One of several areas of concern for UMBC, which has dropped two straight after opening the season with three consecutive victories, is a trend in which the team has fallen behind and had to dig itself out of a hole.

The No. 4 Retrievers' 14-11 loss to No. 8 Johns Hopkins was highlighted by a 3-1 deficit to start the contest, and after junior attackman Chris Jones opened the third quarter with a score to narrow the gap to two, the Blue Jays went on a 5-0 run that proved insurmountable.

In last night's 6-5 loss to No. 6 Princeton, UMBC owned a 2-1 edge at halftime, but the Tigers scored five unanswered goals and were able to withstand a furious fourth-quarter rally to secure the win. Even in a victory over Rutgers last month, the Retrievers trailed 3-0 before recording a 17-10 victory.

"We definitely need to come out a little stronger," UMBC senior goalkeeper Jeremy Blevins (Calvert Hall) said. "When we've got to dig back, especially against a great defense like [the Tigers] have, it's going to be tough to get those goals back. We just need to start doing the little things better."

Other notes:

* Princeton freshman Tyler Fiorito started and finished his second straight game. With Fiorito, the Tigers defense stymied a Retrievers offense that had averaged 13.8 goals a contest. Fiorito, who has posted a 6.40 goals-against average and a .610 save percentage, has sort of put the goalie rotation with junior Nikhil Ashra on hold. "He's ridiculous," Princeton coach Bill Tierney said of the McDonogh graduate. "The thing that highlights it the most is the kid [Ashra] sitting behind him on the bench. That kid is as good as anybody in the country. That's how good [Fiorito] is."

* The Tigers opened the season with a 3-0 record for the first time since 2001 when the program claimed the last of its six national championships. Fiorito said this year's squad is trying to re-capture that magic. "I think we've really tried to change things and get it back to the way Princeton was," he said. "We're working extra hard in the morning at 6:30, running and lifting. Guys want to turn things around and make it better."