Joe Glos was a freshman that had a much bigger role than planned this season. At least he got valuable experience out of it.

A cold night had an even colder end to the men’s soccer team as they lost to Hartford in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament, 1-0, ending the Retrievers’ once promising season with a 7-8-3 record, just their fourth-losing season in the last 20 years.

After starting conference play with four-straight victories, improving the team’s record to 7-3-3, UMBC looked to be back on track for a second-straight trip to the NCAA tournament but injuries forced inexperienced players to see the field, which led to undisciplined play, and things just kept getting worse as UMBC lost their final five games of the year.

With so many injuries keeping key veterans out of the game, including usual starters Andy Streilein and Travis Dennis, Head Coach Pete Caringi Jr. was forced to rely on his young players. Three of his four bench players were freshman and two more started the game.

“What we really try to do is not make excuses for nothing so it’s not something we talk about but there are a lot of guys that are injured that played and I think it took it’s toll on the team,” Caringi Jr. said. “We limped into the last two weeks and that was a team [Hartford] that got on a roll the last couple of weeks.”

Some injured players that Caringi Jr. highlighted were Streilein and Sean Rothe, Dan Louisignau, and Pete Caringi III; the latter three all played but with limited practice time and not at full health.

“We went into this season thinking we were a really veteran team but at the end of the day how many freshman did we play?” Caringi said. “I think at one point we had five freshman on the field and Zach Wenger started today as a freshman that hasn’t really played all year. That deep, strong, veteran team that we had last year, that wasn’t the case this year.”

With that said though, UMBC certainly had chances to win the game. Louisignau, despite playing hurt, kept the Retrievers in the game with five saves and for the most part the back line played very well, except on one play where they made a mistake and Anthony Santaga made them pay with what would be the game-winning goal in the 67th minute.

The problem was the offense, as has been the case pretty much all season. Hartford’s goalkeeper Luke Citriniti made seven saves but UMBC never really challenged him with a great shot. Andrew Bulls led UMBC with five, four of which were on goal, but two were direct kicks after penalties while the other two were directly at Citriniti.

Kingsley Onwuka and Daniel Welsh both also had great scoring opportunities but both hesitated and took too long before pulling the trigger on the shot, allowing Hartford’s defense to get in position to prevent the shots.

“We don’t have many pure goal scorers and I think Petey has a history of scoring, Bulls has a history of scoring and after that not many players have that,” Caringi Jr. said. “Today I watched people double team them. You just need to get some players in here next year that can put the ball in the net. The more goal scorers you have the better chance you have at winning the championship.”

Though UMBC’s season ends on a very sour note and while it will go down as only the fourth losing season in Caringi Jr.’s 21-year tenure as UMBC’s coach, it still does not seem like it was a losing season. Outside the last few games UMBC was in every one they stepped on the field for, took the No. 1 team in the nation to the brink, and played a very tough schedule.

“The record was a losing record and personally that was very disturbing to me but this was a team that played a very difficult schedule, probably the toughest schedule we’re played here at UMBC,” Caringi Jr. said. “We’ve had some highlights, we’ve had some big crowds, we’ve has some big games.”

Caringi Jr. did take one consolation out of it though, his young players that were forced to take on big roles this year will be much better for it next season.

“Right now I’m extremely disappointed but I’m proud of how they continued to fight; that’s one thing that says a lot about our program,” he said. “It’s easy to quit, especially in the last couple of weeks when you go through a lot of different stages of frustration. The philosophy has always been that when one guy gets hurt somebody has to step up. In this case there was a lot of freshman that had to step up. The good thing is they got experience today and the last couple of weeks. The bad thing is we took it on the chin the last couple of weeks and it’s not how we expected the season to end.

Daniel Welsh was not available for the last three and a half conference games but he'll be back to help lead the Retrievers' dominant defense in the America East tournament.

Three weeks ago the UMBC men’s soccer team was sitting atop the America East standings with a perfect 4-0 record after three-straight conference shutouts, four-straight overall. But the Retrievers stumbled at the end of the season, dropping their final four games.

Two weeks ago the team’s hope of a perfect conference record came to stunning end when they got handled by Hartford on the road, 3-1. In that game an undisciplined team that went into the game a little too confident and comfortable lost two players by the 52nd minute to card violations and a third before the end of the game.

In their last three games, starting with Hartford, the team that allowed only 11 goals in their first 13 games, shutting out seven opponents, allowed 10 goals, dropping them to 4-3 in conference play and down to the fourth-seed in the tournament.

Well what that means is UMBC gets a chance at revenge against Hartford. This Saturday UMBC will be hosting the fifth-seeded Hawks in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament as they try to get to their third-straight conference championship game and defend their America East crown.

It almost seems like if there is any team in the tournament with enough talent to make a great run at the end of the season it is UMBC. Despite finishing fourth in the standings UMBC lead all teams with four representatives on the All-Conference first-team: Dan Louisignau, Andrew Bulls, Pete Caringi III, and Liam Paddock.

Louisignau has just a fantastic season, shutting out seven teams and saving 79.2 percent of the shots he’s been faced with, as he was named the America East Conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

Meanwhile, Bulls became just the second Retriever to earn three first-team all-America East conference honors since Marcus Gross did it from 2003-2005. The Preseason All-American led the Retrievers with five goals this season to go with two assists as he finished the regular season second on the team in points with 12. While Bulls did struggle to hit his stride and put the ball in the back of the net early in the year, once conference play hit Bulls was back to his old self, proving just how dominate of a score he can be with four of his goals coming against conference opponents.

Caringi III led the Retrievers with 13 points and five assists while also scoring four goals in his sophomore campaign while Paddock was a major part of the team’s dominant defense as he started all 16 games he was eligible to play at center back.

But the team has more than just those four guys to lean on. Daniel Welsh, a second team all-conference player, could have been the defensive player of the year had he not missed four games this season for card suspensions, and three and a half conference games.

One of the major reasons UMBC struggled in their final three games, where they were outscored 10-2, was because Welsh was not on the back line next to Paddock. The two have formed one of the best tandems of center backs maybe in the country and really forced guys to take difficult shots from outside, and that’s where they usually met either Vince Savarese or Andy Streilein, both of whom probably should have been all-conference honorees but continually get overlooked. Both players are incredibly skilled two-way players. Unfortunately, after suffering a head injury against Vermont that sent him to the hospital, Streilein, who moved up to midfield later in the year, will not be available for the Retrievers, but Savarese, who head coach Pete Caringi Jr. describes as an “old school Baltimore” kind of a player will be, as is the incredibly athletic Travis Dennis, who transferred from ACC power Clemson a few years ago.

But even with loads of talent they won’t just walk over Hartford. The Hawks not only beat UMBC, but they have won their last three games, also including a 3-1 victory over Stony Brook, which beat UMBC 3-0.

David Bernhardsson leads the Hawks with five goals and 15 points and tied for the team lead with five assists as he was named to the America East’s All-Conference first team. Meanwhile, defensive midfieler Patrick Boucher, who has a goal and three assists, was a member of the All-Conference second team. Connor Yeaney (three goals) and Atobra Ampadu (three goals, one assists) were both all-rookie team selections. Anthony Santaga was not named to an all-conference team but is still very dangerous and finished the year with four goals and five assists

UMBC hosts the Hawks on the Bermuda grass at Elite Tournaments Field at Retriever Soccer Park at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 5.

Dan Louisignau was named the conference's Goalkeeper of the Year, a well deserved honor.

After a season in which he shut out seven opponents in 17 games and allowed only 1.29 goals per game and saved 79.2 percent of the shots he was faced with, UMBC senior Dan Louisignau was named the America Eas conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year and first-team all-conference honoree

“It’s pretty cool,” Louisignau, who was named to the All-Conference second team after last season. “It’s hard to describe. It’s nice but at the same time if I don’t play as the best goalkeeper we’re done and the season’s over. I’ll reflect back on it after the season’s over.”

Joining Louisignau on the all-conference first team were three other Retrievers: Andrew Bulls, Pete Caringi III, and Liam Paddock.

For Bulls it was his third-straight appearance on the all-conference first-team. This season he led the Retrievers with five goals and added two assists as he ranked second on the team with 12 points. He also became UMBC’s all-time leader in assists, with 30, and UMBC’s first players with 30 goals (33) and 30 assists. He also became the first Retriever to earn three first-team All-America East honors since Marcus Gross did it from 2003-2005.

“The biggest thing I want to credit is coach [Pete Caringi Jr.],” Bulls said. “He’s really helped me develop into the player I am today. Without his confidence and his drive in me…without his support I don’t think I’ll be half the player I am today. he’s always believed in me and gives me a lot of support. I give a lot of credit to him.”

Caringi III, a second-team all-conference honoree as a freshman in 2010, lead the Retrievers with 13 points after scoring four goals with a team-high five assists, which is tied for the third most in the conference.

Junior centerback Liam Paddock earned his first all-conference team honors since being named to the All-Rookie team in 2009. He started all 16 games he dressed for this season and all 54 games he’s been eligible at UMBC. He was a key reason why the Retrievers shutout seven teams in their first 13 games.

Sophomore Daniel Welsh, who make have vied for Player of the Year had he not been forced to miss four games with card suspensions, was named to the all-conference second team. The 2010 All-Rookie team player started all 13 games he dressed for this season.

Two players missing who probably should have received all-conference honors were senior right back Vince Savarese and senior midfielder/left back Andy Streilein. Both has very big roles on the team and were both very big parts of the team’s success but once again failed to get the credit they deserved.

The Retrievers led all conference teams with the most players on the first team and this was the third-straight year a Retriever earned one of the individual awards.

The injury makes the Retrievers 4-1 loss to the Catamounts seem unimportant, though it does drop the once 4-0 Retrievers to 4-3 in conference and down to the fourth seed in the tournament.

“We are all disappointed by the result, but relieved that Andy has been released from the hospital,” head coach Pete Caringi said in a team release. “It keeps things in perspective. Our goal now is to get our whole team back, hopefully healthy, and play a great quarterfinal game of soccer.”

The Retrievers were clearly rattled after their teammate suffered such a gruesome injury and struggled as they lost their fourth-straight game.

UMBC fell behind in the 15th minute when Zach Paul headed in a cross from Juan Peralta past senior keeper Dan Louisignau. The Retrievers settled down a bit after that goal and shut the Catamounts out for the next 48 minute but in the 58th minute Travis Dennis was ejected from the game after he was assessed a red card for a tackle outside the penalty box. Just five minutes later Peralta perfectly placed a corner kick and this time Salvatore Borea got the header goal as they went up 2-0 on UMBC.

Sixteen minutes later Andrew Bulls scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season when he took advantage of a failed clear attempt by Vermont and ripped a shot past David Ramada from 20 yards out.

But the team could not build on his score and allowed two more goals in the final seven minutes. The second the clock hit the 83:00 Peralta tapped in a goal for his fourth point of the game off a cross from Yannick Lewis and picked up his fifth point six and a half minutes later when he sent in another well placed corner kick to Nick O’Neill, who had his shot blocked, but had Evan Hodge right next to him for the clean-up goal.

Louisignau made six saves in goal and kept UMBC in the game until the latter stages but continues to show weakness when the ball is in the air.

UMBC finishes the regular season with a 7-7-3 overall record and will host Hartford on Saturday Nov. 5 at 3:00 p.m. in the semi-finals of the America East tournament.

Daniel Welsh's aggressive style has made him one of the best backs in the country but it is also causing him to miss a significant number of games.

After losing two men in the game the men’s soccer team lost their first conference match of the season on the road to Hartford, 3-1.

Not even 10 minutes after David Bernhardsson chipped in a goal over goalkeeper Dan Louisignau in the 33rd minute to put UMBC in an early 1-0 hole, junior back Liam Paddock was dealt his second yellow card of the game and expelled for the rest of the match. Then, ten minutes later in the 51st minute, Daniel Welsh was assessed a red card to put UMBC two-men down for the final 39 minutes of play.

Two seconds after Welsh left the field Jorge Rodrigues bent a free kick inside the near post as Hartford doubled their lead and six minutes after that, Anthony Santaga gave the Hawks a 3-0 lead over UMBC after UMBC failed to clear the ball and Anthony Santaga headed the ball over Louisignau to himself and finished for the score.

After giving up his third goal of the game, granted without possibly the two best defenders on the team, Louisignau was removed from the game for senior Miguel Calderon, likely a move to just get him some playing time. Calderon stopped the only shot he was faced with.

Despite missing two players for a large portion of the game UMBC outshot Hartford in the second half and were able to put the ball in the back of the net. In the 79th minute Hartford was called for a foul in the box, giving UMBC a penalty kick. Andrew Bulls converted for his fourth goal of the season.

With Paddock and Welsh already slated to miss a key senior day match against Stony Brook junior Milo Kapor is going to join them in street close on the bench after being dealt two yellow cards in the game. Welsh may have to miss the next two games after picking up his second red card of the season.

Pete Caringi Jr. said it was the worst his team played all year.

On a wet, miserable night the men’s soccer team saw their five-game unbeaten streak come to an end with a 1-0 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions, who avenged a loss to UMBC last year on their home turf.

Senior goalkeeper Dan Louisignau made eight saves in the game, not a one that could be considered easy, to keep the Retrievers in the game but they could not get much of anything going offensively for the 90 minutes they were on the field, as they were outshot 16-3 and failed to record a single shot on goal.

“We have to do a better job on offensive flow, a better job of team defending,” head coach Pete Caringi Jr. said. “Dan just kept us in the game, they could’ve scored. We work on attacking all the time but what we do in practice and what we work on doesn’t execute in the games and that’s the sad part.”

In the seventh minute Andy Streilein did get a shot off for UMBC but the Nittany Lion defense came up with a block. UMBC’s only other opportunity in the first half came in the 36th minute but Pete Caringi III’s attempt was also blocked by Penn State.

The second half started very slow for both teams. Penn State certainly dominated possession but weren’t able to get too much going until the 71st minute of the game when they ended UMBC’s streak of not allowing a goal at 486 minutes with Hasani Sinclair headed a ball past Louisignau.

Jacob Barron collected the ball off a corner kick taken by John Gallagher. Barron pushed the ball forward, had it bounce around between several players before two collided, which sent the ball in the air where Sinclair scored the eventual game winner.

After that Penn State really slowed things down, limiting the already non-existent chances for UMBC even more, though Andrew Bulls did get a shot off in the 83rd minute. It was blocked and UMBC was unable to get anything significant going the rest of the way.

Penn State had the advantage in corner kicks, 11-2.

“I don’t think we played well at all,” Caringi Jr. said. “It was one of our worst performances in a long time and we have to get better. We cannot play like thatl it was just not a UMBC soccer performance that’s for sure.”

While it was far from the reason they lost, UMBC is 1-3 on turf this year. The game, which was originally scheduled to be played on the Bermuda grass at Retriever Soccer Park, was moved to UMBC Stadium, which has synthetic turf, due to the rain.

On turf UMBC lost to Loyola, 2-0, La Salle, 2-1, and now Penn State 1-0. UMBC’s lone victory on turf was far from a pretty one as they beat Binghamton 1-0 with only one shot on goal in the game.

Andrew Bulls's number may not show it but he is definitely the creative force and big threat to score for the men's soccer team this year.

Usually, when it comes to jersey numbers in sports, they don’t mean anything; they’re just a way to identify a player on the field but in soccer the number 10 has a very special meaning, it’s reserved for only the very best, the guy who makes things happen, the guy that a team can lean on when they need a big pick-me-up. In recent years the No. 10 didn’t mean too much for the men’s soccer program, like all numbers it was given out to which ever incoming freshman wanted it, regardless of who they were or what their role was. That changed this year though and after three incredibly successful seasons wearing a jersey with the No. 17 on it, Andrew Bulls has taken over the sacred number, giving meaning back to it for the men’s soccer program.

“Ten is a special number in soccer,” Bulls said. “Number 10 is usually the leader on the team, the creative force on the team, and that’s the role that I’ve really taken this year.”

There is no denying that from a statistical standpoint Bulls has struggled in his senior year. Coming into the year Bulls scored 28 goals and had 28 assists but through 13 games this season he has only scored three times and has only two assists. While that does make him UMBC’s all-time leader in assists and the only Retriever to ever record 30 goals and 30 assists in their career, he hasn’t been able to put up the impressive totals as he has in previous season.

A lot of that has to do with teams marking him, focusing on locking him down and limiting his opportunities to get things going. But a lot of it has also been bad luck. The fact of the matter is Bulls has 32 shots on goal this year, twice as many as anybody else on the team. He is creating scoring opportunities but they just aren’t going in the net.

But last night Bulls shows just how great of a player he was. In the 82nd minute, with the team leading New Hampshire 1-0 in a nationally televised game, Bulls drilled a beautiful goal into the upper third of the goal from 16 yards out on thee left side, after beating a defender in a 1-on-2 situation.

“That was vintage Bulls,” head coach Pete Caringi Jr. said after the game. “That was a professional shot. He just drilled that ball and it’s good to have him back on track.”

UMBC has ridden a five-game unbeaten streak to a 7-3-3 record and 4-0-0 start to conference play by playing absolutely stellar on the defensive end; the team has not allowed a goal in 403 minutes and have four-straight shutouts. But as the tournament gets closer and closer having Bulls back showing the ability that made him a preseason All-American bodes really well for a chance at repeating as America East champions. He’s also proving that he was indeed the right guy to take over No. 10.

Andrew Bulls is "back on track" after a rough start to the season.

In a nationally televised rematch of the 2010 America East Championship game the UMBC men’s soccer scored a 2-0 victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats to extend their unbeaten streak to five-straight.

Once again, the Retriever defense shut their opponent down, pitching another shutout. Senior goalkeeper Dan Louisignau stopped the Wildcats only two shots on goal while UMBC has not allowed a goal in 408 minutes.

“We’re clicking,” Louisignau said. “Everyone is doing everything right, doing their assignments, keeping their marks, listening. We’re all moving as a team and we’re working as one.”

After a scoreless first half in which UMBC forced UNH keeper Travis Worra to make five of his seven saves in the game, the Retrievers took a quick lead out of the break when Milo Kapor got deep into the box and attempted a backwards pass but the ball bounced off UNH defender Alex Hussein from six-yards out and scored an own goal into the right corner. It was the first goal scored between the two teams in 265 minutes as both of their games in 2010 ended as scoreless draws.

While the defense still dominated the rest of the game, not allowing a single shot on goal in the final 27 minutes of the game, UMBC hit the dagger in the 82nd minute when Pete Caringi III made a long pass inside to Andrew Bulls on the left side of the field and the senior, in a 1-on-2 situation, got past one and ripped a beautiful shot into the upper third of the net from 16-yards out.

“It was a great pass by Petey and Bulls took it on the run and that was vintage Bulls,” head coach Pete Caringi Jr. said. “That was a professional shot, he just drilled that ball and it’s good to have him back on track.”

And having Bulls back on track as the conference play is in full swing after a rough start to the season is something Caringi Jr. knows is important because “he can score goals,” he said. “You have guys like him and Petey playing real well together, play off one another and when you have two dangerous guys like that working with one another that’s what we’re going to need because if you can get a goal or two with this group and power defending it could be dangerous in late October and early November.”

After a start where things haven’t quite gone his way – epitomized by a game where 10 shots on goal resulted in nine great saves against Albany – Bulls getting back in his rhythm has sparked the offense, making them much more dangerous than they have been all season.

“We’ve been really performing well offensively, it took us a while to get some goals coming in, we had a lot of one goal games, but I think we’re really finding our offensive flow and I think that you’re going to see a lot more goals coming into the playoffs and post season,” Bulls said.

With the victory the men’s soccer team improved to 4-0-0 in conference play, their best start ever, which Bulls called “the dream start.”

“It’s really important to get off to a good start in conference and make sure you get some momentum going into the playoffs,” he said. “We want to make a good playoff run and I think it always stars in October, we’ve hit October running, we’re undefeated in October, and we’re just going to carry this momentum.”

Dan Welsh played a fantastic game and was a major reason the team shut Bucknell out.

In a rare non-conference October game the men’s soccer team battled the reigning back-to-back Patriot League champion Bucknell Bison to a 0-0 draw at Retriever Soccer Park.

On the backs of a strong back-line performance the men’s soccer team recorded their first shutout since topping Fairliegh Dickinson 1-0 on Sept. 3. Senior goalkeeper Dan Louisignau recorded three saves for his ninth career shutout while Daniel Welsh and Liam Paddock limited any opportunity the Bison tried to make.

“I thought defensively Dan Louisignau was standout, Daniel Welsh did a great job, Liam Paddock, the whole defense,” said Head Coach Pete Caringi Jr. “I was really happy defensively how we played.”

While UMBC was outshot 13-11, the Retriever had five shots on goal, two more than Bucknell in the game.

In the 19th minute Andrew Bulls took his first a two shots on goal in the game but has his attempt stopped by Tommy Caso. Then, in the 37th minute UMBC was on the brink of scoring but Caso made and impressive sliding save to stop Stephen Ho’s shot.

Neither team could get consistent pressure on their opponent in the second half but Bulls opened the half in the 47th minute with a shot on goal, the only one in the half.

UMBC did have chances, though. Kingsley Onwuka, Pete Caringi III, and Bulls all nearly got past the Bison back-line but couldn’t finish their opportunities.

“We had our chances,” Caringi Jr. said. “In the second half we had some good chances, you’re not going to get many chances against this team … we had our chances and the right players had them, they just didn’t execute.”

In overtime UMBC had three shots in the final three minutes of the first ten-minute period and freshman Michael DiCesare got a shot off from 16-yards out in the second-session but couldn’t get the golden goal.

Andrew Bulls scored a game-winner to lift UMBC to a 2-1 conference-opening win.

After the men’s soccer team fell behind by a goal in the 62nd minute of their conference opener Pete Caringi III and Andrew Bulls scored back-to-back goals to lift the team to a 2-1 victory over the University of Albany.

UMBC outshot the Albany Great Danes 8-1 in the first half and didn’t allow a single shot on goal but Adrian Foncette stopped all seven of UMBC’s potential scores.

Then, in the second half, David Pinto had a shot blocked but Pomare Te Anau scored from 20 yards out.

But the Retrievers didn’t back down, and for a team that has lost three of their last four while struggling to score, that could have been an easy thing to do but 10 minutes after falling behind Milo Kapor got the ball to Jordan Becker right in front of the goal. Becker took a shot and Caringi III redirected it past the Albany keeper to tie the game.

Five minutes later, Milo Kapor hit the post on a shot but senior forward Andrew Bulls, who led UMBC with 10 shots in the game, all of which were on goal, tapped it in for the go-ahead and game-winning-goal.

Senior goalkeeper Dan Louisignau finished the game with four saves while his counterpart stopped 15.

UMBC outshot Albany 22-7 in the game and doubled their corner kick attempts, 4-2.

The Retrievers improved to 4-3-2 on the season.