UMBC’s Pete Caringi named NSCAA National Coach of the Year

KANSAS CITY (Via UMBC) – UMBC Head Men’s Soccer Coach Pete Caringi has been named the 2014 National Division I Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

The award is voted upon by Caringi’s fellow coaches who are members of the NSCAA. It is the Retriever mentor’s third top honor in 30 years, as he was selected as the National Junior College Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1989. At the senior college level, Caringi earned South Atlantic regional honors in 1999 and Northeast regional honors in 2013.

Caringi just completed his 24th season at UMBC and has piloted the Retrievers to America East titles and NCAA Championship appearances of four of the last five seasons and five overall.

The 2014 Retrievers advanced further in an NCAA tournament than any previous UMBC squad in school history. UMBC set a tournament record by knocking off four opponents on the road and all by shutout, before falling, 1-0, to eventual national champion Virginia in the national semifinals.

The 2013 squad received a first round bye and played UConn in the Second Round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup at Retriever Soccer Park. It was the first time in school history that UMBC competed in and hosted an NCAA Division I Tournament contest. The program finished at No. 8 in the final NCAA RPI rankings.

For the second time in Caringi’s tenure, UMBC finished the 2013 campaign with the top winning percentage in the nation (16-1-5, 84.1%). The 1999 squad, UMBC’s first Division I team to reach the NCAA Championships, posted the nation’s best mark at 19-1-2.

The Baltimore native has an overall record of 260-150-59 (.619) during his tenure on Hilltop Circle and in 32 years as a head coach, he is 430-177-67 (.691).

Caringi was named UMBC’s fourth head coach after 10 sensational years at Essex Community College, where he compiled an overall record of 170-27-8. He coached the Knights to the National Junior College championship game in 1984 and 1989 and was named NJCAA National Coach of the Year and Region XX Coach of the Year in both seasons.

In 1994, he was inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Hall of Fame, and in May 1998, he was inducted into the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was a member of the second class inducted into the University of Baltimore Athletic Hall of Fame.

Not only did Caringi have success at the junior college level, but he reached the top in the professional ranks, as well. In 1990, he coached the Maryland Bays of the American Professional Soccer League to a 20-5 record and the league title.

Caringi was a two-time All-American at the University of Baltimore (1976, 1977) and is the school’s all-time leading goal-scorer with 70 goals. Moreover, the Retriever mentor is 21st on the NCAA Division II all-time goals list and is 39th in scoring with 159 points. He captained the 1975 NCAA Division II national championship team and played for the Washington Diplomats of the North American Soccer League in 1978.

Caringi earned a bachelor’s degree from UB in 1978. He and his wife, Susan, have two children, Christina, a spring 2011 UMBC graduate, and Pete III, who became UMBC’s first-ever NSCAA Division First Team All-American after his senior campaign of 2013.