Sept. 15, 2010

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle defense was once again strong behind the netminding of rookie John McCarthy, but the potent UMBC offense broke through to drop the Explorers 2-1 in overtime in Baltimore on Wednesday night.

After a scoreless first half, the Retrievers pelted three shots toward goal in the opening minutes of the second half before the Explorers got on the board in the 55th minute. Ryan Richter scored his first goal of the season, a screened shot into the right side of the net which was unassisted.

With the score at 1-0 in favor of the Explorers and the taste of a win so close, UMBC's John Caringi netted the equalizer with just 5:01 remaining. The home team tried to win it just 52 seconds into OT on a shot by Dave Vaeth, but McCarthy came up with the stop. However, Levi Houapeu found the back of the net with 22 seconds remaining in the overtime period to give the Retrievers the win. Nirav Kadam assisted on both goals.

McCarthy was stellar in net for the Explorers, making nine saves in his second collegiate start. He and the rest of the Explorer defense held the Retrievers scoreless through 84 minutes, despite a 24-12 shot disadvantage and a 12-3 disadvantage on corner kicks. Phil Saunders stopped three shots for the home squad.

Richter led all players with seven attempted shots, two of which were on goal. Andrew Bulls led the Retrievers with six shots, but was held scoreless.

The Explorers continue their road trip at Niagara on Saturday at 1:00 PM.