INDIANAPOLIS - For the second straight year, America East men's lacrosse champion UMBC will travel south to face an ACC school in its opening NCAA tournament game. A year after falling one goal short against No. 1 Virginia, UMBC will travel to Chapel Hill for a date with sixth-seeded North Carolina on Saturday at 2:30 p.m on ESPNU. LISTEN | LIVE STATS
UMBC, which is making its fourth straight NCAA appearance, learned its fate during the NCAA selection show on ESPNU Sunday night.
The Retrievers (12-3) earned the league's automatic bid to the tournament with an 11-7 victory over Stony Brook for the America East title Saturday night. RECAP
Mike Camardo, who helped run the midfield and tallied a goals, grabbed six ground balls and caused a pair turnovers in the game, was named Most Outstanding Player of the championship. Jeremy Blevins (6 saves), Justin Radebaugh (won
11-20 faceoffs, including 6-9 in first half) and Ryan Smith (3 goals, 1 assist) were All-Championship selections.
UMBC, the 11th-ranked team in both national polls, matched a program record with 12 wins to date. The Retrievers, which has been ranked as high as sixth this season, registered key wins over ranked oppoonents Maryland, Colgate, Albany and Stony Brook.
Seventh-ranked North Carolina (11-5) fell to Duke in the ACC tournament final but registered wins over four tournament teams - Hofstra, Johns Hopkins, Maryland and Navy - to secure an at-large bid.
The Tarheels own a 17-6 all-time record against the Retrievers, including four of the last five meetings. UMBC head coach Don Zimmerman, whose squad last earned a win in the series in 2003, spent fours years as assistant coach in Chapel Hill from 1979-1982. The two programs have never faced off in the national tournament.
The winner of the UMBC-UNC contest will advance to the quarterfinals and play the winner of No. 3 Duke and Navy on Sunday, May 17 at 3 p.m. at Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Md.