Courtesy: Tod Fierner Justin Grider had three shots against UMBC to lead the Gaels.

Annapolis, MD – The Saint Mary’s men’s soccer team opened the 2008 season with a 4-2 loss to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County in the Navy Invitational on a rainy Friday afternoon from the Naval Academy. Saint Mary’s got goals from Yousef Samy and Joe Claycomb, but it wasn’t enough as UMBC's Andrew Gillis came off the bench to tally four points on a goal and two assists.

The Gaels took the pitch and put some early pressure on the UMBC Retrievers defense, as freshman Justin Grider and freshman Joel Fumia had good scoring opportunities within the first 20 minutes of the game. Unlike the Gaels, UMBC did not miss on their first two shot, as John Paul Waraksa fired a wide-open left-footed shot from the top of the into the right corner of the goal. Andrew Gillis set up the Waraksa goal in the 21st minute on a give-in-go from 18 yards out.

Gillis would set up the second UMBC goal, on a very similar play as the first goal. This time it was Levi Houapeu on the receiving end of the pass. Houapeu shot came from about 20 yards out and beat SMC goalkeeper Jason Badger to the upper left corner at the 34:12 mark. The Retrievers held the 2-0 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Gaels pressured the UMBC goalkeeper, taking four shots in the first 15 minutes of the half, but came up empty. UMBC’s Gillis struck again at the 67:54 mark, but this time he was on the scoring end of the Retrievers’ goal. He was in a one vs. one with a Saint Mary’s defender, made a few moves to create an open look on goal, then fired a shot from 10 yards out to the far post.

Following the third UMBC goal, Saint Mary’s was finally able to get on the scoreboard in the 71st minute of action. The first SMC goal came on a penalty kick of the foot of Yousef Samy. The free kick was set up when freshman Kyle Ciliento was tackled from behind in the box.

The Gaels answered again when Joe Claycomb scored his first goal at Saint Mary’s off a cross from Ciliento. Ciliento dribbled to the end line, made a perfect pass to the center of the goal, where Claycomb actually used his chest to push the ball across the goal line at the 78:22 mark. Just a minute and a half later, it looked like the Gaels would completely erase the three-goal deficit, but the header by Jordan Grider was cleared off the line by a UMBC defensive player.

UMBC’s Andrew Bulls scored an insurance goal at the 89:13 mark to put the game out of reach.

Saint Mary’s outshot the Retrievers 13-6 in the game, but could only manage six shots on goal. UMBC made the most out of its six shots, converting four goals, while putting five shots on net. SMC goalkeeper Jason Badger took the loss in his first game at SMC as he recorded just one save in the game. UMBC goalkeeper Steve King made three saves to earn the win.

Saint Mary’s will return to action on Sunday, August 31 when the Gaels play Navy in the final game of the 2008 Navy Invitational. Kick-off is slated for 9:00 AM Pacific Time from the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility on the Naval Academy Campus.