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News Release

Men's Soccer Heads to Las Vegas for UNLV Rebel Classic

9/13/2006

Weekend in Vegas:  This will be the men’s soccer program’s third trip to Las Vegas and the Retrievers have fared well in the desert in the past. In 1994, UMBC knocked off UNLV (3-2) and, ironically, UC-Irvine (4-2) in the Rebel Invitational. The team returned in 1999 and upended UNLV (1-0) and San Diego State (2-0) en route to a 19-1-2 season and a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

 

Recap:  The Retrievers allowed two goals in the second half of each game in losses at Drexel (2-1) and vs. La Salle (2-0) in the Drexel Invitational this weekend. Sophomore midfielder Kevin Gnatiko (Montgomery Village, Md./Watkins Mill) gave UMBC a 1-0 lead midway through the second half vs. Drexel. Despite playing a man down for the final 28 minutes, the Dragons scored off of two free kicks to triumph, 2-1.

 

The Top Dog: UMBC Head Men’s Soccer Coach Pete Caringi coached his 500th collegiate game vs. Drexel on September 8 in the first game of the Drexel Invitational. Caringi is 338-127-36 (.711) in his 26th season as a collegiate head coach and 168-100-28 (.615) 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.   

 

Program Success: UMBC has posted winning records in eight straight years and only have one losing record in 16 years under Coach Caringi.

 

That’s Odd:   Under Coach Caringi, in odd-numbered years, UMBC has a record of 92-46-17 (.648), while in even-numbered years, the Retrievers are 75-50-10 (.593).

 

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

 

Tournament-Tested: This will be UMBC’s fourth and final tournament setting during the regular season.  UMBC opened the season with a win over St. Joseph’s (5-1) and a tough setback to nationally-ranked Virginia Tech (3-2) in their own adidas Kick Off Classic. The following weekend, UMBC 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  and senior forward David Feazell were named to the All Tournament Team for the second consecutive week.

 

More Mezz and Feaz: In the very early stages of the season, Kevin Mezzadra leads America East Conference in scoring (1.50 ppg), shots (3.50 pg) and is tied for the lead in goals scored (0.67 gpg). He now has 14 career goals, ten of which have been scored in his last 22 appearances.  Feazell is fifth in the AEC in both points per game (1.17) and tied for fourth in goals per game (0.50). Like Mezzadra, he also had scored four goals in his first two seasons, but has eight in his last 24 outings.

 

Is Steve King No Longer a Mystery?: Sophomore netminder Steve King has now played 1,714 consecutive minutes for the Retrievers. He posted shutouts in eight of his first ten starts, but has not earned a shutout in his last eight appearances, allowing 18 goals.

 

Other Notes: The Retrievers’ 1-4-1 start is their slowest in 21 years of NCAA Division-I play… the previous low water mark was a 1-3-2 opening to the 1988 season… defense was a concern entering the season, as UMBC had to replace a pair of four-year starters at central defense and those replacements, sophomores L.J. Pijnenburg (Lake Forest, New Zealand/Hamilton) and Jovan Petrovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Mayville (N.D.) State) are now both out indefinitely with injuries… Petrovic is questionable for play this weekend, while Pijnenburg is slated to return in a few weeks…dating back to last season, UMBC has allowed goals gone in eight straight games… they had not gone more than six games without a shutout since the 1997 season, when they allowed goals in 12 consecutive games

 

Last Non-League Game: UMBC will entertain Howard on September 20 prior to the beginning of league competition.