Nothing has come easily for UMBC this season.
The Retrievers' first two victories were by a total of four goals. They have lost three games by a combined 23 goals.
Even in yesterday's 15-10 victory over Mount St. Mary's, UMBC's showing was tarnished by the Mountaineers' late rally.
"It was the first game where we felt we had the advantage and weren't the underdog," UMBC coach Don Zimmerman said. "We certainly weren't sharp. The good thing is that we had our letdown, but we got through it."
With a 14-4 lead heading into the fourth quarter, UMBC cleared its bench and Steve Gorski relieved Chris Brown in goal. The Mountaineers then dominated the faceoffs and started to control possession.
Mount St. Mary's (1-5) scored four goals in a 3 1/2 -minute span and outscored the Retrievers 6-1 in the fourth quarter.
"First of all, the Mount is much improved from last season," Zimmerman said. "But when you play guys who haven't played that much, you want them to maintain the tempo of the game. I think in stretches we did and other times we didn't."
Sophomore midfielder Matt Shearer led UMBC with three goals and two assists. Four other Retrievers scored two or more goals.
UMBC (3-3) cruised through the first three quarters, scoring with ease against the Mount's man-to-man and zone defenses.
The Retrievers scored three extra-man goals, which was half the total they'd scored in their previous five games.
On defense, UMBC held the Mount without a goal for 27:46 in the first half and to 19 shots through the first three quarters.