UMBC head men's lacrosse coach Ryan Moran didn't shy away from a tough early-season schedule to challenge his players.
As a result, the Retrievers had some struggles, opening with three consecutive losses to nationally ranked teams on the road -- North Carolina Feb. 4, Johns Hopkins Feb. 11 and Richmond Feb. 18. UMBC, however, did learn some valuable lessons during that tough stretch and showed gradual improvement.
Everything finally came together during a dominant 15-4 victory against Mercer Feb. 25, which also gave Moran his first career win as a head coach. Now, UMBC has three more nonconference games before fully shifting its focus to the America East and perhaps a run to the NCAA Tournament.
