Last season, UMBC lacrosse defied all odds to win their second America East Conference championship by going 11-1 after two bad losses to open the season and then rallying from a nine-goal deficit in the first half to take down Albany. But the miraculous season ended in the first round of the NCAA tournament when UMBC (then ranked fifth in the nation) had to travel to Virginia (the No. 2 team in the nation) for a heartbreaking one-goal loss.

Coach Don Zimmerman is hoping to make sure no such scenario-the No. 5 team traveling to the No. 2 team-happens in the NCAA tournament this year. By loading the Retrievers' schedule with five tournament teams from a season ago and six pre-season top 20 teams, one being conference rival Albany.

"It is a tough schedule and the whole idea is to provide our guys a chance to play against good competition," said Zimmerman. "Also, it helps with our strength of schedule and our RPI."

The team is without three key players from a year ago: Midfielder Terry Kimener, defender Bobby Atwell, and face-off specialist Taylor Marino. But the cupboard is far from bare. This year's team returns 32 letter winners who scored 83 percent of the team's goals last year and the winningest active goalie in Jeremy Blevins, who has 32 wins coming into the season.

Kimener was the heart and soul of the team last season, taking home Player of the Year honors. Filling his spot at the center midfield position is Ohio State transfer Peet Poillon. Poillon, a senior, scored 32 goals last year as a Buckeye and comes into the season as a pre-season second team All-American.

"Peet is a kid who is a really good shooter, has a quick release, and gives us a guy that shoots the ball so well he draws the defense out and opens up the inside game," Zimmerman said.

Midfield is far and away the strength of this team. While Poillon, Kyle Wimer, and Alex Hopmann are tremendous starters, the more impressive part is the Retrievers' depth in this position. Zimmerman can go eight deep at midfield and still be equally effective as when he has his starting three in.

"Having good depth at the midfield is always important," he said. "We feel we have eight guys that can get the job done and it's really an advantage."

In the season opener against Delaware, whom UMBC beat for the first time in six years, 14-9, the midfield stepped up to produce the offense, combining for 11 goals. Hopmann scored a hat trick and Jamie Kimbles and Poillon also combined for three. But the day was all about Wimer, who scored a career-high five goals.

"For the first few minutes we didn't score anything and he got the ball, made some extra steps, and finished well," Zimmerman said. "To score five goals the way he did is pretty terrific."

Over winter break, Atwell tore his ACL while playing catch with his brother. He will be granted a medical red-shirt and will be available next year. Until then, his spot will be taken over by Brian Schneider, who missed all of last season with a concussion suffered in the pre-season. UMBC can also take comfort in knowing that Matt Kresse and Kevin Goedeke combined for 26 starts last season while Steve Settembrino saw significant action and is a key member of the man-down unit.

In a surprise move by Zimmerman, Settembrino started alongside Schneider and Kresse. This left Goedeke coming off the bench to bring in experienced legs down the stretch.

"Steve is a great story. Here's a guy who is a senior and has seen significant time on the man-down unit and was a leader and now has a chance to start," Zimmerman said. "It also lets us bring in Goedeke for fresh legs when we need him."

UMBC did allow nine goals in the game against Delaware. Still, with a fairly safe 14-5 lead in the final five minutes, Zimmerman started working in younger players to see what they could do.

The attack may be as deep as ever. Ryan Smith and Matt Latham, who scored three goals against the Blue Hens, both scored 29 goals last year. Chris Jones started the final 14 games of last season. Eric Gurnsey, who has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, is finally fully healthy and has the potential to make an impact off the bench while fighting for a starting job. Zimmerman can also call a trio of freshman led by highly-coveted recruit Rob Grimm, who combined for 56 goals and 59 assists his senior year of high school.

The most important question for the Retrievers this season is who will face-off. Last season, Marino went 167-327 on face-offs, missing just 28 opportunities to do the job. With his eligibility exhausted, it is an open competition between Lance Diamond, J.D. Harkey and freshman Justin Radebaugh for the job.

"Teams have their strengths and their weaknesses," Zimmerman said. "We're not winning face-offs but we are scoring goals. All losing a face-off means is you're starting on defense, but it's a long season and we'll eventually find somebody."