Maxx Davis finally took No. 5 Maryland up on its dare.

With Terps defenders baiting the right-handed UMBC sophomore midfielder to go to his left, Davis obliged, sprinting past a defender and top-shelving a shot to send the unranked Retrievers to a thrilling 9-8 victory with 1.5 seconds left in triple overtime at UMBC Stadium in Baltimore last night.

With Maryland junior midfielder Jeff Reynolds shading to Davis' right, Davis (Friends) swam past Reynolds, returned his stick to his right hand and shoulder, and fired the ball over junior goalkeeper Jason Carter (seven saves).

"They were playing me to my left all game," Davis said of the Terps defense. "I just tried to make the best of the last opportunity. Luckily, I could go inside and get back to my right hand."

Davis' heroics - which included two assists - marked the second consecutive time UMBC (3-3) had upset a heavily favored Maryland team. On May 13, the Retrievers stunned the seventh-seeded Terps in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

It initially appeared that UMBC had won the game in regulation. When sophomore midfielder Kyle Wimer scored his second goal of the game with 4:11 in the contest, that gave the Retrievers a 7-5 advantage.

But Maryland (4-2) ran off three unanswered goals in 2 minutes, 14 seconds - a flurry capped by senior attackman Max Ritz's second goal of the game with 1:50 left in regulation.

But with 5.8 seconds left, UMBC junior attackman Ryan Smith took a feed from sophomore midfielder Kyle Wimer and bounced a shot past Carter to send the game into overtime tied at 8.

"We knew they were going to push it," said Jeremy Blevins, who turned away 11 shots. "The defense gave up the outside shots. They expect me to save those, and that's my job."

edward.lee@baltsun.com