Maryland Women’s Soccer Opens With In-State Clash as UMBC Hosts Mount St. Mary’s

Maryland college soccer gets an immediate in-state matchup to open the 2026 season Thursday night when the UMBC Retrievers host the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers at Retriever Soccer Park.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, in Baltimore, with the game available on ESPN+. It will be the season opener for both programs and gives two Maryland teams an early opportunity to establish momentum before conference play arrives later in the fall.

For UMBC, Thursday also begins a particularly favorable stretch in the schedule. The Retrievers will play their first five games at home, beginning with Mount St. Mary’s before hosting American on Sunday, Fairmont State, West Chester and St. John’s later in August.

Mount St. Mary’s, meanwhile, will try to begin its second season under head coach Liis Abbott by making an early statement on the road.

UMBC Looking to Build on Defensive Progress

UMBC enters 2026 hoping to turn some of the progress made last season into a bigger jump in the America East.

The Retrievers finished 6-8-4 overall and 2-5-1 in conference play in 2025. The six victories represented UMBC’s most in a season since 2016. Perhaps even more encouraging was the improvement defensively. UMBC surrendered only 19 goals, its fewest in a full season since before the shortened 2020 campaign.

That gives UMBC a foundation to work with heading into the new season.

The biggest question comes in goal.

Junior Amara Codd is expected to take over as the starting goalkeeper after appearing three times last season. With UMBC losing its established starter from 2025, Codd will now have the opportunity to take control of one of the most important positions on the field.

UMBC also returns several important offensive pieces.

Senior forward Payton Schenning is the leading returning scorer after recording four goals and three assists last season. She gives the Retrievers an experienced attacker who has already shown the ability to create and finish scoring opportunities.

Sophomore midfielder Zoe Brossman could be one of the most interesting players to watch this season. Brossman earned America East All-Rookie honors in 2025 after scoring three goals with three assists during her freshman campaign.

A significant sophomore jump from Brossman combined with another productive season from Schenning could give UMBC more offensive punch.

The Retrievers also added seven freshmen to the roster, giving the program another group of young players to develop alongside its returning core.

Mount St. Mary’s Brings Back Much of Its Offense

Mount St. Mary’s enters the season in a different position.

The Mountaineers finished 3-12-2 overall and 1-9-2 in conference play during Abbott’s first season as head coach. Mount St. Mary’s scored 14 goals while allowing 44, leaving substantial room for improvement on both ends of the field.

However, there is reason for optimism in Emmitsburg.

Mount St. Mary’s brings back players responsible for nine of its 14 goals from last season, meaning Abbott will not have to completely rebuild the attacking group.

Senior Cassidy Nichols headlines those returners.

Nichols led the Mountaineers with four goals, two assists and 10 points in 2025. She will likely be the first player UMBC’s defense identifies whenever Mount St. Mary’s moves into the attacking third Thursday night.

Joelle Hamel also returns after scoring twice last year, while Erin Antone, Lillian Young and Peyton Meara each scored once.

Meara could be particularly important because of her experience and reliability. She played a team-high 1,413 minutes last season.

Antone logged 1,280 minutes and Peyton Gallagher played 1,278, giving the Mountaineers several experienced field players around their returning offensive threats.

Abby Makela Gives Mount Experience in Goal

One of the Mountaineers’ most experienced returning players is goalkeeper Abby Makela.

Makela made 16 starts as a freshman last season and accounted for 89 of Mount St. Mary’s 100 saves. UMBC lists her 2025 numbers as a 2.40 goals-against average and .718 save percentage.

Those numbers were affected by how much pressure Mount St. Mary’s faced defensively, but playing that many minutes as a freshman gave Makela experience that could benefit the Mountaineers in 2026.

Mount also returns goalkeepers Anna Joyce and Anna Wall, providing Abbott with experienced depth at the position.

Mount Adds 10 Newcomers

Abbott supplemented her returning roster with a large incoming class.

Mount St. Mary’s added 10 newcomers, including Akron transfer Fineen Cregan. Cregan recorded five points at Akron and gives Mount another collegiate-experienced option.

The Mountaineers also welcome nine freshmen.

Two of those players come from Maryland: Camryn Baker of Bel Air and Emma Tackish of Mechanicsville. The freshman class also includes Lyndsay Heath, Merete Drees, Jessica Ras, Lauren Lubarsky, Maya Chopra, Sophi Custard and Addy Gallagher.

Mount St. Mary’s was picked 12th in the Metro Conference preseason coaches’ poll with 39 points, so the Mountaineers will enter the year with an opportunity to outperform outside expectations.

Key Matchup: UMBC Attack vs. Mount Defense

The matchup to watch Thursday will be UMBC’s returning attackers against a Mount St. Mary’s defense looking for substantial improvement.

The Mountaineers allowed 44 goals in 17 games last season, while UMBC has Schenning and Brossman back as two proven offensive threats.

That should give UMBC an opportunity to test Mount early.

The Retrievers will want to control possession, force Mount St. Mary’s to defend for long stretches and generate quality opportunities rather than settling for low-percentage shots.

For Mount St. Mary’s, the formula could be different.

The Mountaineers may look to stay organized defensively, rely on Makela when necessary and create counterattacking opportunities for Nichols and the returning offensive group.

An early goal for Mount would dramatically change the complexion of the game.

Familiar Maryland Opponents

UMBC has historically controlled the series, although the two athletic departments currently list slightly different historical totals.

UMBC’s game notes list the Retrievers as 17-5 all-time against Mount St. Mary’s and 8-0 against the Mountaineers in Baltimore. Mount St. Mary’s, meanwhile, lists UMBC as holding a 15-5 series advantage entering Thursday. Both schools agree that UMBC owns the overall advantage.

The recent series has produced some competitive games.

Mount St. Mary’s earned victories in 2021 and 2023, while UMBC won the most recent meeting at Retriever Soccer Park in 2024.

In that game, UMBC scored twice in the second half to earn a 2-1 victory.

That recent history makes Thursday more than simply a tune-up before conference schedules begin.

It is an early Maryland Division I matchup between programs that know each other well.

Mount Gets Another Maryland Matchup Sunday

Thursday will not be Mount St. Mary’s only in-state matchup of opening week.

The Mountaineers return to Emmitsburg on Sunday, Aug. 16, to host Towson at 6 p.m. at Waldron Family Stadium.

That means Mount opens 2026 with consecutive games against Maryland opponents: UMBC and Towson.

For Maryland college soccer fans, it creates an early opportunity to see how three local programs stack up before their respective conference schedules begin.

UMBC Hosts American Sunday

UMBC will remain home following Thursday’s opener.

The Retrievers host American University at 6 p.m. Sunday at Retriever Soccer Park.

American finished 3-10-4 overall and 3-5-1 in Patriot League play last season while being outscored 30-14. The Eagles have since made a coaching change, hiring Phil Casella after he spent nine seasons at Wagner.

Junior forward Nariah Goldman is American’s leading returning scorer after scoring two goals last season.

Goalkeeper will be one of American’s biggest uncertainties, with Addison Zerkle and Riley Molbury entering the season without collegiate game experience.

UMBC and American played to a 1-1 draw in Washington last season. Misa Kasparcova gave UMBC a first-half lead before Avery Klingensmith tied the match in the second half.

American owns a 15-7-3 advantage in the historical series according to UMBC.

MSB Prediction

UMBC appears to enter Thursday as the stronger team on paper.

The Retrievers won twice as many games as Mount St. Mary’s last season, return two proven offensive contributors in Schenning and Brossman and will have the benefit of opening at Retriever Soccer Park.

But season openers can be unpredictable.

Mount St. Mary’s brings back most of its scoring, an experienced goalkeeper and a roster that now has a full year under Abbott. Nichols is also capable of creating problems if UMBC gives her space around the penalty area.

The biggest difference could be UMBC’s defense. If the Retrievers can maintain the defensive standard they established in 2025 while Schenning and Brossman generate chances at the other end, UMBC should have an opportunity to start 2026 with a victory.

Prediction: UMBC 2, Mount St. Mary’s 1

Regardless of the result, Thursday provides a great way to begin the Maryland college soccer season: two in-state Division I programs meeting under the lights in Baltimore with both starting 2026 at 0-0.

Game Information

Mount St. Mary’s at UMBC
Date: Thursday, Aug. 13
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Retriever Soccer Park — Baltimore, Maryland
Streaming: ESPN+

American at UMBC
Date: Sunday, Aug. 16
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Retriever Soccer Park — Baltimore, Maryland
Streaming: ESPN+

Towson at Mount St. Mary’s
Date: Sunday, Aug. 16
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Waldron Family Stadium — Emmitsburg, Maryland