Sophomore Ruston Souder, who made 17 saves in UMBC's 18-7 thumping of visiting Lafayette at UMBC Stadium in Catonsville Friday night, became the program's first goalkeeper to record that many stops in a game since Jeremy Blevins turned aside 20 shots in a 9-6 win against Denver on March 1, 2008.
But the Pasadena resident can recall even better outings in victories over Severn and Severna Park in his senior year at Chesapeake-AA.
"Last time was back in high school," he said Friday night. "I had an 18- and 19-save performance that I hold to this day as my best performances. But now I'm just moving forward. It's a different world in college. Just looking to keep building on the momentum."
Still, Souder's showing against the Leopards is part of an impressive run in three starts. He has made a combined 37 saves while allowing 27 goals in compiling a 2-1 record as a starter.
As significant as Souder's ability to prevent goals has been, Retrievers coach Don Zimmerman said the goalie infused the defense with his emotional presence.
"He brought a lot of the same things he was bringing to the team on the sidelines – enthusiasm, all about the team, encouragement, just all the things that exemplify leadership," Zimmerman said. "First game, he loses up at Stony Brook. Not the way you want to start, but he played well. And to come in this week and get two wins as our starting goalie, it's just a great way to move forward."
Souder is quick to share credit with an offense that has scored 11 and 18 goals in back-to-back wins against Mount St. Mary's and Lafayette.
"If the offense is going to keep doing that, my confidence is going to shoot through the roof," he said. "Our defense has played well all year, and stepping in with them, they've accepted me and molded with me. With nine, [11] and 17 [saves in his three starts], I'm just hoping it just keeps moving forward."
Circling back to "Three Things to Watch" …
1) Go early. The Leopards' struggles in the first and second quarters have been well-documented, and UMBC took advantage by outscoring them 3-1 in the first and 2-1 in the second. But the Retrievers put the contest away when they scored the first five goals of the third period en route to a 7-1 difference. Junior midfielder Jack Gannon, who scored all four of his goals in the third, said the team was eager to get out of the gate early after halftime.
"In the third quarter, we just wanted to come out strong," he said. "We wanted to win the first five minutes. We won the opening faceoff and we just came down and possessed the ball and played our game and got open shots."
2) Go to the goal. Lafayette sophomore goalie Matthew Cortese had entered the game ranked ninth in the country in saves per game at 12.0 and he had recorded double-digit stops in seven starts. But he made just five stops while surrendering 11 goals before getting pulled in the third quarter in favor of junior Ben Falcone (McDonogh). Zimmerman had pointed out that Cortese liked to step out from the cage to cut off shooting angles, and junior midfielder Pat Young said UMBC's offensive players spent time honing their shooting.
"Our goalies have been going on a high arc," said Young, who posted five goals and one assist. "And before practice and after practice, we used trash cans and put them on a high arc. So we've been seeing it all week, and we were just really well prepared to take good-angled shots and change up our shots.
3) Go on faceoffs. After a 9-of-16 outing against Mount St. Mary's, senior long-pole Nathan Klein went just 5-of-14 on Friday night. But freshman Brett Malamphy (Arundel) won 12-of-14 draws to help the Retrievers claim 17-of-28 for the game. That advantage was especially pronounced in the third quarter when they won 8-of-9 faceoffs, and Zimmerman said those wins helped fuel the offensive explosion in that period.
"We were able to score a goal and come right back and get the ball and score another, and that's what this game is all about, building on momentum," he said. "I thought that because our faceoff guys and wings were doing a heck of a job, we were getting the ball right back and we were attacking them, and I think the guys' confidence just grew, and we started putting points on the board."