Men's Soccer vs. Albany Preview- Win and In

UMBC (11-3-0, 2-2-0)
F- Andrew Bulls (15 goals, 7 assists, 34 SOG)
F- Levi Houepau (11 goals, 10 assists, 25 SOG)
M- Mark Lubetkin (0 goals, 3 assists, 1 SOG)
M- John Paul Waraksa (0 goals, 2 assists, 0 SOG)
M- Milo Kapor (1 goal, 3 assists, 11 SOG)
M- Andy Streilein (1 goal, 1 assist, 4 SOG)
B- Sean Rothe (14 Starts)
B- Vince Savarese (14 starts)
B- Liam Paddock (13 Starts)
B- Jason McCarron (9 Starts)
GK- Phil Saunders (51 Saves, 12 Goals Allowed, .810 save%)

Key Reserves:
F- Matt Knight (3 goals, 1 assist, 6 SOG)
M- Dustin Dzwonkowski (1 goal, 2 assists, 2 SOG)
M- Dave Vaeth (0 goals, 2 assists, 0 SOG)
B- Joe Green (8 games played)

Albany (0-11-3, 0-4-1)
F- Bo Jelovac (2 goals, 1 assist, 14 SOG)
F- Shaun Kane (0 goals, 0 assists, 6 SOG)
F- Claudio Dantas (0 goals, 1 assist, 12 SOG)
M- Ian Peach (1 goal, 0 assists, 8 SOG)
M- Sean Traverso (0 goals, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
M- Anthony DeSalvo (0 goals, 1 assist, 9 SOG)
B- Konner McNamara (13 Starts)
B- Milos Jankovic (14 Starts)
B- Rikkert Pilaar (12 Starts)
B- Davis Burke (5 Starts)
GK- Adrian Foncette (95 Saves, 20 Goals Allowed, .826 save%)

Key Reserves:
F- David Hawksworth (1 goal, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
M- Darko Knezevic (0 goals, 0 assists, 2 SOG)
B- David Pinto (11 games played)

Win and in. It’s that simple. IF UMBC wins they cannot be bumped out of the conference tournament because Albany is eliminated and Vermont and Boston University still play and the loser is the second team out. UMBC still has three games left and needs just one win (or three ties) to get in but still have a chance to make a huge run and move up to the second or third seed in the tournament.

But this has the makings of a trap game. Albany has just not gotten it together this year. They have only scored five goals but last years two top scorers: Claundio Dantas and Shaun Kane, who combined for 17 goals last season, have yet to record any this year. But it’s no secret that they can score.

They also haven’t been blown out much this year. They have played 14 games this year, ties Vermont, Siena, and Costal Carolina all on the road. They lost games to Northeastern and Fairfield in overtime, and a total of 8 games by one goal with the biggest losses come against Colgate, Pennsylvania, and Temple, all three of whom are solid programs.

But it’s a game that UMBC has to win. They have to ride the momentum of their big win in Boston to a winning streak that may produce a conference championship.