For the second time in three years, the UMBC men's soccer team has won the America East title and will represent the conference in the NCAA men's soccer College Cup.
The second-seeded Retrievers and fifth-seeded New Hampshire Wildcats played to a 0-0 double-overtime draw Saturday night, but host UMBC advanced to the championships by prevailing, 4-2, in penalty kicks.
UMBC junior goalkeeper Phil Saunders (Perry Hall) was named the championship's Most Outstanding Player. Saunders made five saves, including a point-blank stop in the second overtime, and stopped a pair of UNH attempts in the penalty-kick shootout. He also blanked Stony Brook, 1-0, in the semifinals.
The Retrievers will compete in their third Division I NCAA championship, with previous appearances in 1999 and 2010. The team will learn its first-round opponent on Monday afternoon when the brackets are announced.
MAAC final: Loyola lost to Niagara, 1-0, in overtime in the title game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on a goal by Bryan Da Cruz in the 102nd minute.
Seniors Hector Arellano, Kevin Curran and Zach Tweddell represented the Greyhounds (13-6-1, 7-1-0 MAAC) on the All-Tournament team for their play defensively. Niagara is 13-1-4.