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News Release
Force 3 UMBC Athlete of the Week: Kevin Mezzadra
9/6/2006
Force 3 UMBC Athlete of the Week: Kevin Mezzadra
By Tim Conway, UMBC Athletic Communications
Name: Kevin Mezzadra
Sport/Position: Men’s Soccer/Midfield
Hometown/High School: Fallston, Md./Loyola-Blakefield
Last Week: 4 goals, 1 assist, 9 points – 2 goals, 1 assist vs. St. Joseph’s (8/25); 2 goals vs. Gonzaga (9/2).
Season Stats: 4 goals, 1 assist, 9 points
Retrievers Last Week:
Season Record: 1-2-1
With the loss of senior captains Matt McGowan, Marcus Gross and Andy Marchica, as well as five other seniors, the men’s soccer team has holes to fill in the leadership category.
Enter Fallston, Md., native Kevin Mezzadra.
Mezzadra, a forward-turned-midfielder, enters his senior season as the Retrievers’ leading returning scorer and is already off to a roaring start. His early season efforts have earned Mezzadra the first Force 3 UMBC Athlete of the Week award.
After being named to the America East All-Conference Second Team in 2005 and America East All-Rookie Team in 2003, the economics major has already made his mark in the conference.
This year looks to be no different, as the former Loyola-Blakefield standout has already recorded four goals and one assist for nine points in four games in 2006. Last season, he finished with six goals, two assists and 14 points.
However, those goals don’t matter all that much to Mezzadra unless his team is winning. Despite being the team’s top goal scorer last year and so far this season, Mezzadra does not tend to focus on his personal achievements. Rather than setting a goal for points scored, he just wants to make sure he contributes to the team’s success.
“We have a very young team this year with nine freshmen,” he said. “It’s going to be a very tough challenge in the conference this year.”
It may be a young team, but the Retrievers have already proven themselves formidable opponents in their first four games, with even tougher competition on the horizon. Though their record stands at 1-2-1, the Retrievers played nationally ranked Virginia Tech tough before losing, 3-2, and they fell to an undefeated
UMBC’s lone victory was a 5-1 trouncing of
The team will travel to
“I think [the UNLV tournament] will be a great experience for such a young team,” Mezzadra said. “There will be some really good competition and it seems like it’ll be a great environment.”
If there’s anything that Kevin Mezzadra is not when it comes to soccer, it’s young. He’s been playing since he was 3 years old.
“My father never played, but he has coached for a long time,” he said. “He and my older brother Rob are the main reason I started to play soccer.”
His father and brother influenced him to get onto the field, but once he was there, Mezzadra looked to his coaches for the inspiration and drive to play.
“I liked the community when I looked at UMBC, but the coaches were really the reason I came here,” he said. “Whenever I’m down, the coaches’ motivation gets me through. Nothing can compare to the thrill I get out of soccer. It’s all about confidence.”
Confidence. Any good team leader has plenty of it, and Mezzadra, a tri-captain, is no exception.
“Kevin’s the leader of this team,” assistant coach Anthony Adams said. “All the guys look up to him. He has an air about him around the goal that he’s full of confidence.”
Mezzadra has had his share of time around the goal, so far amassing 14 goals, 7 assists and 35 points in his career at UMBC, and he’s not done yet.
With the season not even a quarter over, Mezzadra has the opportunity to finish his career on a very high note. But the games aren’t what he’s going to remember when he looks back at his years at UMBC.
“The friends I’ve made through soccer and school are what I’ll remember,” he said. “I’ve been given so many opportunities to meet so many different people from different places. My best friend right now is from
Mezzadra will leave UMBC in the hands of a young team when he graduates, and he had this to say to his teammates and any new athletes at UMBC: “Stay positive through all the tough times. You’ll always have people to look up to and turn to during those times.”