(Enlarge) UMBC sophomore Andrew Bulls celebrates as teammate Vince Savarese guides him along the sideline after Bulls scored the only goal in the Retrievers' 1-0 victory over Towson University. Bulls is leading the nation in goals scored in Division I. (Staff photo by Matt Roth)

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers expect good things to happen every time Andrew Bulls touches the ball.

The nation's leading scorer, boasting nine goals for UMBC, feels the same way.

Bulls proved that again in a 1-0 victory over Towson University Sept. 16 that gave UMBC a 12-11-3 lead in the overall series.

The 5-foot-10, 160-pound striker scored on a direct kick from 15 yards outside the box with 6:03 left in the first half, even though the ball didn't end up where it was intended to go.

"I was actually going for the wrong post," Bulls said about his only shot of the first half. "I actually meant to hit it to the left side, but things happened. I practice free kicks a lot in practice and I've been hitting them well all season. I'm finding the net and I know how to hit them."

UMBC coach Pete Caringi feels that Bulls is "one of the best strikers in the country. He got the opportunity and he made the best of it."

Bulls knows those chances don't come easily.

"This game was a battle," he said. "It was just a hard battle and we came out on top. We probably got one or two good looks -- and one fell in."

Towson couldn't say the same.

Although the Tigers (3-3) outshot the Retrievers, 13-7, leading scorers Liam Maloney (four goals, one assist) and Marco Mangione (three goals, two assists) were held in check.

"They put their opportunities in and that's a credit to them," Towson coach Frank Olszewski said. "Theirs went in and ours didn't."

UMBC's young defensive backs, freshman Liam Paddock, sophomores Vince Savarese and Jason McCarron and junior Chris Williams, pitched in with freshman goalie Phil Saunders on the shutout.

Saunders, an all-state fullback at Perry Hall High last season, made two game-saving stops in the final five minutes.

On the first, with 4:57 left, he dove far to his right to deflect Tommy Appel-Schumacher's shot before swatting Mangione's free kick over the crossbar to preserve the victory.

"Towson is a great team," Caringi said. "To beat them 1-0 with a very young team bodes well for the season."

The one-goal victory was the second in a row for the Retrievers (7-0), who have outscored opponents by a 23-4 margin this season.

"We were winning games 5-0 and 6-1 and that's not realistic on the Division-I level," Caringi said. "But it shows what we are capable of offensively."

With no seniors garnering any minutes this season, it's a wonder the Retrievers have been so successful, considering the team's lone senior, Andrew Gillis, has been sidelined all season with a foot injury.

Others have filled in admirably, including Williams and striker Levi Houapeu.

Houapeu, UMBC's second-leading scorer (five goals, six assists) was named to the all-tournament team at the adidas Classic while Bulls earned Most Valuable Player honors.

In a 3-1 semifinal win over St. Francis (Pa.) University, Houapeu had all three assists, and in the 2-1 championship game triumph over Mount St. Mary's University he scored the game-winner on a penalty kick in the 77th minute.

In a 3-0 win over Drexel Sept. 19, Houapeu scored all three goals.

Meanwhile, Williams has adapted to his role as the veteran leader in the back.

"I like being the center back right now, especially with the young guys outside and Liam in the middle," he said.

Williams and Savarese were also named to the adidas Classic all-tournament team.

"Chris has really established himself as a big-time defender," Caringi said. "He's captain of the team and he's matured a lot as a player. He's very good in the air and he's got great feet for a defender. He's sort of the anchor back there."

He plays in front of Saunders, who was a key performer for Perry Hall's 2008 Class 4A state finalists.

Zach Kane, now at Loyola College, was the keeper for that squad, but Caringi was aware of Saunders playing for the Baltimore Bays club team.

"He played the last year of high school as a back and made all-state, but we knew he was probably the best goalkeeper in the state," Caringi said.

Saunders is not the only rookie paying immediate rewards this season.

Freshman forward Matt Knight has contributed two goals and an assist and classmate Milo Kapor has a goal and two assists from the midfield.

Moreover, freshman Mark Lubetkin gave some quality minutes off the bench in the midfield against Towson, sharing time with juniors John Paul Waraska and Sean Rothe and sophomore Andy Streillein.

"At one time we had three freshmen in the midfield," Caringi said. "We have a lot of new players and that's the fun about what's going on here."

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