The UMBC men's lacrosse team's young defense has leaned heavily on senior goalkeeper Ruston Souder.
So far, that has been a solid strategy.
Souder, a Chesapeake (Anne Arundel) alum, made nine saves, picked up three ground balls and forced a turnover during UMBC's 10-6 league victory against UMass Lowell April 1. For that performance, he was named the America East Defensive Player of the Week.
More importantly, the Retrievers improved to 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2012. While the schedule gets tougher with games against Albany, Binghamton, Hartford and Vermont in April, UMBC has already proven it can be a force in the league.
