For the third time in four NCAA Division I tournament games, UMBC will face the unenviable task of knocking off a seeded opponent when the team clashes with No. 12 seed Creighton (16-3-2) in a quarterfinal contest Friday night at Morrison Stadium in Omaha.
And that suits the Retrievers (14-5-4), who have already evicted No. 4 seed Maryland and No. 13 seed Louisville from the postseason, just fine.
"Going into these games, I don't feel like we have as much pressure," said senior back Oumar Ballo, an Archbishop Curley graduate. "Since we're the underdogs, we don't have as much pressure as some of the other teams, some of the other bigger-name teams might have when they come out against us. I feel they have more pressure to perform."
Despite being unseeded, UMBC is making the program's first appearance in the Elite Eight. Last season, the squad earned the No. 16 seed, but lost in a shootout to Connecticut in the second round.
The underdog label might be a rallying cry for fans, but coach Pete Caringi Jr. said that status is not something the four-time America East tournament champions dwell on.
"I think nationally, we're the underdog because of the size of the school and the conference we come from," he said. "But that's not something we feed off of. We don't feed off that we're the underdog. We feel like we should have been here last year, and all along from Day One this year, our goal was to be where we are today and go further. So our goal is go further. We're not overwhelmed by where we are."
Senior back Jordan Becker said the absence of pressure has helped the players psychologically.
"We've got nothing to lose, and all of the pressure is on them," said Becker, the program's all-time leader in games played (82). "We can play free. We know how we want to play and we know how we can play. We just have to go out and execute. When there's not that added pressure that Maryland had or Louisville had to defend their home turf against the underdog, I think that helps us in a way. We've been called the road warriors, and it's true. We go into places, and we don't fear anyone, and we come out on top."