BALTIMORE- The UMBC women’s soccer team scored twice in a six-minute span in the first half and went on to blank visiting Howard, 3-0, at Retriever Soccer Park.

The Retrievers (3-2-2) extend their unbeaten streak to three, while Howard failed to win back-to-back games for the second time in 2013 and slipped to 2-3-1.

Red-shirt junior forward Jessy Brown (Plantation, Fla./American Heritage) scored her first collegiate goal and it turned out to be the game-winner in the 33^rd minute. Classmate Lilly Rydon (Stirling, South Australia) and sophomore Alexa Quaranta (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) each recorded their second strikes of the season, as UMBC hit the three-goal mark for the first time since a 5-0 win at St. Peter’s on August 31 of last season.

Freshman forward Victoria Burress (Bristow, Va./Patriot), who scored her first collegiate goal in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Loyola, contributed a pair of assists in the contest.

UMBC dominated time of possession and outshot the visitors, 15-1, for the contest. Retriever senior goalkeeper Lauren Kadet  (Oakville, Ont./St. Thomas Acquinas) earned the victory without posting a save, while Howard junior netminder Kyra Dickinson tallied six stops for the Bison.

The Retrievers broke on top late in the first half, as Burress found Brown just inside the Bison box area. Brown wheeled, eluded a defender, took one touch and hit a left-footed shot from 11 yards out beyond the reach of Dickinson and into the far right corner of the net.

Rydon took advantage of a failed HU clear in the 39^th minute, as she picked off a square pass at the 13-yard line, wheeled and knocked home a shot to Dickinson’s right.

UMBC put the game away early in the second half. In the 53^rd minute, Burress broke in with Quaranta on the right side and slotted a short pass to her adjacent teammate. Quaranta gathered the pass, and from 10 yards out, tucked a shot into the lower left corner of the net.

The Retrievers play game No. 2 in the current three-game homestand on Sunday, when they host Bucknell at 1:00 p.m.  

Notes: The Retrievers improved to 11-0-0 all-time vs. Howard…UMBC reached the three-win mark through seven games for the first time since 2006.