeast Conference, whose Fairleigh Dickinson team had lost to the Dragons in overtime on Dec. 4. The Retrievers did so by holding Drexel's top scorers -- Mike Kouser and Tom Dearborn -- to seven second-half points.

Sometimes, that standby coaches' adage about learning from losing is true.At least it was yesterday for the UMBC men's basketball team, which turned the tables on a bad memory in beating visiting Monmouth, 62-58.Kennedy Okafor scored the final five points for UMBC, which earned its 12th straight victory in the Northeast Conference and eighth straight overall.With a little more than 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Retrievers (13-5, 12-0) were trailing 49-39 after a three-point basket by Monmouth's Sean Collins.

Joe Ghedina had two goals and two assists to lead 14th-ranked Hofstra over No. 12 Towson, 9-6, last night in an America East men's game in Hempstead, N.Y.The Flying Dutchmen (6-2, 2-1) won their sixth straight and never trailed after Brian Spallina's goal broke a 3-3, second-period tie.No. 3 Johns Hopkins 16, Villanova 5: Dan Denihan had three goals and two assists as the host Blue Jays (5-1) won their fourth straight. Hopkins took control with an 11-1 run midway through the first period.

After winning 15 of its past 16 games, the UMBC men's basketball team is gaining notice, and the throng at UMBC Fieldhouse that saw a 68-58 win was reflective of that.The crowd of 2,241 yesterday was greater than any last season. Also different has been the expectation of domination. Now, when UMBC (15-5, 14-0 Northeast Conference) is up only six points in the middle of the second half against Quinnipiac (8-12, 5-8), it doesn't seem quite right.But despite the 10 wins in a row, those who come to watch college basketball in Catonsville can expect to be bemused.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -UMBC goalie Jeremy Blevins said he had never faced an opponent who scored eight goals on his first eight shots. He won't forget the experience anytime soon. North Carolina sophomore Billy Bitter tied a school record for goals in a game to help beat the Retrievers, 15-13, on Saturday at Fetzer Field and oust UMBC from the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament. Sixth seed North Carolina will play either Duke or Navy next Sunday in Annapolis. The Retrievers, meanwhile, are left with a Bitter memory.

A mere victory would have sufficed to ensure No. 11 UMBC a spot in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament. To coach Don Zimmerman, however, an 11-7 home win over No. 20 Stony Brook in the America East Conference tournament final Saturday night brought with it something nearly as coveted. A needed dose of confidence. "I don't think I've ever seen a team as focused as we were tonight," said Zimmerman, whose team survived a double-overtime scare Wednesday against Binghamton. "Right from the opening faceoff, we were diving on ground balls.

Something about Binghamton in the America East tournament just doesn't sit well with the UMBC men's lacrosse team. And the Bearcats can't wait for Ryan Smith to graduate. For the second time in as many America East tournament semifinals, the Retrievers were taken to overtime by Binghamton. And for the second time, Smith propelled No. 11 UMBC with the game-winner, this time scoring with 3:05 left in double overtime to send the hosts to a 9-8 victory Wednesday night before an announced 820 at UMBC Stadium.

Collin Finnerty scored four goals in the game's first 12 minutes, helping No. 19 Loyola take a six-goal lead en route to a 16-7 win over visiting Hobart on Saturday on Senior Day that clinched at least a share of the Eastern College Athletic Conference regular-season title for the Greyhounds. Eric Lusby and D.J. Comer each added career highs of three goals for Loyola (9-4, 6-1), which won its fourth straight in a home finale. Comer's goals were the first of his career. Massachusetts (8-5, 5-1)

No. 7 UMBC scored seven straight goals in the third quarter to turn a game against local rival Towson into a rout as the Retrievers won, 14-4, before an announced crowd of 1,482 at UMBC Stadium last night. The Tigers (4-5) had managed to stay within four goals at the half, and then scored with a man down 18 seconds into the third period to pull within 7-4. But the Retrievers (7-2) answered with a barrage of goals that began with midfielder Kyle Wimer scoring with 13:08 left in the quarter, and ending with junior attackman Chris Jones scoring on an assist from Rob Grimm with 10 seconds left in the quarter.

VESTAL, N.Y. -After Binghamton grabbed the game's final rebound, UMBC guard Jay Greene slowly turned and started walking off the court. His teammates soon fell in line, and by the time the final buzzer sounded 12 seconds later, the Retrievers were gone. Their time as champions was done. Sixth seed UMBC tried to pull a surprise in yesterday's America East championship game against top seed Binghamton, but mistakes foiled the Retrievers' attempt at a second straight title. Binghamton took advantage of those miscues and held off a UMBC rally for a 61-51 victory before an announced sellout crowd of 5,342 at the Events Center.

The UMBC men's lacrosse team's hot start has cooled off. What began as a promising opening has turned into a time of concern as the No. 4 Retrievers lost their second consecutive game with a 6-5 setback to No. 6 Princeton at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville last night. After beating Delaware, Rutgers and then-No. 15 Colgate by a combined 44-28, UMBC has lost to No. 8 Johns Hopkins and Princeton by a combined 20-16 in four days. "We just need to come out and keep playing hard," said senior goalkeeper Jeremy Blevins, who made 11 saves.

The UMBC men's lacrosse team has beaten 53 of the 54 Division I programs it has faced since moving from Division II play for the 1981 season. Johns Hopkins remains the exception. The No. 8 Blue Jays preserved their unique status by upending the No. 4 Retrievers, 14-11, in the seventh meeting between the teams before an announced 931 who braved below-freezing temperatures last night at UMBC Stadium. Junior attackman Chris Boland and sophomore attackman Kyle Wharton each had two goals and two assists, but Johns Hopkins (2-1)

BINGHAMTON 71, UMBC 51 -Senior forward Darryl Proctor recorded his 10th double double of the season with 18 points and 14 rebounds last night, but the cold-shooting Retrievers lost their final America East road game of 2008-09. The Bearcats (20-8, 13-3) won for the eighth straight time and clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. UMBC, the last team to defeat the Bearcats, fell to 12-16, 6-9. The Retrievers can still finish as high as fifth in the league if they beat Albany on Sunday and New Hampshire loses to Stony Brook.

For much of last night, host UMBC seemed destined to wipe clean the bitter memory of last month's embarrassingly one-sided loss to America East leader Vermont. Then came the second half. Leading by nine, the Retrievers at once began to succumb to the Catamounts' potent inside-outside scoring attack, giving up 11 straight points and never regaining the lead in a 77-65 loss, ending their season-best three-game winning streak. It marked the first time all season that UMBC lost after leading at the half.