10/25/11
BALTIMORE, MD- The UMBC men's club soccer team beat the St. Mary's Seahawks 3-0 at UMBC Stadium this past weekend. The 3-0 victory marked the first shutout of the season for the Retrievers and continued their excellent run at home. The Retrievers are now 2-0 at UMBC Stadium with eight goals scored and one against.
The game began as a rematch of a 5-1 thrashing by UMBC earlier this season. The Retrievers started strong, creating many opportunities in the opening twenty minutes. A surging run by defender Matt Velky led to a free kick, but his shot from outside the box was saved by the St. Mary’s goalkeeper. The home side's defense continued to hold strong and the high pressure resulted in an early goal in the 25th minute. Senior forward, Hashim Gibril, was able to calmly slide the ball past the Seahawks' goalkeeper for his fifth goal of the season. Just nine minutes later, an excellent interchange between the UMBC midfield left freshman forward, Casey Cheek, with a wide open goal for a simple tap in to put the Retrievers up 2-0.
The second half offered little excitement, as the Retrievers enjoyed most of the possession and continued to thwart nearly all of the St. Mary's attacks. In the 75th minute, midfielder Stephen Ravotta, powered in a close-range header from a Drew Delgado corner. The goal was his second of the season. More chances came for the Retrievers, but they were unable to convert. In the closing stages, the midfield duo of Farid Boualam and Stephen Ravotta were exceptional in preventing the opposition from building momentum.
The Retrievers improved to a record of 4-3 on the year and will take on the UMBC Soccer Club Alumni on October 29th at 1pm at UMBC Stadium. The Retrievers will face Loyola on Friday, November 4th in their final game of the season.
Make sure to follow the UMBC Men’s Club Soccer Team on Twitter @UMBCMensClubSoc
