BALTIMORE- UMBC exploded for a season-high 19 goals and defeated the visiting Vermont Catamounts, 19-6, in an America East Conference match-up at UMBC Stadium.

The Retrievers improved to 1-1 in league play and 4-6 overall, while Vermont slipped to 3-8, 0-2.

Senior attackman Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox) and junior face-off specialist Phil Poe (Harwood, Md./DeMatha) produced sterling effort for the hosts. Jones scored a career-high six goals and surpassed the 100-point plateau in his tenure, while Poe recorded a school record 23 face-off wins in the resounding victory.

Jones became the 30^th player in school history to record 100 points with 86 goals and 18 assists for 104 points.

The 19 goals scored by UMBC is the most since a 20-11 victory over Vermont in the 2007 season and the 13-goal differential is the most since an 18-5 victory over Mount St. Mary’s in 2001.

Vermont junior attackman Graham Horvath led the visitors with a pair of goals.

After a quiet first five minutes, UMBC erupted for three goals in a two-minute span. Jones scored the Retrievers’ first man-down goal of the year, picking up a loose ball and the midline and beating the Catamount defense down the field to score unassisted at the 5:45 mark. Nearly a minute later, senior attackman Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) whipped a shot past Vermont starting keeper  Justin Rosenberg from eight yards out after receiving a feed from freshman middie Pat Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch School). Freshman Nate Lewnes (Arnold, Md./St. Mary’s) capped the sequence by finishing senior midfielder Scott Hopmann’s (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) feed.

UMBC increase the lead to 6-0 after 15 minutes as Gregoire completed a hat trick of his own in the first quarter and junior midfielder Zach Linkous (Jarrettsville, Md./St. Paul’s) added  a goal.

Vermont opened the second quarter with its first score of the game, as Horvath scored 59 seconds into the stanza. But UMBC went on another 6-0 surge to take an insurmountable 12-1 advantage at the break. Jones scored four of those six goals, including the half’s final score with four seconds remaining.

The Retrievers added five goals in the third quarter and led, 17-4, after 45 minutes, before substituting liberally in the final stanza.

UMBC amassed a season high with 45 shots and outshot the Catamounts, 45-27. Retriever sophomore goalkeeper Wes DiRito (Odenton, Md./DeMatha) recorded the win, making six saves, while allowing four goals in 45 minutes. Rosenberg took the loss for Vermont, recording six saves and allowing 12 scores.

Gregoire finished with four goals, while Young contributed a pair of goals and a season-high three assists. Senior midfielder Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) posted a goal and three helpers.

UMBC is now 4-1 at home in 2013 and 21-4 at home in America East regular season play.

The Retrievers travel to New York to face Stony Brook in a league game on Sat., April 13.

A pair of America East lacrosse squads hungry for a victory face off at UMBC Stadium on Saturday, April 6, when the UMBC Retrievers (3-6, 0-1) host the Vermont Catamounts (3-7, 1-0) in league play. Both teams dropped their league openers, as UMBC lost a heartbreaking 15-14 overtime decision at Hartford, while Stony Brook won, 19-10, in Burlington. The game will be broadcast on www.umbcretrievers.tv.

UMBC battled back from a deficit for most of the afternoon and led Hartford, 14-11 with less than six minutes remaining, but the Hawks tied the game with 11 seconds left and won less than a minute into overtime. Freshman midfielder Pat Young led the visitors with a season-best four goals and five points. Senior attackmen Scott Jones and Matt Gregoire added three goals apiece.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT. Stony Brook defeated Vermont, 19-10, in the America East men’s lacrosse opener for both teams on March 30 at Virtue Field.  The Catamounts were led by senior attackman Drew Philie and junior linemate Graham Horvath, who collected three goals apiece. Freshman netminder Justin Rosenberg took the loss for Vermont despite making 12 saves on the day. Philie continues to climb up the ranks in several categories of the Vermont men’s lacrosse all-time records. He now ranks fifth in all-time goals (112) at Vermont, seventh in points (160), and 10th in assists (48). The captain needs just two goals to move up to fourth place on the all-time goals list.

ALL-TIME SERIES: UMBC has won all nine previous meetings with Vermont, but the last three meetings have been decided by a total of five goals.

THE LAST TIME WE MET: Scott Hopmann led visiting UMBC with three goals and eight other Retrievers hit the nets as UMBC never trailed in an 11-8 America East Conference victory at Vermont in 2012.

UP NEXT: UMBC will play its second of three America East road contests when the Retrievers travel to Stony Brook for a Saturday, April 13 contest.

West Hartford, Conn.- Hartford midfielder Garrett Dollard scored the game-tying goal with 11 seconds remaining in regulation and tallied the game-winner 54 seconds into overtime as the host Hawks edged the UMBC Retrievers, 15-14, in the America East opener for both teams at Al-Marzook Stadium.

UMBC freshman midfielder Pat Young (Ewing, N.J./Christchurch School) led the visitors with a season-best four goals and five points. Retriever senior attackmen Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox) and Matt Gregoire (Crofton, Md./South River) added three goals apiece.

Hartford sophomore and attackman Kevin O’Shea led all scorers with five goals and one assist.

The Retrievers played from behind for the entire first half, but took the lead for the first time at 10-9 on back-to-back scores by Young late in the third quarter. Gregoire capped his hat trick and gave the visitors a two-goal advantage with 1:28 remaining.

But Hartford (4-4, 1-0) sent the game to the fourth quarter down by only one as they scored with 28 second left in the frame, then tied the score at 11-all just 1:01 into the fourth.

UMB C (3-6, 0-1) then snatched the momentum back as Young recorded an unassisted score with 10:19 remaining. The Retrievers added to the advantage as Jones fired home a man-up goal from 12 yards out and scored inside on a feed from Young to take a 14-11 lead with 6:39 remaining.

The Hawks rallied, scoring a man-up goal with 5:42 remaining, and then tallied on a fast break while down a man with 3:02 to play.

In the final minute of regulation, UMBC was assessed a delay of game penalty, but was en route to killing it off after a loose ball situation with 31 seconds to play, but the Hawks managed to call a time out. Hartford’s Jared Franze found Dollard cutting inside and his shot from eight yards out beat UMBC sophomore netminder wes DiRito (Odenton, Md./DeMatha) to knot the score at 14-all.

After Hartford mishandled the ball on the ensuing draw, UMBC sent the ball the length of the field and Jones popped it into the net, but just one second after the clock read 0:00.

UMBC won the draw to start overtime, but committed a turnover before on an immediate drive to the goal. Hartford took possession and Dollard took the ball behind the goal, popped out on the right side, and bounced a shot past DiRito from close range. .

Both goalkeepers were outstanding at various stages of the game. DiRito amassed 14 saves, including 11 in the middle two stanzas to allow UMBC to rally. Hartford-s Frank Piechota came up with 12 stops, including 10 in the first and fourth quarters.

Senior attackman Joe Lustgarten (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) scored a goal and added three assists for UMBC.

UMBC trailed, 4-2, after one quarter and 7-5 at the half.

The Retrievers play one of only two league home games on Sat., April 6 vs. Vermont.

Stony Brook Sweeps America East Men’s Basketball Annual Awards; All-League Teams Announced

ALBANY, N.Y. – For the first time in America East Conference history, a school has swept the conference’s major awards as Stony Brook took home all four 2013 honors Friday, highlighted by Tommy Brenton being named the Kevin Roberson Player of the Year. Brenton, also the Defensive Player of the Year, headlined the annual award winners, which were announced along with the all-conference teams, at the league’s annual awards reception at the University at Albany, which is hosting the America East Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU this weekend.

Brenton, just the second player to earn Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season, was joined as a major award winner by teammate Jameel Warney, who became the first Stony Brook player to ever be named Rookie of the Year. Their head coach, Steve Pikiell was named Coach of the Year after leading the Seawolves to a Division I-program record 23 wins and their third America East regular-season title in the last four years. The winners were all chosen in a vote by the league’s head coaches.

One of the most unique and versatile players in all of college basketball, Brenton is the second Seawolf in the last four years (Muhammad El-Amin) to earn Player of the Year honors. The senior forward from Columbia, Md. ranks third among America East leaders in rebounding (8.7 rpg), second in assists (4.9 apg), fourth in steals (1.6 spg) and first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3-to-1), while averaging a career-high 8.9 points per game. Just the second repeat Defensive Player of the Year, Brenton has been the catalyst for a defense that ranks 14th nationally in scoring defense and fifth in field goal percentage defense. Brenton, also a first-team all-conference selection for the second-straight year, is up to fourth on the league’s all-time rebound list with 1,089 and also has over 950 points, nearly 400 assists and over 200 steals. He was twice named America East Player of the Week this season.

Warney, a freshman big man, had a major impact on Stony Brook’s success during the regular season en route to earning Rookie of the Year accolades. The 6-foot-8 forward is one of just four America East players to rank in the league’s top 10 in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.2 points per game (10th) and 7.3 rebounds per game (6th). Warney, whose eight Rookie of the Week honors are the second-most in league history, also leads the league in field goal percentage, hitting 62.4 percent of his attempts. He also earned second-team all-conference honors, All-Rookie accolades and was the league’s first freshman to be named to the All-Defensive team, ranking second in the league in blocks (1.6 bpg).

Pikiell, who’s in his eighth season at Stony Brook, led the Seawolves to their best regular season as a Division I program as he earned his third Coach of the Year trophy in the last four years. Pikiell’s squad, which leads the conference in both scoring and scoring defense, has already set a new Division I standard with 23 wins and won the America East regular-season crown for the third time in four seasons in 2013. In his last four seasons, the Seawolves have won 91 games, captured three America East regular-season titles and appeared in consecutive league championship games.

Brenton is joined on the first team by Albany’s Mike Black, Boston University’s D.J. Irving, Hartford’s Mark Nwakamma and Vermont’s Brian Voelkel. Black, a senior guard, ranks third among league leaders (15.1 ppg) and tied for the league lead with nine 20-point games this season. Irving, a junior guard is sixth in scoring (14.3 ppg) and fifth in assists (3.6), while Nwakamma, a sophomore forward, led America East in scoring during conference play (16.5 ppg) and also has nine 20-point efforts. Voelkel, a junior forward, ranks in the top three in both rebounding (2nd – 8.9 rpg) and assists 3rd (4.9 apg) and is also an All-Defensive choice for the second-consecutive season.

Accompanying Warney on the second team is Maine’s tandem of Justin Edwards and Alasdair Fraser, UMBC’s Ryan Cook and Vermont’s Clancy Rugg. Edwards leads the league in scoring (16.7 ppg) while Fraser is in the top 10 in both scoring (7th – 13.7 ppg) and rebounding (4th – 8.2 rpg). Cook is one of just four players to average 15 points per game, while Rugg leads Vermont in scoring (11.5 ppg) and ranks 13th in both scoring and rebounding.

Two rookies, Binghamton’s Jordan Reed (16.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and the Terriers’ Maurice Watson, Jr. (11.1 ppg, 5.4 apg) lead the third team and are joined by Boston U.’s Dom Morris (11.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg), the Seawolves’ Dave Coley (10.6 ppg), also an All-Defensive honoree, and the Catamounts’ Sandro Carissimo (10.0 ppg)

In addition to Warney, Reed and Watson, Jr., Albany’s Peter Hooley (8.0 ppg, 3.1 apg) and Boston University’s John Papale (64 three pointers;.423) make up the All-Rookie team.

Brenton, Coley, Voelkel and Warney are joined on the All-Defensive squad by Maine’s Mike Allison, a repeat selection who leads the league in blocks (1.7 bpg).

Carissimo earned All-Academic recognition for the second-straight year in addition to his all-conference nod. Vermont’s Luke Apfeld, a repeat selection, and Albany’s Jacob Iati, who was recognized two years ago, both also received Capital One Academic All-District honors this year. Albany’s Sam Rowley and New Hampshire’s Scott Morris round out the team. Those selections were chosen by a committee made up of America East sports information directors, academic advisors and faculty athletic representatives.

The 2013 America East Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU gets underway Saturday at University at Albany’s SEFCU Arena.

UMBC will compete in its tenth America East Conference Tournament and opens play on Sat., March 9 as the sixth-seeded Retrievers take on the third-seeded Hartford Hawks at SEFCU Arena. Tip-off time will be 30 minutes after the noon tilt between No. 2 Vermont and No. 7 UNH. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and via the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets.

RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC (5-11, 7-22) concluded the regular season with a 59-49 victory over Binghamton, securing the No. 6 seed in the tournament. The win snapped a six-game slide for the Retrievers. A pair of seniors led the way on “Senior Day” as guards Ryan Cook (team-high 15.0 ppg) and Brian Neller (AEC leader in 3-point fg) combined for 41 of UMBC’s 59 points.

HAWK UPDATE: Hartford (10-6, 17-12) closed the season with three consecutive victories and secured the No. 3 seed by virtue of a 61-58 victory at Vermont on the final day of the regular season. SO F Nate SIkma hit the game-winning trey in the final seconds in the victory. Hartford swept Boston U. and had victories over Vermont and Stony Brook in 2013. SO F Mark Nwakamma leads the Hawks at 14.7 points per game.

WHO’S UP NEXT: UMBC would meet the winner of the game between No. 2 Vermont v. No. 7 New  Hampshire in the first (5:00 p.m.) semifinal contest on Sunday, March 10.

Honorable Mention: Tennis-ATP Tour WTA Tour BNP Paribas Open (Friday-Monday 2pm from Indian Wells, CA live on Tennis Channel); Women’s College Basketball: ACC Tournament-Maryland vs. Georgia Tech/Wake Forest (Friday 6pm from Greensboro, NC live on Comcast SportsNet PLUS); Boxing: Tavoris Cloud vs. Bernard Hopkins (Saturday 9:30pm from Brooklyn, NY live on HBO), Friday Night Fights: Victor Cayo vs. Emmanuel Taylor (Friday 9pm from Atlantic City live on ESPN2); MMA: Bellator MMA (Thursday 10pm from Temecula, CA live on SpikeTV)

10. Stars (Thursday 8pm Rams Head Live); Ballyhoo! (Saturday 7pm Recher Theatre); Machine Gun Kelly (Sunday 8pm Baltimore Soundstage); Oak Ridge Boys (Friday 6pm & 9pm Rams Head on Stage), Leon Redbone (Saturday 8:30pm Rams Head on Stage), Standing in the Shadows of Motown feat. Peabo Bryson & Leela James (Monday 6pm & 9pm Rams Head on Stage); Joe Nichols (Saturday 7pm Rams Head Center Stage); Rusted Root (Saturday 6pm 9:30 Club), Dropkick Murphys (Sunday & Monday 6:30pm 9:30 Club); Scott Weiland (Monday 8pm Howard Theatre)

If you like music and live in Charm City, you’ve probably seen Ballyhoo! at some point in the last 24 months.

No band has greater benefitted from car rentals than Rusted Root. (If you don’t already get it, you will.)

Dropkick Murphys are coming. Let this be a reminder that we’re only days from St. Patrick’s Day.

Recently Scott Weiland was fired by Stone Temple Pilots. It was uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as the meeting his solo project Scott Weiland had the same day where the need to fire Scott Weiland was also discussed…

9. Tom Arnold (Friday & Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory); “Wreck-It Ralph” available on Blu-Ray/DVD (Tuesday); “Oz The Great And Powerful” out in theaters (Friday); Baltimore St. Patrick’s Day Parade (Sunday 2pm Downtown Baltimore)

With all due respect to Tom Arnold, I’d rather be seeing Chris Farley AS Tom Arnold…

And I like this pre-St. Patty’s Day St. Patty’s Day. So here’s this.

(Continued on Page 2…)

America East Men’s Basketball Championship Matchups Set After Thrilling Final Day of Season

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The matchups and seeds for the 2013 America East Men’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU are set as the regular-season schedule concluded with a thrilling final day Sunday.

Stony Brook, already the league’s regular-season champion and top seed for the tournament coming into the day’s action, beat Albany, 75-70, while Hartford upended Vermont, 61-58, on Nate Sikma’s buzzer-beating three pointer. The Hawks’ win paired with the Great Danes’ loss gives Hartford the No. 3 seed and Albany the No. 4 seed. Vermont had already secured the No. 2 seed earlier in the week. UMBC toppled Binghamton, 59-49, to lock up the No. 6 seed, while Binghamton is the No. 8 seed. New Hampshire outlasted Maine, 79-74, but lost the tiebreaker to UMBC and is the No. 7 seed. Maine will be the No. 5 seed.

The 2013 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU will be held March 8-10 in Albany, N.Y., at the University at Albany’s SEFCU Arena. The men’s quarterfinal games take place Saturday, March 9 with the first game tipping off at noon. The four winners will advance to the semifinals on Sunday, March 10. The two semifinal winners will play for the America East title and an automatic NCAA bid on Saturday, March 16 at 11:30 a.m. at the highest remaining seed’s home court.

Saturday’s men’s quarterfinals will kick off with second-seeded Vermont (19-10, 11-5 AE) taking on seventh-seeded New Hampshire (9-19, 5-11) at 12 p.m. The Catamounts are seeded second or better for the ninth time in 11 years and will be seeking their second-straight league crown. The Wildcats, winners of two of their last three, are seeking their first league title and championship game appearance.

Third-seeded Hartford (17-12, 10-6 AE) will face sixth-seeded UMBC (7-22, 5-11 AE) at approximately 2 p.m. in a matchup of teams that split their regular-season series. The Hawks, who have their best seed and record since the 2007-08 season, come in having won three straight and six of eight, while the Retrievers have their most wins since the 2008-09 campaign when they reached the league title game.

In the night session, top-seeded Stony Brook (23-6, 14-2 AE) faces eighth-seeded Binghamton (3-26, 1-15 AE) at 6 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal matchup. The Seawolves, who captured their third America East regular-season crown in four years and have their most-ever wins as a Division I program, will try to get to their third-straight championship game and take home their first league crown. The Bearcats will try to win at least one tournament game for the fourth-straight time.

Fourth-seeded Albany (21-10, 9-7 AE) and fifth-seeded Maine (11-18, 6-10 AE) will wrap up the quarterfinal action at approximately 8 p.m. The Great Danes, who carry their most-ever wins into the tournament, will try to get to the semifinals for the second straight year and reach their first championship game since 2007. The Black Bears are aiming to snap a seven-game tournament losing skid.

The Vermont-New Hampshire winner will take on the Hartford-UMBC winner in Sunday’s first semifinal at 5 p.m., while the Stony Brook-Binghamton winner will face the Albany-Maine winner in the second semifinal at approximately 7 p.m.

The semifinal winners will then meet for the America East title on Saturday, March 16 at the highest remaining seed. Game time is 11:30 a.m.

All-session ticket packages for the first two rounds of 2013 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU are already on sale. Single-session tickets championship will go on sale Monday, March 4, at 9 a.m. For more information on how to purchase tickets and the championship, visit Championship Central.

Fans who can’t make it to Albany will still be able to catch all the action. For the first time in league history, all early round games of the 2013 Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and available via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app on smartphones and tablets. ESPN2 will televise the championship game nationally on March 16. Postgame press conferences will air on AmericaEast.com approximately 10 minutes after each game.

Stay up-to-date through March 16 by visiting America East Championship Central for all the latest tournament news and information.

2013 America East Men’s Basketball Championship presented by SEFCU
Quarterfinal and Semifinal Rounds held at University at Albany’s SEFCU Arena, Albany, N.Y.
Title Game at Highest Remaining Seed

Saturday, March 9 – Quarterfinals
#2 Vermont vs. #7 New Hampshire, 12 p.m. (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
#3 Hartford vs. #6 UMBC, 2 p.m.* (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
#1 Stony Brook vs. #8 Binghamton, 6 p.m. (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
#4 Albany vs. #5 Maine, 8 p.m.* (ESPN3/WatchESPN)

Sunday, March 10 – Semifinals
Vermont-New Hampshire Winner vs. Hartford-UMBC Winner, 5 p.m. – (ESPN3/WatchESPN)
Stony Brook-Binghamton Winner vs. Albany-Maine winner, 7 p.m.* – (ESPN3/WatchESPN)

Saturday, March 16 – Title Game
Semifinal Winners, 11:30 a.m. – (ESPN2/WatchESPN)

*time approximate. Second game of session will begin 30 minutes following the conclusion of the prior game.

UMBC concludes its tenth season of America East Conference play on Sunday, March 3 when they host Binghamton at the RAC Arena. UMBC would wrap up the No. 6 seed in next weekend’s America East Conference Tournament with a victory over the Bearcats. UMBC Basketball will also celebrate its “Senior Day”, as the Retrievers honor Ryan Cook, Brian Neller and Adrian Satchell before the contest which tips off at 2:10 p.m. Gary Stein and Paul Mittermeier have all the play-by-play action and streaming is available at www.umbcretrievers.tv.

RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC (4-11, 6-22) has dropped six straight, including Thursday’s 68-56 setback at Hartford. For the second time in the last three road games, UMBC had a halftime lead, but could not protect it in the second half. The Retrievers held UH to 20 first half points, but the Hawks hit over 60 percent from the field and scored 48 in the final 20 minutes. Cook (14.6 ppg) went over the 400-point barrier for the season with a team-high 16 points for UMBC.

BEARCAT UPDATE: Binghamton (1-14, 3-25) has dropped nine straight, but gave Vermont a scare on Thursday, leading early in the second half before the Catamounts pulled away for a 78-61 victory. FR G Jordan Reed is one of the nation’s top newcomers- he leads America East in scoring (16.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg). SR G Jimmy Gray has buried 62 treys on the campaign for the Bearcats.

WHO’S UP NEXT: A UMBC win would pit the Retrievers vs. either host Albany or Hartford in the America East Tournament on Sat., March 9. A loss and a UNH win over Maine would mean the Retrievers would face No. 2 Vermont.

The UMBC men’s lacrosse team (1-2) continues as tough a stretch as any team in the nation on Saturday, March 2 when they travel to Connecticut to take on No. 13 Fairfield (2-2) at Alumni Field. The opening face-off takes place at 1:00. In an eleven-day span, UMBC face No. 4 Loyola (Feb. 26), No. 13 Fairfield, No. 1 Maryland (March 6) and No. 3 Johns Hopkins (March all on the road.

UMBC is coming off a 21-9 setback to defending national champion and fourth-ranked Loyola in miserable conditions    at Ridley Athletic Complex on Feb. 26. The Retrievers led, 4-3, after one quarter and trailed only 9-7 early in the third quarter, before the Greyhounds ran off ten consecutive goals.

TOP DOG: Head Coach Don Zimmerman enters his 20^th season at UMBC in 2013. The Retriever mentor stood eighth in victories (213) and 15th in winning percentage (60.7%) amongst active Division I coaches after the 2012 campaign. The win over Binghamton on April 10, 2010 was the 200th in the career of UMBC head coach Don Zimmerman. He is now 214-139 in his 27th year as a collegiate mentor. He coached his 250th game at UMBC vs. Hartford on May 4, 2011.

Zimmerman’s Records

Career Record:

214-140 (.605) (27th season)

at UMBC: 141-125 (.530) (20th season)

WINNING THE TIGHT ONES: UMBC is now 26-17 in games decided by three goals or less since the beginning of the 2007 season. UMBC had won eight straight overtime decisions from 2007-09 until dropping a Feb. 20, 2010 triple overtime decision to Delaware. UMBC’s previous overtime loss was an 11-10 setback at Penn early in the 2006 season.

In 2012, UMBC was 2-4 in games decided by one or two goals. The Retrievers have won 17 of its last 23 one-goal decisions.

UMBC is now 16-6 in Don Zimmerman’s 19+ seasons in overtime and in his career, Coach Zimmerman is 18-8 in extra time in 26 seasons.

HOME, SWEET HOME: UMBC is 39-16 (.709) at home since 2006.

FOR (HOME) OPENERS: With the 11-7 win over Rutgers on Feb. 23, UMBC snapped a three-game slide in home openers.

NOTING: The 21 goals allowed by UMBC to Loyola on Feb. 26 is the most permitted by a Retriever team since allowing 27 goals to Towson in the 1996 campaign.

BEASTS OF AMERICA EAST: UMBC is 36-11 in nine years of America East competition and 20-4 at UMBC Stadium. UMBC has never lost back-to-back regular season contests in league play.

In 2012, the Retrievers (3-2 AEC) posted a winning league record and earned a spot in the four-team America East Conference Championships for the ninth consecutive year.

DON’T LOOK BACK: UMBC is now in its 46th season of varsity men’s lacrosse with a record of 339-285 (.543). The Retrievers played their 600th intercollegiate match on March 18, 2012 at Maryland. They are 222-218 (.505) in their 32nd year at the Division I level, achieving win No. 200 vs. Ohio State on March 21, 2009. Before the win over Towson on April 1, 2008, the last time the program was last over the .500 mark at the Division I level was when at the end of its third season (1983) when the record was 19-18.

2012 RANKINGS:

Assists per game                      13^th                   7.15

Man-Up Offense                        14^th                   41.9

PLAYER NOTES

TEAM CAPTAINS: The UMBC men’s lacrosse team has selected seniors Scott Jones (Port Coquitlam, B.C./Terry Fox), Neill Lewnes (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary’s) , and Ethan Murphy (West Seneca, N.Y./West Seneca East) as its captains for the 2012-13 academic year. Jones and Murphy will serve as team captains for the second consecutive year.

2012 AMERICA EAST ALL-CONFERENCE: Junior attackman Scott Jones and sophomore face-off specialist Phil Poe earned America East Conference First Team honors in a vote of the league’s six head coaches. Two Retrievers- senior defender Aaron Verardi and junior midfielderScott Hopmann- earned Second Team honors, while freshman A/M Derek Bertolini was selected to the All-Rookie team. Junior defender Ethan Murphy was also honored by earning a selection to the league’s All -Academic squad.

Sixty-six Retrievers have been honored by the America East Conference on all-league teams since 2004.

UMBC senior goalkeeper Adam Cohen (Arnold, Md./The Severn School) was named America East Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week for games ending Feb. 24, 2013. Cohen led the Retrievers in the squad’s 11-7 victory over Rutgers at UMBC Stadium on Feb. 23. Over the final three quarters, the Retriever netminder made 12 of his 13 saves and allowed only five goals over the same span of time.

The 13 stops were one shy of his 14 made at Rutgers in 11-7 victory in 2012. He also received America East Conference Player of the Week honors after his performance in that contest a season ago

In that contest, Cohen scored UMBC’s final goal of the day with 1:39 remaining at Rutgers and it is believed to be the first goal scored by a Retriever goalkeeper in 32 years of NCAA Division I competition.

SR A Scott Jones had hat tricks or better in four of his last six outings of the 2012 season, scoring a total of 18 goals in that span. He had scored in 14 consecutive games (35g-10a-45pts, 3.21 ppg) until being held off the board at Vermont on April 7. Jones had multiple points in 12 of those contests and finished the 2012 season 8th in the nation with 2.77 goals per contest.

With his four-goal effort in the opener at Robert Morris, he now also has 14 career games with three or more goals and was tied for 10^th- most amongst current Division I players (prior to Feb. 23). Jones is the team’s leading active scorer with 83 points (68-15-83).

HELPING HANDS: In 2012, SR A Joe Lustgarten led America East and finished 4th nationally with 2.23 assists per game. He became the 21st player in school history to post 25 assists in a season (29)-the last player to tally 25 or more was Drew Westervelt, who recorded 36 in 2007. Lustgarten had multiple assists in 11 consecutive outings, which is the longest streak in a single season since Steve Marohl, the NCAA record-setter with 77 assists, had multiple helpers in 12 straight in the 1992 campaign. He was held off the board completely at Loyola on Feb. 26.

CROW ABOUT POE: JR face-off specialist Phil Poe attempted all but six draws through 11 games in 2012 and his 320 attempted were 7^th in the nation. His 174 face-off victories are the second-most in school history, behind only Russ LeClair’s 210 wins in 1984.

Poe was named America East Conference Player of the Week for games ending April 21, 2012. Poe tied a school record by winning 22 face-offs in the 17-16 overtime victory over Albany. Moreover, his 15 ground balls recorded are the most since Nick Brownlee scooped a school-record 18 vs. VMI in 1997 The 22 face-off wins tied for the sixth-most in a Division I single game in 2012.

Poe’s 87 ground balls on the 2012 season is the most for a Retriever since Nick Brownlee had 108 in 1997. Poe won 14 or more draws in nine of the 13 contests in 2012. He finished 11th in the country with 6.31 ground balls per game.

NOTING: SR A Matt Gregoire, who did not play at RMU due to injury, debuted and posted his third career game with three or more goals vs. Rutgers… FR M Pat Young scored the first two goals of his career, tallying twice in the first quarter at Robert Morris… SO LSM Seth Mackingarnered a career-best six ground balls in that game… Twenty-seven Retrievers saw action in the opener vs. the Colonials and 28 appeared vs. Rutgers… JR M David Campbell and FR ANate Lewnes scored their first goals in the black and gold vs. the Scarlet Knights.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT: Fairfield (2-2) dropped its second consecutive game, falling 9-2 at home to Hofstra on Feb. 26. Jack Murphy took the loss in net for the Stags, stopping 13 shots in the contest. Murphy has taken home the ECAC Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Week award for two consecutive weeks, stopping 28 total shots in a 10-9 win over Navy and a 10-9 loss at North Carolina. FU opened the season with an 8-6 victory over Bryant. JR A Jordan Greenfield (8g, 2a) and SR M Sam Snow (7g, 3a) share team-high scoring honors for the Stags.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Last season, Fairfield senior attackman John Snellman scored 44 seconds into overtime and the 20^th-ranked Stags nipped UMBC, 10-9, at UMBC Stadium. Scott Jonesscored the game-tying goal with 40 seconds to play in regulation and recorded a season-best four-goal effort. The meeting was the first between the two teams since 1999.

UMBC and Fairfield played a home-and-home series in 1998 and 1999, with the Retrievers capturing both contests. UMBC triumphed, 13-5, at home in ’98 and won, 10-8, in Connecticut in 1999.

UP NEXT: UMBC faces current No. 1 Maryland at Byrd Stadium on Wed., March 6. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU and the opening draw takes place at 5:00 p.m.

UMBC enters the final week of the regular season trying to hold off UNH for the sixth seed in the upcoming America East Tournament. The Retrievers open play this week by taking on the Hartford Hawks at the Chase Family Arena on Thurs., Feb. 28. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m.

RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC (4-10, 6-21) has droppped five straight, including last Saturday’s 68-59 setback vs. Boston University. The Retrievers fell behind by 12 early in the second half before a rally cut the deficit to two points midway through the stanza, but the comeback fell short. Reserve SO G Joey Getz is averaging 12.0 ppg in the month of February. SR G Ryan Cook leads the squad with 14.6 points per game.

HAWK UPDATE:  Hartford (8-6, 15-12) is tied with Albany for the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Hawks has been tough at home in 2012-13, postiing a mark of 9-4. UH is coming off a 49-44 victory over UNH on Feb. 20 and had the weekend bye. SO F Mark Nwakamma leads America East in scoring in league play at 17.6 points per game.

WHO’S UP NEXT:  UMBC completes the regular season vs. Binghamton at home on Sun., March 3 at 2:00 p.m.  The Retrievers will honor seniors Ryan Cook, Brian Neller and Adrian Satchell in ceremonies before the start of the game.