UMBC will host the 11th annual adidas Kick Off Men’s Soccer Classic

UMBC will host the 11th annual adidas Kick Off Men’s Soccer Classic on
Friday and Sunday, Sept. 7 and 9. The Retrievers entertain St. Francis
(N.Y.) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, after Navy opens the competition with a
2:00 p.m. contest vs. Iona. The Midshipmen take on the Terriers at noon
on Sunday, while UMBC ends the weekend of play by facing the Gaels at
2:30 p.m.

The Retrievers have a record of 13-4-3 in ten previous tournaments and
won titles in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2005.

UMBC (2-0) is off to its best start since 2001, as they swept a pair of
games and captured the Anders Soccer Classic at Navy last weekend.
Freshmen *B.J. Quigley* (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) and *Levi
Houapeu* (Germantown, Md./Watkins Mill) scored 26 seconds apart in the
2-1 win over Air Force and goalkeeper *Steve King* (Baltimore,
Md./Archbishop Curley) recorded the Retrievers’ first shutout in 21
games with a 2-0 victory over Temple. Defender *Philippe Bissohong*
(Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) and newcomer *Ime Umoh* (Baltimore,
Md./Calvert Hall/Methodist) also scored their first career goals in the
win over the Owls. *Kevin Gnatiko *(Montgomery Village, Md./Watkins
Mill), who had assists in both games, was named the tournament’s Most
Valuable Player and Houapeu, Bissohong and *Bryan Moffa* (Baltimore,
Md./Eastern Tech) earned all-tournament team honors.

St. Francis (N.Y.) (1-1) dropped its first game of the season, a 2-1
setback at Lafayette, but came away with a 3-2 overtime win over La
Salle in the Puma Soccer Classic at Lafayette. Freshman forward John
Sallhag scored all three goals vs. the Explorers, including the
game-winner on a penalty kick just 1:08 into overtime.

The Retrievers and Terriers are former league rivals as UMBC spent five
seasons (1998-2002) in the Northeast Conference. UMBC owns a 5-1-1
all-time record vs. St. Francis and are riding a five-game winning
streak. UMBC is ranked No. 10 in the Northeast region, while St. Francis
(N.Y.) is eighth (tied with Iona) in the North Atlantic.

Navy (ranked eighth in Middle Atlantic region)  enters this weekend’s
play at 1-0-1, after playing Temple to a 0-0 overtime draw and defeating
Air Force, 1-0.

Defenseman Will Riordon and goalkeeper Evan Barnes earned the Patriot
League\'s first installment of the men\'s soccer Defensive Player of the
Week and Goalkeeper of the Week accolades, respectively, for their roles
in last weekend\'s shutouts at the Anders Navy Soccer Classic. Senior
forward Travis King scored the game-winning goal vs. the Falcons.

Iona (1-1, ranked eighth in the North Atlantic) opened with a 2-1 win
over NJIT, but fell, 3-1 at Sacred Heart on Monday.

Paul Racines and Bryan Oelkers each scored their first goal of the year
for the Gaels in the win over the Highlanders. Despite a second half
goal by sophomore Fabian Contreras, the Gaels were unable to surpass the
Pioneers as the the hosts built a 2-0 lead and tacked on an insurance goal.

UMBC is 1-0-1 vs. Iona, and the last meeting was a 3-1 Retriever win in
the 2001 season opener.