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News Release

Caringi To Coach 500th Career Game As Men's Soccer Prepares for Drexel Invitational

9/6/2006

UMBC Head Men’s Soccer Coach Pete Caringi will coach his 500th collegiate game vs. Drexel (1-1) on September 8 in the first game of the Drexel Invitational. The Retrievers will take on La Salle (1-2) in Sunday’s second game of the tournament.

 

Caringi is 338-125-36 (.713) in his 26th season as a collegiate head coach and 168-98-28 (.619) at the beginning of his 16th season at UMBC. Coach Caringi’s first ten seasons were spent at CCBC-Essex (Md.).

 

The Baltimore native is a two-time national coach of the year (1984, 1989), a three-time NCAA Division I conference coach of the year (1999, 2002, 2005) and has won championships as a player (1975 NCAA Division II title at the University of Baltimore) and as a coach (1990 APSL champion Maryland Bays). Caringi’s 1999 UMBC team posted the best record in the nation (19-1-2) and earned the school’s first trip to the NCAA Division-I Men’s Soccer Tournament. He is a member of the National Junior College Hall of Fame, the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame and the University of Baltimore Athletic Hall of Fame.    

 

Most Recently: UMBC (1-2-1) earned a 2-2 overtime tie vs. Gonzaga and fell 1-0 to U. Mass at Navy’s Anders Classic this weekend. Senior midfielder Kevin Mezzadra (two goals) and senior forward David Feazell were named to the All Tournament Team.

 

Similar Start: UMBC was 1-2-1 after four games last season and dropped to 1-3-1 after a 2-1 loss to VCU before a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) propelled the Retrievers to their eighth straight winning campaign.

 

Yutes: 19 players on UMBC’s 23-man roster have one year or less experience at the Division I level.

 

More Mezz and Feaz: In the very early stages of the season, Kevin Mezzadra leads America East Conference in scoring (2.25 ppg), shots (4.00 pg) and is tied for the lead in goals scored (1.0 gpg). Nationally, he ranks tied for 16th in goals per game and  tied for 22nd in scoring. He now has 14 career goals, ten of which have been scored in his last 20 appearances.  Feazell is fourth in the AEC in both points per game (1.75) and goals per game (0.75). Like Mezzadra, he also had scored four goals in his first two seasons, but has eight in his last 22 outings. Both players earned All Tournament team honors in the adidas Kick Off Classic, in addition to last weekend’s honors.

 

Is Steve King No Longer a Mystery?: Sophomore netminder Steve King has now played 1,534 consecutive minutes for the Retrievers. He posted shutouts in eight of his first ten starts, but has not earned a shutout in his last six appearances, allowing 14 goals. On the road last season, King was 3-1-1, with shutouts in four of the five games, including two in overtime.

 

We Only Work Weekends: The Drexel Invitational  is the third of four weekend tournaments for UMBC before they open America East Conference play on September 23 vs. Boston University. The Retrievers travel to Las Vegas to face UC-Irvine and the host Rebels on September 15 and 17. UMBC will entertain Howard on September 20 prior to the beginning of league competition.

 

Philly Phoes: UMBC is winless (0-3) in three previous meetings with Drexel, while they are 3-0 vs. La Salle. The Retrievers and Dragons have not met on the pitch since 1995 (a 4-2 Drexel win), while the last meeting with the Explorers occurred in 2000 (a 1-0 UMBC victory).