BALTIMORE — UMBC struck for two first-half goals, doubling the total allowed by No. 19 West Virginia in its previous five matches, and pulled off a 3-1 upset in men’s soccer Wednesday night.
The Mountaineers (3-1-2) were outshot 18-8 by the Retrievers (4-1-0) on a humid night.
“We played a big, physical team today that we conceded three set-piece goals to, which is uncharacteristic of our team,” West Virginia coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “We were naive in the way we defended to allow set pieces. We knew that was something they were going to bring to the table, with so much size, that they were going to put the ball in the box time and time again, and we didn’t do a good job of denying them the opportunity to serve the ball.
“Our response was brilliant in the second half. We put a lot of pressure on them, had a lot of opportunities and missed a couple of unbelievable chances down the stretch. I think this young team learned a lesson today.”
WVU’s Albert Andres-Llop scored his first goal of the season at 71:05 on a free kick from 20 yards out, cutting the margin to 2-1.
But the Retrievers countered with Kyle Saunderson’s second goal of the game to ice it.
UMBC took a 1-0 lead at 32:57 as James Gielen scored off a rebound just outside the 6-yard mark. Then Saunderson struck at 39:59 on a header that came off a corner kick.
“We had one of our best halves this year,” Retreivers coach Pete Caringi Jr. said.
The Mountaineers had a chance early in the second half, but a shot by freshman Tom Shepherd was blocked and Andres-Llop’s attempt went wide.