Last month it was the 16th seeded UMBC men's basketball team beating No. 1 Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. A couple weeks ago it was the UMBC men's lacrosse team defeating No. 1 Albany on home turf. On Saturday the UMBC women's lacrosse team tries to pull the Retrievers trifecta.
"We're just going to go out there and play our game and do the things that we've been doing great all season," said UMBC Head Coach Amy Slade. "Hopefully good things come in threes."
Coach Slade's squad visits No. 1 Stony Brook on Saturday. UMBC is vying to become the third Retrievers program in five weeks to take defeat the country's top-ranked team in their respective sport. The previous two have certainly paved the way.
"They see their counterparts doing it and they want to be a part of it too," added Slade.
"I think it definitely motivates us more. If they can do it we can do it," said UMBC junior captain Jenna Baverman. "It's definitely something that is reachable, which is awesome to have proof and just to be next in line to try to accomplish."
"For us it just means that we can do it," said UMBC midfielder Zoe Pekins. "It shows that UMBC isn't just an athletics and scholarly school. It can be both at the same time."
And you better believe coaches and players from men's basketball and men's lacrosse have offered their words of wisdom over the past few days.
"They pretty much said 'Good luck. You guys can do it.' It's pretty cool that they can look to us and be like you guys can do it as well," said Pekins.
"Everyone's just saying we know you have a big game coming up. Men's basketball and men's lacrosse have done something, it's your turn. Everyone's encouraging," added Baverman.
So how do the 10-5 Retrievers measure up against the undefeated, top-ranked Seawolves?
"Top to bottom their whole roster is just awesome," added Pekins. "I think we match up pretty well, as well. I think we're going to do really well head-to-head."
The upset bid Saturday begins at 3:00 p.m.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
