UMBC has made a habit of qualifying for the America East Tournament, earning a berth in the tourney every year since the program joined the league in 2004. The Retrievers have been nearly as automatic when it comes to prevailing in tournament games at home.
UMBC (4-8), which plays host to Albany in a tournament semifinal on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., has won seven straight tournament contests at home after dropping the first two back in 2004 and 2005. The team is 3-0 in championship finals at UMBC Stadium.
"I think any time you play at home should give your team a psychological edge," coach Don Zimmerman said. "Certainly, playing an America East Conference tournament game magnifies that. Our guys don't have to sleep in a hotel before the game, they're sleeping in their own beds, and they're able to stick to their routines. All of those things go into giving you an opportunity to take advanatge, but you still have to go out and play 60 minutes."
The Retrievers defeated the Great Danes, 12-7, on April 17 courtesy of a 3-1 start that eventually ballooned to a 7-2 advantage with 6:21 left in the second quarter. Zimmerman said the team could use another fast start.
"I think anytime you're able to get out to a quick start, it's going to help your team," he said. "Obviously, it gets points on the board, but it also builds some momentum. I agree with you that that was the key to our first game. I think it's important that we come out ready to play from the start."
UMBC did just that this past Saturday, scoring the game's first four goals against Hartford. But the Hawks responded with a 7-2 run in the remainder of the first half and scored four of the third quarter's first five goals to eventually produce a 14-12 victory.
"I was happy that we got off to a good start, but I felt that we kind of got away executing basic fundamentals," Zimmerman said, also noting that Hartford won 80 percent (24-of-30) of the face-offs. "You've got to give Hartford credit. They're a very good team and after watching the film, I was impressed with the way they played. … I thought we had a couple guys try to do too much, and we need to understand that if we just keep things simple and share the ball and talk on defense and execute the fundamentals on defense, that's the key to our success."