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The UMBC Retrievers are the 52nd team in our 2018 schedule preview series and the fifth team from the America East. The Retrievers finished 6-8 overall in Ryan Moran’s first year as head coach, which resulted in an appearance in the America East Tournament. UMBC lost to Binghamton, 9-4, in a rematch of their regular season meeting, which the Retrievers won.
Here’s the entire 2018 schedule:
UMBC’s 2018 Schedule
Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes | Last Year's Meeting(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes | Last Year's Meeting(s) |
1/27 | UMBC | Rutgers | Scrimmage | |
2/3 | Georgetown | UMBC | Scrimmage | |
2/10 | Richmond | UMBC | 10-5 L | |
2/17 | UMBC | Navy | First meeting since 2003 (13-10 L) | |
2/23 | UMBC | Mount St. Mary's | First meeting since 2016 (14-11 W); 23-0 all-time | |
3/3 | UMBC | Towson | 8-6 L | |
3/10 | Marist | UMBC | 6-4 W | |
3/13 | Johns Hopkins | UMBC | 15-5 L | |
3/18 | Stony Brook | UMBC | America East | 12-9 W |
3/24 | Michigan | UMBC | 10-7 L | |
3/31 | UMBC | UMass Lowell | America East | 10-6 W |
4/7 | Albany | UMBC | America East | 10-5 L |
4/14 | UMBC | Binghamton | America East | 7-6 W, 9-4 L |
4/21 | Hartford | UMBC | America East | 13-8 L |
4/27 | UMBC | Vermont | America East | 10-7 W |
The Retrievers replace Mercer and North Carolina with Mount St. Mary’s and Navy.
Let’s check out some notable games on this schedule:
Best Nonconference Game: vs. Michigan
Both of these teams are on the rise, Michigan being a newer program and UMBC slowly improving after some down years. It will be their last nonconference game of the regular season, so we should expect both teams to be at their best as conference play begins or, in UMBC’s case, ramps up.
Best Conference Game: @ Vermont
This Catamounts team gets a big piece to their offense this year with the return of Ian MacKay, who had very high expectations before he missed all of 2017. On the Retrievers’ side, they lose top scorer Max Maxwell on attack, but return stud freshman Ryan Frawley, who tied Maxwell and returning midfielder Billy Nolan with a team-high 18 goals.
Under The Radar Game: vs. Marist
The Red Foxes will look to win the MAAC title in 2018. If UMBC was also in the MAAC, I would think they’d be in contention with Marist as well. The Retrievers won last year’s meeting, 6-4, thanks to four Frawley goals.
Possible Upset: @ Towson
The Tigers came out to a roaring start on offense in the first quarter, scoring half of their goals. But they died down for the final three quarters, even though their defense held their own. This year’s Towson offense doesn’t have Ryan Drenner or Mike Lynch, so it might take some time for Shawn Nadelen to get what he wants on offense. UMBC might take advantage of that.
For other schedules and team rosters, check out our Men’s Division I matrix.