Vince Savarese transfered to UMBC from Loyola and two years ago he went out on a mission to show his former team they made a mistake by not playing him. He'll probably be wanting to burry the point home this time too.

It’s time to move on. That was the message that men’s soccer coach Pete Caringi Jr. has been preaching all week long after his team took No. 1 Maryland to double overtime last Tuesday in a 4-3 thriller.

“You have to forget about it,” he said. “It was a great game and you’ll always remember the great games but it will have no barring on tomorrow’s game and it will have no barring for the rest of the year.

“You play a game and whether you win or lose you take something out of every game but when you have to prepare for the next game and you dwell on it either way if you won or you lost you’re not going to be prepared for the next game. What ever emotion they [the team] had after the Maryland game, it’s over with.”

For the past week he and his team have been focusing on Loyola, who they will square off against tomorrow night in their first road game of the season.

Last season UMBC was knotted at zero with the Greyhound but in the 28th minute the game was stopped when the officials spotted lightning. Two years ago the game was called early as well when rain forced the game to be plays at UMBC Stadium but eventually flooded the field and made it unplayable.

In 2007 the in-state teams renewed their rivalry after a four-year hiatus but have only played twice with the other two games having been rained out. In those two games the teams have split with 1-0 scores. The last time the two teams squared off the Retrievers walked away as the victors after Andrew Bulls scored on a free kick in the 44th minute in improve the team’s record to 8-0-0.

The two teams have met 24 times in their histories and after going undefeated against the Retrievers in 21 games UMBC has taken two of the last three in the series, though Loyola still leads it heavily, 18-2-2.

“It’s just always a good game,” Caringi said. “They’re well coaches, they have a great program, great tradition, great reputation and we have a lot of guys that are local. It’s a school that I had a lot of respect for because, it goes back to when I used to play, they’ve always been one of the top programs.”

While UMBC saw their 12-game unbeaten streak snapped a week ago, Loyola has won three-straight and has gone unbeaten in their last four with victories over Campbell, Towson, and St. Francis (PA), improving their record to 4-1-1 on the season.

The lone game shared between the two teams this season was against Navy and both teams drew the Midshipmen, though Loyola’s was a 3-3 game while UMBC’s was 1-1.

So far this year Loyola has yet to find one dominant scorer, which they lose then Phil Bannister graduated after leading them to the NCAA tournament in 2010, but they do have several guys capable of spreading a defense out and scoring.

But Caringi is not looking at or preparing for Loyola as if they are any different than Maryland, which had one single dominant striker that could break defenses and make his teammates better.

“Loyola is a very good team and we have a lot of respect for them,” Caringi Jr. said. “Our preparation and how we train, it’s the same mentality. They’re and excellent program and it’s always been a good game so it’s not like we’re looking at them any different than Maryland.”

Sophomore Geaton Caltabiano (2 goals, 3 assists) and Stephen Dooley (2 goals, 1 assist) currently lead the Greyhounds with seven and five points, respectively, but four other players have been able to find the back of the next for them this season.

But UMBC will be getting a big boost to their defense that allowed four goals against the Terps after only allowing one goal in their first four games: Daniel Welsh.

The sophomore center back was forced to sit on the sidelines against Maryland while he served a one-game red card suspension, received against Navy. He return also allowed senior Vince Savarese, who transferred from Loyola four years ago, to move back to his natural right back position, making for one half of a back line that allows very few chances for the opposing offense to score.

“I just think Daniel is one of the better backs in the country,” Caringi Jr. said. “I think having Daniel against Maryland would have helped us a lot but having said that the players that replaced him did a good job … but, I’d rather have Daniel in the lineup every time we play because I think he’s one of the best players in the country.”

If the defense can get back on track with Welsh returning to the lineup then UMBC’s only worry might be offense. Injuries and the graduation of Levi Houapeu put UMBC’s incredibly high-scoring offense in the tank early in the season but against Maryland they broke free and scored three goals, matching what they scored in the four games they played in before hand.

“It’s slowly coming together; we’re still getting players back,” Caringi Jr. said. “It was nice to score three goals against Maryland … I think goal scoring is a confidence thing.”

Caringi Jr. pointed out that he believes Sean Rothe, who scored two goals and had an assist against Maryland, should be confident coming off a great game while Pete Caringi III may have gotten a boost after scoring a diving-header against the Terps.

So far this season Rothe leads the team with five points while Andrew Bulls has scored a goal and had two helpers. Caringi III, Streilein, and Jordan Backer have all also found the back of the next this season.

The Retrievers will have a tough task at hand getting the ball in the goal against Kyle Whittman, who ranks 14th in the nation with a .872 save percentage and 34 total saves but after a week off from games, which Caringi Jr. used like it was the preseason by running many different drills and doing a lot of training, UMBC should be up for the challenge.

Andrew Bulls is on the preseason Hermann Trophy watch list, which goes to the top collegiate soccer player.

Already named a Third-Team Preseason All-American by College Soccer News, senior Andrew Bulls has been named a preseason All-American by Soccer American and was named to the Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy Watch list, which goes to the top collegiate male and female soccer players.

Bulls showed his offensive ability immediately as a freshman when injuries forced the player recruited as a back to play up top as a forward and he scored a team-high eight goals, which ranked fifth in the America East. That season Bulls also had two assists and finished with the most points among freshmen, tied for sixth in the conference, and was a unanimous selection to the conference’s All-Rookie team.

As a sophomore Bulls continued to develop into one of the nation’s best players and finished second in the nation in points after scoring 15 goals and 11 assists. His 41 points was only behind his own teammate, Levi Houapeu.

His efforts that season garnered him First-Team All-Conference honors, the America East Striker of the Year award, and College Soccer News Third-Team All-American honors.

Last season Bulls was moved from striker, where he scored 23 goals in two seasons, to midfield. While he did not but up the incredibly impressive goal totals, though he did still score five, he set an America East record for assists, with 15, on his was to repeating as a First-Team All-Conference selection.

While Bulls very well may have to start the season in the midfield, as several injuries have limited the number of experienced players available there, he should once again prove to be one of the nation’s best goal scorers and with the graduation of Houapeu, the offense is going to be feeding to him.

Andrew Bulls needs 23 more points to be UMBC's all-time leading scorer.

With the loss of Levi Houapeu to graduation the men’s soccer team is going to be relying heavily on Andrew Bulls to lead their high-octane offense. That should not be a problem at all as the senior forward/midfielder has loads of talent, which lead to him being selected to the College Soccer News Third-Team Preseason All-American squad.

Bulls was a Third-Team All-American in 2009 after scoring 15 goals with 11 assists and has been named to an All-Conference squad each of his three seasons in the black and gold.

Last season Bulls moved from forward back to midfield and recorded 15 assists, which ranked third in the nation. He is the first Retriever in school history to record at least 25 goals and 25 assists in his career and enters the 2011 season with 28 apiece. He need only one more assists to become UMBC’s all-time leader in the category and needs 23 points to become the Retrievers’ all-time leading scorer at the NCAA Division I level.

Bulls was named the America East Striker of the Year in 2009 and should contend for a top award again this season.

UMBC finished in third place in the Commissioner’s Cup standings last season and there is plenty of reason to believe they will be more successful this season.

With the 2011-2012 athletic season starting in only a few days when the women’s soccer team plays their season opener here are five bold predictions for this upcoming year.

The women’s sports will break through

Ali Loynchan

Last season the volleyball team shocked a lot of people when they took an incredibly young group to finals of the America East tournament. Meanwhile, the women’s basketball team won their first-ever regular season championship and the women’s lacrosse team played in their second-straight championship game.

There is a lot of reason to believe that all three of those teams will again contend for a championship and while I’m at it, I’m saying at least two of the three will.

Last year the volleyball team had 14 players on it, 10 of them were only freshmen or sophomores, getting significant playing time. While losing Sabrina Hoeks and Bianca Sande is going to be tough both on the court and in the locker room there is plenty of leadership to be provided from their four upper classmen and plenty of talent on the roster. Ian Blanchard has also added an incredibly talented freshman class again, led by Hannah Schmidt, the Baltimore Sun and Varsity Sports Network 2010 Player of the Year.

The women’s basketball team returns three all-conference players, including two Player of the Year candidates. All three will be seniors with plenty of experience under their belts. While the team will have to replace two work-horses in Meghan Colabella and Michele Brokans, they have two eligible transfers capable of playing at a very high level while last year’s group of freshmen should be able to provide a lot in their sophomore seasons.

The women’s lacrosse team did lose a lot of talented offensive players, like Amanda Pappas, Erika Braerman, and Ashley Stodter, but there are still loads of talent left on the roster. First-team All-Conference Player Alicia Krause should once again lead the Retrievers while Emily Coady should bounce-back as a senior. The defense should also remain a solid unit with Lauren Mundell, Jessica Harkey, and Jamie Fahey all sticking around.

While I’m on the subject of women’s sports…

At least two female athletes will win Player of the Year awards

Michelle Kurowski

The only reasons the women’s basketball team did not have the America East Player of the Year last season was because Erin Brown and Michelle Kurowski were both so good that they split votes. Both should be in contention for it again this season and it might be the year one of them wins it.

Meanwhile, a member of the volleyball team will definitely be in contention of a significant award, which is what happens when you have a good team. Allie Spaay was in contention for the Setter of the Year award last year and she may have won it had she not missed significant time with an injury. Ali Loynachan should definitely be right there with the conference’s best hitters.

Alicia Krause will also be in major contention for the Player of the Year award in women’s lacrosse. Last season she was a major candidate for it after finishing with 35 goals, 15 assists, 29 ground balls, 32 draw controls, and 20 caused turnovers. With three of the team’s top five goal scorings having graduated she’ll have plenty more opportunities to score and the offense is definitely going to be going through here. Emily Coady could be a dark horse this season as well. She has a stellar sophomore campaign but was quiet last season as Erika Braerman ran the game behind the net, but now that position is open for Coady again.

Let’s also not forget about Abbey McKenney on the swimming team, who won the Most Oustanding Swimmer award after winning six gold medals at the America East Championship Meet, leading the Retrievers to a conference title.

Men’s Soccer will repeat as champions

Andrew Bulls

Whooh, that’s a pretty big prediction, especially since they lost a very talented group of seniors, including the nation’s leading scorer the past two seasons, Levi Houapeu, but the Pete Caringi lead Retrievers should once again be one of the best teams in the nation. With Andrew Bulls, Pete Caringi III, Nirav Kadam, and incoming All-American Kadeem Dacres the Retrievers should once again have a very potent offense. While John Paul Waraksa and Chris Williams will both be missed on the defensive end, the return of Sean Rothe should help bolster a defensive unit with Vince Savarese, Liam Paddock, and Daniel Welsh that played very well last season.

They team will once again be having a very interesting goalkeeper battles going into the season but with three incredibly talented players at the position, they’ll be in great shape no matter who wins it.

Caringi also brought in a very strong freshman class, led by Zach Wenger, who has been playing against top-notch competition his entire youth career as a part of the United Stats National Team.

Men’s Basketball will bounce back significantly

Chris De La Rosa

The last two seasons have been very difficult for the men’s basketball team, going a combined 9-51. But the team should definitely be much better this season. They probably won’t contend for a championship or anything but they very well could finish in the top half of the nine-team conference.

While the team does lose four players that saw significant time last season Chris De La Rosa may have been the conference best point guard last season and he’ll lead a group of guys that have finally grown up and have a lot of experience with them.

Last season four of the team’s major contributors were freshmen or sophomores but not that they know the ropes Jamar Wertz, Chase Plummer, Brian Neller and Adrian Satchell, who was an All-Rookie team selection two seasons ago, should be able to provide him with a lot of help while Randy Monroe’s incoming class is one of his most talented yet.

The Men’s Lacrosse team will return to the nation’s elite

Scott Jones

From 2006 to 2009 Don Zimmerman has the men’s lacrosse team in the upper echelon of the collegiate lacrosse world, reaching rankings as high as fourth in the nation at some points. But the last two years the team has had losing seasons and has missed the NCAA tournament. That what losing 17 All-Conference players and nine All-American in a four year span does to teams, especially when those players have to be replaced by 27 freshmen and sophomores on a 35-man rosters.

The men’s lacrosse team was incredibly young last year and it really showed. But this year Zimmerman, who is already regarded as one of the best coaches in the history of the game, really bolstered his coaching staff by getting Ed Stephenson back after an incredibly successful stint at Binghamton and has some experience to work with. Now those 27 freshmen and sophomores are seasoned players and will be joining a very experienced group of five seniors.

Scott Jones developed into an elite scorer as a sophomore while Rob Grimm continued his yearly-improvement as a junior. Players like Scott Hopmann, Dave Brown, Joe Lustgarten, Zach Linkous, Greg Korvin, Neill Lewnes, Matt Gregoire, and Ryan Johnston all showed a lot of promise last season and could make for a very dangerous and deep offensive unit while Brian McCullough, Aaron Verardi, Lucas Wood, Sam McKelvey, Riley Hansen, Breck Merritt, Nathan Klein, Ethan Murphy, and Tony Spada are all returning on the defensive side of things.

Pete Caringi III should have a much larger role on the team in 2011.

NSCAA and College Soccer News, a highly respect media outlet focusing on college soccer, released their preseason Top 30 list and though UMBC was not on it, they received votes and were just outside of it.

Last season the Retrievers reached a new height of success, reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament after coming back to beat national power Princeton on the road, 2-1.

The Retrievers will be without a few key contributors from last year, notably Levi Houapeu, who led the nation in scoring over the past two seasons, and senior defensive midfielders Chris Williams and John Paul Waraksa, but the team still returns a lot of talent and has reloaded in a few areas.

Andrew Bulls went from being one of the nation’s top scorers in 2009 to one of the nation’s leaders in assists in 2010, and should continue to play at an All-American level. Meanwhile, Pete Caringi III showed he was ready to be an elite scorer as a freshman while Nirav Kadam return after playing his first season in a Retriever uniform and JuCo All-American Kadeem Dacres has been added to the squad.

In the midfielder incoming freshman Zach Wenger was considered to be one of the best recruits in the nation and has plenty of experience playing at a high level on the junior national team, playing against the best players in the world at his age. Sean Rothe is also returning after having to sit out all of last season with a knee injury. Milo Kapor, Dave Vaeth, Andy Streilein, and Kingsley Onwuka are all back as well.

Defensively Liam Paddock and Daniel Welsh proved to be a winning combination as the team’s center back duo last season. Returning with that young duo is right back Vince Savarese, a staple of the team’s back line for the last three seasons, Jason McCarron, who battled through injuries the last year and a half but played at an elite level before he got hurt in his sophomore year. Spencer Williams and Travis Dennis are also back after gaining valuable experience last season.

The goalie position is still stocked full of talent and as is the story every year Dan Louisignau, Phil Saunders, and Miguel Calderon will battle in the preseason for the starting job, but no matter who comes out the winner the team will be in good shape.

A deeper preview will be release closer to the start of the season.

Coach of the Year

Ian Blanchard – Volleyball

There is absolutely no denying how incredible it was what Pete Caringi Jr. did with the men’s soccer team but from a pure coaching perspective Ian Blanchard’s coaching job was more impressive. Chad Cradock, Phil Stern and Pete Caringi Jr. all had incredible teams to work with and were expected to do well but Blanchard had a team filled with eight true freshman and another redshirt freshman. On top of that his two seniors both had injury ridden careers limiting their experience. None of that mattered though. Things started out a little rough but once the team got into conference player they were fantastic and made a great run all the way to the America East Championship Game, a game they look like they’ll be playing in for many years to come.

Male Freshman of the Year

Johan Rohtla – M. Swimming and Diving

At the end of a stellar first season Johan Rohtla stepped up even more at the America east championship meet. Rohtla was named the conference’s Outstanding Male Rookie after medaling four time while breaking and re-breaking a school record in the 200-yard backstroke.

Female Freshman of the Year

Kim Berghaus – Women’s Tennis

Coming in as a freshman in any sport is hard enough as you have to learn the system and adjust to the collegiate level. But coming in as a freshman from another country having to not only learn the system of the level of Division I collegiate athletes, but also a new language and culture is even tougher. But Berghaus thrived through all of that and making her freshman year even more impressive was that she was put in the top spot and has a team best 11-6 record and went 11-4 in doubles competition en route to being names the America East conference women’s tennis Rookie of the Year.

Male Performance of the Year

Levi Houapeu’s Hat Trick against Vermont

Needing a victory to clinch a berth in the AEC tournament Levi Houapeu carried the men’s soccer team to a 3-1 victory over Vermont. In the 33rd minute of that game Houapeu broke away from the defense after receiving a long, bouncing pass from goalkeeper Dan Lousiginau and while his initial shot was blocked, he came up with the rebound to get UMBC on the board. Then, barely over a minute into the second half Houapeu ran from left to right across the goal and flicked the ball across his body, nearly over his left shoulder, into the upper right corner of the goal. But his third goal was the most impressive. In the 52nd minute he beat three defenders and lofted a shot into the upper right corner of the goal from 16 yards out.

Female Performance of the Year

McKenney wins five at AE Championships

How can winning five gold medals to lead your team to a conference championship not be the best performance of the year? Abbey McKenney was absolutely unstoppable, winning 50-yard free, 100-yard free, and 200-yard free individually while anchoring the winning 200-yard and 400-yard free relay teams.

Male Comeback Player of the Year

Dan Louisignau – Men’s Soccer

He did not play last year because of a torn labrum, but from the beginning of the year to the end of the year he really progressed. In the team’s season opener against VMI Louisignau played the entire second half and really struggled, giving up all three goals. But by the end of the season he was one of the AEC’s top goalkeepers and a second team All-AEC selection after stopping 84.5 percent of the shots he was faced with and shutting out five opponents.

Female Comeback Player of the Year

Sabrina Hoeks – Volleyball

Back-to-back seasons ended when she tore her ACL but Sabrina Hoeks never gave up and never look frustrated on the court despite really only have the playing experience of a sophomore. While Hoeks also had a huge responsibility to serve as a leader to a team with eight freshman, on the court she as dominant, leading UMBC to an AE Championship game appearance with a team-high 297 kills with 291 digs, the second most on the team. She also lead the team with 58 aces and her .59 aces per set ranked in the top ten in the nation.

Breakout Male Athlete of the Year

Scott Jones – Men’s Lacrosse

I’ll admit. Before this season I never even heard of Scott Jones. He was on the team and saw time in a few games last year but he was pretty much a non-factor. Not this year though. This year Jones proved to be one of the best scorers in the conference and dominated defenses once he got in the right position. With a team-high 23 goals the second-team all-conference attackman looks to be the centerpiece of the squad for the next two years.

Breakout Female Athlete of the Year

Tope Obajolu – W. Basketball

Tope Obajolu just keeps getting better and better each year. Last year she became a full-time starter as a sophomore after barely seeing the floor her freshman year and became a key piece in the team’s success but this year she took her game to a whole new level and after averaging 10.6 points and 4.3 rebounds she was a third-team all-conference player and one of the league’s top defenders. More importantly though the team really ran through her, when they won, she was on the top of her game and when they lost, she was disappointing and this year, the team had way more wins than losses.

Unsung Male Athlete of the Year

Jamie Kimbles – Men’s Lacrosse

When you only score 10 goals and have eight assists but still make an all-conference lacrosse team it says a lot about your ability. Jamie Kimbles was put in a very difficult spot this season. With so much youth on the team Kimbles not only had to be a quality starter but he had to be the leader or the men’s lacrosse team. Before the season Kimbles suffered an injury and was out pretty much all of the preseason. He came back a few games into the season but was still rusty. But when he finally got back to full health it was clear just how much he meant to the team. When he got healthy the offense ran through him and the team turned things around and went 5-3 in their final eight games.

Unsung Female Athlete of the Year

Michele Brokans and Meghan Colabella – W. Basketball

I still can’t pick between the two. Both of these players were simply amazing in terms of their mindset of the game. Neither one cared about stats, they just wanted to win. Michele Brokans was not much of a scorer but if she was she would have been at Tennessee playing for Pat Summit because the rest of what she did was that good. She was a great defender, great leader, and great point guard, constantly putting her teammates in the best position to succeed. Colabella on the other hand had plenty of offensive ability but care more about her rebounding numbers than her scoring totals. Colabella also took on one of the team’s top offensive players each and every night and did all of the dirty work that most players don’t exactly like to do.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Year

Levi Houapeu – Men’s Soccer

When you lead your team to the second round of the NCAA tournament, establish yourself as one of the best players in the nation, and become the team’s first MLS draft pick ever, it’s hard not to become a fan favorite. Levi Houapeu represented everything UMBC wants. He didn’t start out as a super star, instead, he worked incredibly hard his first two seasons and dominated everybody his last two years, finishing as the highest scoring player in the nation the last two seasons combined.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Year

Sabrina Hoeks – Volleyball

It’s hard not to root for Sabrina Hoeks. With all the injuries she’s been through it’s quite inspiring to see how she came back and became one of the top players in the America East conference, all while completely changing the dynamic of the volleyball team, making it more of a winning team atmosphere rather than a group of talented individuals.

Best Moment

Men’s Soccer Wins AEC Championship and beats Princeton in NCAA tournament

That whole span of time between the men’s soccer team’s championship victory and victory over No. 10 Princeton in the NCAA tournament was just phenomenal. Winning their first America East championship, ending an 11-year championship drought, was incredible after beating New Hampshire in penalty kicks following 120 of a scoreless draw. But the run didn’t end there. The men’s soccer team was special and got the first NCAA tournament victory in program history when they upset Princeton on the road in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Male Athlete of the Year

Levi Houapeu – Men’s Soccer

It should be no surprise. Houapeu has proven to be one of the best players in UMBC soccer history. After the team fell in the America East finals last season Houapeu passed on opportunities to go pro because he wanted to win a championship, and he did just that. With 15 goals and four assists Houapeu was one of the best players in the nation again and was named a third team All-American by College Soccer News and NSCAA.

Female Athlete of the Year

Abbey McKenney – W. Swimming and Diving

Five gold medals in the America East championships to lead the team to their first title in three years says it all. McKenney not only won five medals though, she broke four records that weekend and broke six records this season, four of which were as a member of a relay team.

Voting Ends June 5 at midnight. Winners will be announced on Monday, June 6 with the Yearly Awards

Levi Houapeu developed into one of the most dominating scorers in the nation his last two seasons.

With the 41st pick in the MLS SuperDraft the Philadelphia Union selected UMBC star Levi Houapeu, making him the first player in UMBC history to hear his name called in the draft.

Houapeu has some ties to the Union, playing in the PDL for Redding, a club team for the Union.

Four years ago Houapeu was an incoming freshman with loads on untapped potential, potential that could make him one of the most dangerous scorers in the nation. That season Houapeu was an all-rookie team selection in the America East Conference but struggled with injuries as a sophomore.

Then he became a national star. As a junior Houapeu finally started to reached his potential, using his speed and instincts to lead the nation in goals (15) and points (43) and finished second in the nation in assists (13) and was named the AEC’s midfielder of the year.

Last year he continued to develop into one of the best players in the nation. He had less assists, but he was moved from midfield to forward and while his goal total was the same (15), he became one of the nation’s best scorers.

Houapeu has a nose for the goal. He’s incredibly quick, incredibly athletic, and incredibly determined. Houapeu passed on the 2010 MLS draft because he wanted to win a championship at UMBC and he was determined to do so – and did it. But that wasn’t enough for him. After getting that championship Houapeu didn’t want to stop playing soccer; he wanted to get UMBC on the map in the soccer world and scored a goal and an assist in the team’s first-round upset of Princeton.

For his efforts Houapeu was not only the AEC’s Striker of the Year, Most Outstanding Player in the tournament, and a first-team All-Conference selection; he was getting national recognition. Houapeu was named to the NSCAA first team-northeast region, Third Team All-American NSCAA, College Soccer News All-American, and Second Team All-American by Goal.com.

The Union have two dominating scorers in Sebastien Le Toux, who led the team’ with 14 last season and Danny Mwanga, who scored seven. But other than there they have a few guys who will chip in a few goals here and there.

Philadelphia will begin the 2011 season on March 26 when they host Vancouver at 4 p.m.

Top Coach

Ian Blanchard – Volleyball

It would really be easy to say that Pete Caringi, Jr., who had the falls most successful team, was the top coach this fall. Certainly, he’s a fantastic coach, but what Ian Blanchard did this season was just unbelievable. It’s hard enough to win with few upperclassmen, but when over half of your roster is freshmen it has to be brutal. But despite really struggling early in the season Blanchard’s team turned it around, made a strong run at the end of the season and made it to the AEC Championship.

Male Freshman of the Fall

Pete Caringi III – Men’s Soccer

I’ll say it again, he should have been the AEC Rookie of the Year. In a forward rotation featuring the top two scorers from last season and two high-scoring transfers Caringi III found a way to make an impact and quickly proved to be too good to keep out of the starting lineup. He led all freshman in the AEC with six goals, five assists, and 17 points.

Female Freshman of the Fall

Hallie Carter – Volleyball

It was really a toss-up between Hallie Carter and Ali Goc, both of whom were major reasons why the volleyball team shocked everybody this season. Both were named to the AEC All-Rookie Team, but Carter was a bit more consistent and incredibly impressive in the AEC tournament and was an All-Tournament selection after recording 26 digs and six kills after playing four sets at libero and two at outside hitter. Carter led the team with 327 digs and had 42 kills and 11 aces this season.

Best Male Performance

Levi Houapeu’s Hat Trick against Vermont

Needing a victory to clinch a berth in the AEC tournament Levi Houapeu carried the men’s soccer team to a 3-1 victory over Vermont. In the 33rd minute of that game Houapeu broke away from the defense after receiving a long, bouncing pass from goalkeeper Dan Lousiginau and while his initial shot was blocked, he came up with the rebound to get UMBC on the board. Then, barely over a minute into the second half Houapeu ran from left to right across the goal and flicked the ball across his body, nearly over his left shoulder, into the upper right corner of the goal. But his third goal was the most impressive. In the 52nd minute he beat three defenders and lofted a shot into the upper right corner of the goal from 16 yards out.

Best Female Performance

Parkinson Wins Mount St. Mary’s Dual 5Ks

*Courtesy UMBC Athletic Communications

Sara Parkinson was somehow able to improve this season after dominating her opponents the last three seasons. In the women’s cross country team’s season opening meet Parkinson game away with a victory. But not only did she finished first overall with a time of 17:47.47, she beat the previous year’s winner, Octavia Rinehardt from American University, but 18 seconds.

Best Moment

Men’s Soccer Wins AEC Championship

They were so close to it last year that they were disgusted that they did not lift the trophy last year, but this year they pulled everything together, peaked at the right time, and beat New Hampshire in an intense 5-4 penalty shootout after a scoreless draw in the AEC finals, breaking their 11 year championship drought.

Most Improved Male Athlete

Dan Louisignau – Men’s Soccer

He did not play last year because of a torn labrum, but from the beginning of the year to the end of the year he really progressed. In the team’s season opener against VMI Louisignau played the entire second half and really struggled, giving up all three goals. But by the end of the season he was one of the AEC’s top goalkeepers and a second team All-AEC selection after stopping 84.5 percent of the shots he was faced with and shutting out five opponents.

Most Improved Female Athlete

Bianca Sande – Volleyball

Injuries really took a toll on Bianca Sande’s career. After a very promising freshman season she missed her sophomore season with a shoulder injury and was limited to just nine matched as a junior, and while she was even limited this season when she was in she was a spark for the volleyball team. She totaled 27 kills in 22 sets, 11 of which game against New Hampshire on her senior night. She also played the back line quite a few matches and played very well defensively and made solid passes.

Unsung Male Athlete

John Paul Waraksa – Men’s Soccer

The importance of defensive midfielder John Paul Waraksa to the men’s soccer team became more evident when he was injured. When Waraksa was out early in the season the defense really struggled but after he returned against New Hampshire on October 9 the team went 7-1-2 and allowed just eight goals the rest of the season. In the AEC Championship Game Waraksa kicked in the game winning penalty kick to give UMBC their first AEC Championship ever.

Unsung Female Athlete

Allie Spaay – Volleyball

After Allie Spaay got injured against Towson in the Battle of Baltimore the volleyball team really struggled to get anything going offensively and went just 3-9 in her absence. But after she returned the team was hitting on all cylinders and went 8-7 to the AEC finals. Despite missing 12 games Spaay recorded 545 assists with 15 aces while getting in on 26 blocks.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Fall

Levi Houapeu – Men’s Soccer

Houapeu ran away with the award with 90 percent of the votes for the award. He absolutely dominated the competition this year and scored 15 goals for the second consecutive season.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Fall

Sabrina Hoeks – Volleyball

This was wasn’t close either. Hoeks ran away with the votes, taking over 88 percent of them. Hoeks was able to bounce back from back-to-back season ending ACL tears and carried a team of freshman to the AEC Championship with a team high 297 kills and 291 digs, the second most on the team. She also recorded a team-high 58 aces and her .59 aces per set ranked in the top ten in the nation.

Male Athlete of the Fall

Levi Houapeu – Men’s Soccer

It should be no surprise. Houapeu has proven to be one of the best players in UMBC soccer history. After the team fell in the AEC finals last season Houapeu passed on opportunities to go pro because he wanted to win a championship, and he did just that. With 15 goals and four assists Houapeu was one of the best players in the nation again and was named a third team All-American by College Soccer News and the NSCAA

Female Athlete of the Fall

Sabrina Hoeks – Volleyball

Not only was Hoeks an absolutely dominant player on the court this season, for which she was rewarded with a first team All-AEC selection, but her role this year was more than just being an impact player on the court, she, and Bianca Sande, had to hold together a team with eight true freshmen.

Levi Houapeu

Vote for Levi Houapeu as Men’s College Player of the Year

Levi Houapeu put UMBC’s soccer program back on the mark the last two years. After spending a decade out of the NCAA College Cup Houapeu carried UMBC there this year and after scoring 15 goals for a second straight season he is being recognized as one of the nation’s top players. But Houapeu did not stop with a Conference Championship. For the first time in program history UMBC won a College Cup game with a 2-1 victory at Princeton.

The AEC Striker of the Year and 2009 Midfielder of the Year ranks sixth in the nation in goals, seventh in goals per game (0.75), and 10th in total points (34). His 77 points the last two seasons is the most in America.

Voting ends on December 23 and the winner will be announced in January. Fan voting accounts for 40% of the vote in the Soccer News Net Player of the Year voting.