University of Maryland Baltimore County is used to dealing with adversity.
First, the Retrievers appeared to be in rebuilding mode after losing three of their first four games before winning 11 straight en route to clinching an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning the America East title.
Now, UMBC (12-3) may be facing its toughest test of the season when it plays second-seeded Virginia (12-3) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday evening at 5 at Klockner Stadium in Charlottesville.
But what makes the Retrievers task in front of a national television audience on ESPNU much more daunting is it will have to face one of the nation?s best teams without leading goal scorer Ryan Smith (29 goals, 14 assists), who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Albany in the America East title game.
“Ryan has been a great player for us, but when he went down, other players stepped up and contributed,” said UMBC coach Don Zimmerman, the America East Coach of the Year. “That’s what we’ve done all year and that’s what we have to do against Virginia.”
Even without Smith, UMBC still has several scoring options, including senior midfielder Terry Kimener. The America East Player of the Year leads the Retrievers in points with 46 via 26 goals and 20 assists.
Kimener said the turning point of UMBC?s season came following a 10-8 loss March 4 at Johns Hopkins ? the last time UMBC lost.
“Seeing how we played against Hopkins gave us momentum the rest of the season because it showed us we could play with anyone,” Kimener said. “Now, it’s just about playing lacrosse like we have the last two months. You can’t forget what you did to get to this point.”
Zimmerman said keeping that focus is going to be key for UMBC, which advanced to the quarterfinals last year for the first time by upsetting Maryland in Byrd Stadium.
This year, UMBC takes on a Virginia team that is two years removed from an undefeated season. The Cavaliers are led by a quartet of scorers with at least 20 goals: junior attacker Garrett Billings (30 goals, 23 assists), junior attacker Danny Glading (21, 32), senior attacker Ben Rubeor (33,12) and sophomore midfielder Brian Carroll (27, 7).
“You can’t look at this tournament as a four-game stretch, you can only concentrate on the team in front of you,” Zimmerman said. “Right now, you’re just grateful to be one of 16 teams still playing.”
NEXT UP
RETRIEVERS (12-3) vs. No. 2 VIRGINA CAVALIERS (12-3)
Faceoff: Sunday, 5 p.m.
Where: Klockner Stadium, Charlottesville, Va.
TV: ESPNU
Tickets: Available
