In all respects- offensively, defensively, “goaltendingly”- University of Maryland Baltimore County had it in for UVM on Saturday afternoon. Though giving a valiant effort and coming within striking distance at certain times of the game, the men’s lacrosse team was no match for the nationally ranked Retrievers, leaving the field with a final score of 10-6. Vermont looked good coming out the gate; controlling the ball well and dominating the offensive possession, but an unassisted goal by midfielder James Hyland of UMBC quickly turned the momentum. With a combination of a good defense that forced sloppy shots by UVM and excellent goaltending by Retriever Jeremy Blevins UMBC had a 4-0 lead with the opening quarter winding down. However, in what could be considered the highlight play of the game, midfielder Pete Hein of UVM scored at the buzzard, giving UVM a glimmer of hope to begin the second quarter. UVM began the second quarter as it ended the first, with a quick goal; this time scored by midfielder Austin Humphries. The Catamounts were able to sneak a couple more goals past the near-impenetrable UMBC defense, and by the end of the half UVM had clawed back to be within one goal with a score of 5-4. 5-4 would be the closest Vermont came, however. The beginning of the second half sparked an onslaught by UMBC. Marked by a slow, calculated offense defined by tight passing, UMBC scored three goals within the first six minutes of the second half, including one during a powerplay. The Catamounts could simply not get anything going on offense during the third period. That changed in the beginning of the fourth quarter, when despite their opponent’s efforts to slow the pace of the game down and control the ball, Vermont scored two goals in the first seven minutes, rekindling the glimmer of hope for a victory. With the score now at 8-6, Vermont turned towards aggressive play on defense to try and force a Retriever turnover. Ultimately however this led to the final nail in the Catamount coffin when Humphries committed a penalty, leading to a powerplay goal by UMBC with a little over five minutes left. Another penalty would result in yet another goal for Maryland, and would leave the score of the game at 10-6. Retriever Sophomore Terry Kimener led all players with four goals. He is currently tied for third on the Retriever roster in points with 23 (10 goals, 13 assists), behind Junior Drew Westervelt (15 goals, 11 assists), and Senior Brendan Mundorf (12 goals, 16 assists). University of Maryland Baltimore County is currently ranked 15th in the nation and holds second place in the America East conference behind Stony Brook, who are ranked 19th nationally. Humphries led all Catamounts with two goals, bringing his total to fifteen for the season, and landing him in fourth place in total points on the team behind junior Sean Layton (22 goals and 14 assists), sophomore Jamie Kirk (11 goals and 26 assists), and senior Mike Maher (26 goals and 12 assists). Vermont, due to a 0-4 in conference record, despite an 8-5 overall record currently holds fifth place in the America East. The Catamount’s last regular season game is next Saturday when they travel to the University of Hartford to play the Hawks.