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News Release

2004 MEN'S SOCCER SCHEDULE: "TOUGHEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY"

6/16/2004

The 2004 UMBC Men’s Soccer schedule is expected to be the most difficult in school history, according to Retriever Head Coach Pete Caringi.

The defending America East regular season champions face a rigorous September, which features non-conference match-ups at ACC foes North Carolina State (Sept. 15) and (#17 in the final NSCAA poll) Virginia (Sept. 29) and a home date with nationally-ranked Old Dominion (Sept. 18). UMBC kicks off the season by hosting Georgia Southern, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and local rival Towson in the adidas Kick Off Tournament on September 4 and 6 and will also play non-league contests vs. South Atlantic regional foes Mt. St. Mary’s, George Washington, Navy, and Howard.

UMBC (10-3-5, 5-1-3 AEC in ’03) opens America East play at Albany on September 25. The Retrievers will play at defending league tournament champion Binghamton on October 20, and wrap up the regular season at home vs. Hartford on November 3. The six-team America East Tournament, to be played in three rounds at higher seeds, begins on November 6.

“It is without a doubt the toughest schedule we will have played since I have been at UMBC,” said Caringi, entering his 14th year at the helm. “Virginia is the defending ACC Champion, N.C. State was in the tournament with a young team and Old Dominion was ranked in the top 5 all last year. When you throw in local rivals Towson and GW along with our conference foes, the schedule will test our team early and often.”

The Retrievers will return eight starters and 17 letterwinners from last year’s team, which captured UMBC’s third regular season crown in the last five years. Senior forward Derek McElligott (Baltimore, Md./Greater Grace Academy), who has 39 goals in 3 seasons, headlines a strong returning cast.