BALTIMORE - UMBC, the 16th-seeded team in the NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup, will try to become the first America East program to reach the third round of the tournament since 1996 when it hosts UConn at Retriever Soccer Park on Sunday at 5 p.m. The game can be seen for free at AmericaEast.TV.
UMBC, America East's champion, is the conference's first team to receive a first-round bye since the bracket expanded to 48 teams in 2001. The Retrievers are also the first America East team to play a tournament game at home since 2008.
America East teams have had great success in the tournament of late. This marks the 10th time in the last 13 years an America East team has played in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Overall, America East teams are 14-24-8 in NCAA men's soccer tournament play.
UMBC (16-1-2), the fifth-ranked team in the nation, beat Hartford, 4-0, on Nov. 16 to win its third conference title in four years. Pete Caringi III, America East's Striker of the Year, for the second-straight year, scored twice and added an assist en route to earn Most Outstanding Player honors. His five points and two goals both tied single-game tournament records.
Unbeaten in its last nine games (7-0-2), the Retrievers have the nation's top winning percentage and are well balanced, ranking 10th nationally, averaging 2.05 goals per game and 13th, compiling a 0.65 team goals-against average.
UMBC has now advanced to the tournament's second round in three of the last four years, and been close to reaching the third round each of the previous two times. In 2010, the Retrievers beat Princeton in the first round before falling in penalty kicks to William & Mary in the second round. Last year, the Retrievers advanced past Old Dominion in penalty kicks before falling in kick to North Carolina in the second round.
UConn (12-2-6), the 10th-ranked team in the country, is unbeaten in its last 15 games (10-0-5). The Huskies, who received an at-large to the tournament, beat Quinnipiac in the first round Thursday, 2-1.