Newark, Del. – UMBC junior midfielder Joseph Pratt (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) was credited with the game’s lone goal in the 80th minute and red-shirt sophomore goalkeeper Billy Heavner (Landisville, Pa.) shutout the third-ranked scoring offense in the nation as  the Retrievers defeated No. 23 Delaware, 1-0, at Stuart and Suzanne Grant Stadium.

The victory was the 250th at UMBC for Head Coach Pete Caringi in his 24th season at the helm.

“I honestly did not know (about the milestone victory),”  said Caringi. “We were just focused on getting this win. It (the milestone) is a reflection of the fact that I have had a lot of great players over my career.”

The Retrievers snapped a five-game winless streak and will enter America East Conference play at 4-4-2 overall. Delaware slipped to 7-3-0 on the campaign.

UMBC avenged its lone setback of the 2013 campaign with the victory. Delaware used a deflection off a Retriever defender to edge the host side, 1-0, in overtime on Oct. 1, 2013. The Retrievers finished the campaign at 16-1-3.

The Retrievers throttled the potent Blue Hen attack, holding the Hens to just two first half shots. Senior midfielder Geaton Caltabiano (Lothian ,Md./Mount St. Joseph) had the best chance of the half, forcing Hen netminder Borja Barbero to make a diving save on his 26 yard shot in the 38th minute.

UMBC, which outshot UD, 5-2, in the first half and had four of the five first half corners ,did not possess the same offensive energy in the final 45 minutes. But the defense in front of Heavner continued to keep the hosts out of prime scoring range.

Finally, the Retrievers managed to counter and were rewarded in the late stages of the game. Caltabiano whipped a ball into the box, where Pratt battled a Blue Hen defender for the ball and it glanced off one of the combatants and underneath the crossbar.

The goal was the first of Pratt’s tenure at UMBC.

UD put one late effort deep into the box, but Heavner aggressively came out to the 12 yard line to corral it.

UMBC outshot Delaware, 6-4, and Heavner only need to make a single save to record the victory. Barbero was credited with two saves for the Blue Hens.

The Retrievers played the game without leading scorer Kay Banjo, who left the field late in the George Mason contest on Saturday due to injury.

“I am extremely happy and proud of our performance and to get this win on the road against a nationally-ranked team,” said Caringi. “From the opening whistle, we played hard as we could, and on defense, that is as good as we’ve played this year.”

UMBC opens defense of their America East title on Saturday, Oct. 4 when they host UMass Lowell at Retriever Soccer Park. 

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