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.

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.

Senior Levi Houapeu recorded his third career hat trick as the men's soccer team beat Vermont, 3-1.

For the second straight year the men’s soccer team clinched a berth in the six team America East Conference tournament with a game in which Levi Houapeu recorded three goals. UMBC (9-4-2, 3-1-2 AEC) beat University of Vermont (6-7-4, 1-4-1 AEC), 3-1 and guaranteed themselves at least one home game as they cannot finished lower than fourth place in the conference.

In the 33rd minute Houapeu broke away from the defense after receiving a long, bouncing pass from goalkeeper Dan Louisignau following a goal kick. Houapeu faked the Catamount defender on his initial shot that was blocked by Vermont goalkeeper Xan Rousselle, but flicked in the rebound.

Just over one minute in the second half Houapeu scored a second goal. Andrew Bulls started the play with a tremendous defensive effort that led to Vermont giving up possession. Right back Vince Savarese gained control of the ball, made a pass up the right side of the field to Bulls, after a few passes back and fourth between Bulls and Nirav Kadam, Bulls passed the ball from left to right to Houapeu, who then ran past the right side of the goal, but shot the ball across his body into the upper right corner of the goal. The assists on the goal went to Bulls, which was his 13th of the season.

He completed his hat trick in the 52nd minute when he beat three Catamount defenders with a lofted shot into the upper right corner of the goal. Left back Jason McCarron got the ball up from the middle of the field to the left sideline to Pete Caringi, III, who passed the ball behind his legs to Houapeu. Houapeu received the pass from 30 yards out on the left sideline, and ran into the middle of the field before taking the shot from 16 yards out in the middle of the field.

Houapeu recorded both of the Retrievers previous two hat tricks last season when he scored three against Drexel University on Sept. 19, 2009 and three against University at Albany on Oct. 24, 2009. His three career hat tricks are the most since Derek McElligott recorded his third in the 2004 season.

With three goals Houapeu eclipsed the 10 goal plateau for the second straight year as he now has 12 on the season. He is now tied for fifth place all-time with 31 career goals and leads the conference with 27 points. The Retrievers also have the second and fourth ranked scorers in the conference. Bulls is second with 19 points off three goals and 13 assists while Caringi, IIIis fourth with 17 points from six goals and five assists.

The Retrievers allowed just one goal in the game in the 74th minute when Malick Camara connected with Evan Hodge, who flicked the ball into the goal on a two-on-one situation with Dan Louisignau, who recorded two saves in the game.

The victory ended a five-game winless streak to UVM as it was the first time the Retrievers beat the Catamounts for the first time since beating them on Oct. 9, 2004 by a score of 3-0.

UMBC will conclude the regular season this Saturday when they will travel to reigning champion Stony Brook University (9-5-3, 3-1-2 AEC). A victory in the game would put the Retrievers in second place in the AEC, clinching them a first round bye while a tie would place them in a tie breakers situation with the Seawolves and a loss would eliminate them from having bye in the tournament.

Senior captain Chris Williams led the way during a dominating defensive outing.

Sophomore goalie Phil Saunders had a very easy day standing between the posts in the men’s soccer team’s game against Wofford. The reigning Southern Conference Champion, featuring seven seniors with experience playing in the N.C.A.A. tournament against the nations top team’s, managed just five shots in 90 minutes, only two of which were on goal, and were shutout by UMBC.

After a three goal lead at the half against V.M.I. in the season opener the defense broke down and gave up three second half goals, but there were no breakdowns this time.

“The work rate was a lot better this game than the last game,” Senior center back Chris Williams said. “We learned off that V.M.I. second half were we let in three easy goals so we came out and changed our attitudes, worked harder, and got a shutout.”

Coach Pete Caringi said that after giving up “too many soft goals” against V.M.I. he decided to focus on a strong team defense.

“The one game that we had a shutout against Maryland in a scrimmage we really concentrated on playing team defense and I thought we did a good job of that this game,” he said.

As the defense improved, the offense remained dominate. UMBC may have only scored two goals, but they pressured the Terriers the entire game, forcing opposing goalkeeper Andrew Drennan to come up with nine saves.

Nirava Kadam and Levi Houapeu each scored their second goals of the season, and both were assisted by Andrew Bulls, who now has four helpers in two games.

With just 56 second remaining in the first half Bulls found Houapeu up front cutting in from the right. Houapeu then made a a quick move past the defender and then shot it in from 11 yards out for the games first goal.

Bulls’ second assists came at 77:41 when he crossed a long pass from Williams inside to Kadam, who tapped the ball in from two yards out.

Bulls had two great chances to score, the first was on a free kick in the first half that hit the cross bar, and the second was in the second half when he lines up for a penalty kick, but Brennan made the save.

UMBC may have their toughest task yet on Wednesday when they take on beltway rival Towson University. The Tigers beat Mount St. Mary’s in their season opener 2-0 and will be led by the always dangerous duo of Marco Mangione (8 goals, 4 assists in 2009) and Liam Maloney (10 goals, 4 assists in 2009).

UMBC is 12-11-3 all-time against Towson, and have split the last four times they’ve played. UMBC beat Towson last season 1-0.

“Towson is a very good team, very dangerous offensively, and they got maybe one of the best players in the country in Marco Mangioni so we got to be prepared,” Caringi said. “It’s a great rivalry, the coaches know each other, it will be a fun game for both of us.”

Nirav Kadam scored one goal and has two assists in his first game as a Retriever.

UMBC beat V.M.I. 5-3, and Houapeu and Bulls only combined for four points.

UNC-Greensboro transfer Nirav Kadam and freshman Pete Caringi led the Retrievers with four points each. Kadam scored one goal and had two assists while Caringi scored two goals in his first career game.

“We know we got some guys who are capable of scoring goals but obviously it was the first game and obviously guys had their chances and Andrew and Levi are going to get their chances,” Caringi said.

Thought Kadam is new to the team, he’s not new to the team. Kadam transferred to UMBC last spring in order to have more time to learn the team’s playing style and a chance learn the tendencies of the other players, and that extra four months of practice really look to be a big help for his already quality game.

“I wanted to come in the spring and learn their style of play and their players,” Kadam said. “It was a great opportunity to come in the spring and just have fun with the guys.”

But more impressively was Caringi, who in his first career game looked like an established senior. While he missed a few chances to score more goals, his two goals both came off pure hustle, and good finishing of course.

His first goal was nearly a nixed play. Kinglsey Onwuka passed the ball inside to Caringi just a few feet in front of the goal. Caringi nearly missed the shot but he slide the ball around the goalkeeper and got it in the far front corner of the goal. His second on came off a blocked shot from Bulls, which he sprinted up the field to clean up for.

The coaches son might wind up starting is he plays like he did against VMI again.

“We should expect what we did today- a lot of goals,” Caringi said. “We’re going to miss over opportunities but we’re going to have a lot more. Our defense give us good through balls and our midfield works hard, and we’re all good at finishing.”

The third member of that impact trio was Danny Shannon, a senior transfer from American University. Shannon scored the games first goal at 18:55. After Kadam kicked the ball up to Houapeu, Houapeu paced the ball perfectly and Shannon shot it without even looking, and sure enough it went in to the upper left corner of the goal.

Shannon returned the favor as those three were in on another goal, but this time it was Shannon who flicked the Kadam pass to Houapeu for the goal.

While the offense showed they are just as good, if not better, as least year’s unit, the midfield and defense had a few breakdowns. After leading 3-0 at halftime Coach Pete Caringi made a goalie change, replacing starter Phil Saunders with Dan Louisignau in order to get him some playing time on the field after having of redshirt in 2009 because of a torn labrum.

Louisignau allowed three goals, but not all of them were is fault, the defense appeared to be “winded” according to Caringi, mostly because of the “very hot and very humid” temperatures.”

“I just thought it was some communication problems, it was a mental let down,” Caringi said.

Fortunately for UMBC is they have a long season to improve that, and as players get back healthy they should be back to where they left off last year.

“I don’t think we can tell yet how good our offense is going to be or in turn how good out defense is going to be,” Caringi said.

Andrew Bulls

While last year teams were not expecting much from UMBC, this year teams will be gunning for them. They may have been picked to finish third in the AEC preseason coaches poll but with every significant player returning from last year’s team (the only losses were Jamal Molin (6 games), who decided to focus on his academic career- he was a Meyerhoff Scholar Athlete, and Matt Knight (3 goals, 2 assists, 13 games) they won’t be a shock at all.

For fans the expectations may be to have another very successful year, or even win a championship, and they certainly have the talent to do so, but Caringi took a much more modest approach to his team.

“It’s really going to be a developmental thing,” Caringi said. “There are a lot of returning players but there is also a lot of quality new players and it’s going to be all about trying to mend those guys and trying to build something that we get better throughout the year.”

Last year UMBC was carried on the backs of Levi Houapeu (15 goals, 13 assists) and Andrew Bulls (15 goals, 11 assists), who finished one and two in the nation in scoring, respectively. Both of those guys are back, and have every amount of talent to be just as successful, but they might not have to be. The one major downfall for UMBC last year was that as the season wore on both Houapeu and Bulls were being man-marked by defenders and had very few good scoring chances, and the team just could not find a third player to pick up the offense. But this year the team will feature a load of scorers that should help the two out, as well as the rest of the team.

Levi Houapeu

Nirav Kadem and Dan Shannon are both highly touted transfers coming into the program with a lot of success scoring. Kadam did not play last year at UNC Greensboro, but is a very fast striker that gets pasts defenders. Shannon was American University leading scorer last season, and should also be another immediate impact on the men’s soccer team.

“Nirav, he can score…Danny Shannon was the leading scorer at American University, both of them are transfers with reputations to being able to score goals,” Caringi said.

But joining that mix of players up front will be Caringi’s son, Pete Caringi III, who comes into UMBC after being names All-Metro and Second-Team All-State as a senior after scoring 15 goals with 6 assists at Calvert Hall College High School.

As if the offense wasn’t stacked enough with five players who can score the ball, the midfield has a load of players who should be better at scoring the ball. Milo Kapor and Mark Lubetkin both scored two goals late in the season as freshmen, and both should be much better with a year’s experience. Another option could be Dustin Dzwonkowski, who has gotten better and become a more confident scorer each year he’s played.

I think we have a broader spectrum of players who we can count on and I think that excites me more than just having one or two players who you have to depend on,” Caringi said.

UMBC certainly has a high-powered offense but the defense is a very underrated group full of talented players.

In the defensive midfield UMBC will feature seniors John Paul Waraksa and Sean Rothe, two workhorses who will do what ever it takes to get the job done. With Houapeu being healthy last year and able to be a scorer, Waraksa was able to transition from being an offensive threat to being a defensive player, a spot in which he’s much more comfortable.

John Paul Waraksa

“John Paul had a breakout year last year, I though he was one of our best players,” Caringi said. “He’s very determined this year to go out with a bang and have a really good season, and Sean, you put both of them in the midfielder, they’re both hard workers, they’re both similar players, they’re both hungry for us to do better.”

Rothe will be out of action for the first few weeks with an injury but should be back at either defensive midfield or back about a month in.

“Sean has had a little bit of an injury and he’ll be out the first couple weeks but just knowing you have that veteran presence always helps and I think they’ll stabilize this team,” Caringi said.

While the outside positions on defense are a bit in question due to injuries, the UMBC defense will feature two of the best centerbacks in the conference. Senior Chris Williams was a First-Team All-Conference selection last year and has started pretty much since the moment he stepped on campus. Sophomore Liam Paddock started every game he played and earned all-rookie honors last season.

“The defense had a good year last year and to be very honest they didn’t have a good spring,” Caringi said. “It will be interesting this preseason because I thought Liam and Chris had very good years last year. Chris has been very consistent throughout his three years, he’s also an all-conference player, he’s also the captain of the team so I expect him to pick up where he left off last year so now it’s about finding player who compliment those two players. The pool of players is going to be a lot and the best four is going to be the best four who will be playing back there.”

Liam Paddock

Outside those two last year were Vince Savarese and Jason McCarron. Savarese is not the most physically imposing player, but he makes up for every short coming with pure grit. McCarron suffered an injury last year against Loyola, and that injury just progressed into something worse, but he could be back by the start of the season. If he’s not, with Rothe out that backline spot could go to freshman Spencer Williams or midfielders Andy Streilein or Dave Vaeth, both of whom have played the position this preseason.

But when all else fails UMBC should have one of the leagues top goalies, not matter who they choose. UMBC will be going through a very interesting three man goalie battle this year. Incumbent starter Phil Saunders is coming off an All-Rookie Team Honors. Dan Louisignau, who may have started last year if it weren’t for a torn labrum early in the season, is an incredibly established goalie. He transferred from ACC power Virginia and won multiple national championships at the club level. And finally, Miguel Calderon is just a hard worker that has improved a great deal since last year.

“I’m approaching it like I approach everything else,” Caringi said. “Phil is the returning keeper but at the end of the day positions will be won on the field it won’t be won by reputations. Dan brings a great resume and brings a lot of success at the highest level. He’s won a lot of national championships and transferred in from Virginia. Miguel is one of our hardest working players and is great for this team. He busts his tail every practice, and in another program he probably could be a starter this year, and maybe he does this year but all three will be competing every day in practice. Phil’s the incumbent so at the end of the day people have to show me they’re a lot better than Phil, or Phil’s dropped off, but I find these situations are always resolved on the practice field, not in the locker room.”

Phil Saunders

What is going to make UMBC so special this year is going to be that they are going to be so deep and have their choice of any 11 players starting. Players like freshman defender Daniel Welsh, junior midfielder Kinglsey Onwuka, sophomore midfielder Ben Hanson, and freshman defender Travis Dennis will all make very big impacts on the team as well.

“I think the key to the season will be the mixture of players, the chemistry, the blending in of different players and different backgrounds, and at the end of the day it’s really about trying to get the best 11 players to perform up to a certain level,” Caringi said. “Coming into preseason there’s a lot of player amount wise, as many as we’ve ever had here, and I think the quality is going to be really high and that’s the competitive part about now trying to mix this group together and seeing where we can go with it.”

But the key to any team in any year it to avoid a let down. The AEC is going to be a very tough conference and aving UMBC picked to finish third despite everything they did last year is a sign of that. The always dangerous Boston University had a disappointing year last year but should be right back where they were in 2008. Reigning champions Stony Brook University returns with every player from last years squad, and Hartford and Binghamton will as always, reload. Albany and Vermont should also be much better in 2010.

“This conference is a little like the NFL,” Caring said. “You can have a down year one year and that doesn’t make any difference in the next year. It’s a wide open conference, you can sit here and speculate who’s going to be really good and who’s not and I think everybody is going to be really good.”

Andrew Bulls scored the game winning goal for UMBC in their preseason friendly against #3 Maryland.

The expectations may be higher than ever as the men’s soccer team, who returns every key player from last year’s team that made it to the conference championship game, as they showed they can not only contend, but beat the best teams in the nation.

It may just be a preseason friendly, but that does not mean Maryland, who won a national championship in 2008, didn’t try to win the game, in fact they pressured the entire game with their first unit of players.

UMBC has only been together in practice for a week, and have come together incredibly fast in that short period of time despite having seven new players on the team.

When they took the field against national power house Maryland in their preseason friendly they only expected to be able to get a good look of what kind of talent they had.

“Maryland is one of the top teams in the country and just to play better is really our goal going into it,” Coach Pete Caringi said. “It’s a long season ahead so I don’t think you can get all excited about a preseason game, it’s a good win, but if we didn’t have that win I’d be linking the same way, it’s just a preseason game and we’re looking to just get better.”

It wasn’t the prettiest win, but nonetheless it was a 1-0 victory over the third ranked team in the country.

While Maryland pressure for the majority of the first half, the defense never broke, and Phil Saunders made some big saves in the goal to keep the game scoreless at the half.

The second half was much more even. UMBC had possession of the ball just as much as Maryland did, and finally broke the Terp defense last in the game when Andrew Bulls bounced a shot off a Maryland defender for the game’s lone goal.

“At the end of the day we saw Maryland as another opponent but they are the number three team in the country and even as a preseason game it gives us a lot of confidence as a team and it pretty much says if we put the work in we have a good chance to actually get a win,” said senior forward Levi Houapeu, who finished number one in the nation in scoring last season.

While no official record of the game will be kept as it was just an exhibition, UMBC definitely pulled an upset, but showed they can repeat the magic from last year.

Lets break down the 2009-2010 athletic season: one championship (Swimming and Diving), four second place finished (Women’s Lacrosse, Men’s Soccer, Men’s Tennis, and Women’s Swimming and Diving), and a bevy of all-conference players. It is really easy to say it was a down season for UMBC, but that is just because the marquee sports struggled. Men’s Lacrosse took a step back after being one of the most dominating teams in the conference for several years; men’s Basketball went from back-to-back finals appearances to just a 4-26 record; women’s Basketball took nationally ranked Virginia to the brink in the season opener but failed to move up from where they were last year despite so much returning talent; baseball had their second-straight nine win season; women’s soccer finished in last place again, and softball wasted a hot start to the season and missed the conference tournament. But there are plenty of other sports that had a lot of success. Men’s Soccer was picked to finished dead last this season, but proved to have one of the most dominating offenses in the nation, led by the N.C.A.A.’s two top scorers and finished in the America East Conference finals. Women’s lacrosse finally got into the AEC tournament, but upset the goliath University at Albany in the semi-finals and lost by just one to Boston University in the finals. Swimming and Diving? Well they just proved to be absolutely dominating once again. The men’ won their 13th straight league championship while the women finished right near the top again. Men’s tennis proved to be one of the most consistent teams at UMBC and made a trip back to the AEC finals, coming up just short of a championship, but showed significant improvement. Track and Field also had some absolutely dominating athletes across the board. Victor Gilreath and Keith Onto were untouchable in their events, while Sara Parkinson was an all-conference player in all three season. A lot of good things happened for UMBC this year, and they set the school up for a phenomenal year in 2010-2011. So without further adieu, here are the yearly UMBC Sports Blog Awards for the 2009-2010 athletic year:

Top Coach

Pete Caringi, Men’s Soccer

While Chad Cradock brought home UMBC’s only championship, it’s hard not to give the award to Caringi. His team was picked to finish in eighth place in an eight team conference with 14 freshmen and sophomores, an unproven goalie, and only one player returning with more than three goals in 2008. But right away, the Caringi-lead team showed that it really was a new season. The team started 9-0, were nationally ranked during the season, and got to the finals for the first time in nine years, and finished with 14 wins, the most since the 2000 season.

Male Freshman of the Year

Phil Saunders, Men’s Soccer

This ear the soccer team was about a very high scoring offense, but Phil Saunders was still phenomenal in goal. First, goalie very well may the toughest position on a soccer field. He not only has to stop a ball being hit at him at 70 m.p.h., but he also has to set up everybody’s position on the field. He’s the leader of the team, the quarterback. But Saunders excelled at the position. He shut out six teams and allowed an average of just one goal per game.

Female Freshman of the Year

Jamie Fahey, Women’s Lacrosse

The list of accomplishments and awards for Jamie Fahey this year is just remarkable. After her freshman season Fahey was honored with and All-Rookie selection, Rookie of the Year, Second team All-AEC, Mid-Atlantic Second Team honors by the Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association, and All-Rookie team honors by womenslacrosse.com. While Fahey was a defender, her speed and ball handling ability made her a threat to score every time she touched the ball. She is certainly one of the cornerstones of the team that will contend for a championship next year.

Best Male Performance

Courtesy www.umbcxctf.wordpress.com

Keith Onto, Men’s Track and Field, 7,239 points in Decathlon at AEC Championships

Winning one event is a big feat, but winning six events in order to do that is just amazing. Keith Onto broke an AEC Championship record with 7,239 points in the heptathlon as he won the 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, javelin, and Discus, while coming in second in the 100-meter dash and shot put, and third in the 1,500-meter run and pole vault. Onto finished with 577 points more than the second place finisher.

Best Female Performance

Carlee Cassidy, Women’s Basketball, Leads the team to a 23-points comeback over Boston University on her senior day

In her final game at RAC arena Carlee Cassidy scored 25 points with nine rebounds and three assists. But 16 of those points came in the second half during a 23-point comeback. UMBC fell into a big hole early to Boston University and trailed by 23 points early in the second half. But Carlee Cassidy got hot after that and led her team to a miraculous comeback, sending her out on top.

Best Moment

Courtesy www.umbcretrievers.com

Men’s Swimming and Diving wins 13th straight league title

After a 12-year period of dominance the men’s swimming and diving team was supposed to finally be overthrown as AEC Champions by a heavily favored Boston U team. Boston U returned every key contributor from the year before while UMBC lost some key swimmers. But as always, people stepped up and the reign of dominance was not ended after a dozen victories. The team came together, guys stepped up, others overachieved, and the team won their 13th straight league title and 7th straight AEC title.

Most Improved Male Athlete

Courtesy www.umbcxctf.wordpress.com

Camal Pugh, Men’s Track and Field

Good but never great- that was Camal Pugh’s reputation as an athlete on the track and field team for three years. But in his senior year he changed that. Pugh went from a guy who would contribute to his teams total every once in a while to one of the best runners on the team. During the indoor season he won two golds, three silvers, and a spot in the I.C.4.A. Championships. During the outdoor season, he remained the teams top hurdler every time out, and won a gold at the AEC Championship meet, and once again, qualified for the I.C.4.A. Championships.

Most Improved Female Athlete

Erika Braerman, Women’s Lacrosse

Last season Erika Braerman just had to pass the ball inside to the teams big guns. But this year, she was one of them. As a freshman Braerman scored just nine goals and had 11 assists but this year she led the team with 54 points off a team high 22 assists, and 32 goals, which ranked second on the team. Braerman learned her new role fast, and really excelled at it, making her another cornerstone of the women’s lacrosse team’s future success.

Unsung Male Hero

Mike Camardo, Men’s Lacrosse

It is really stunning to see that with everything Mike Camardo has done in his career, he has only been named to the AEC Second-team just two times in his career. He’s never been a first-team player or All-American. But when watching Mike Camardo you can tell he was always the best player on the field for both sides. His job was not to score, or set up the offense. It was to shut down the opposing offense and he did just that. In 13 games Camardo caused 36 turnovers (2.76 per game) and scooped up 54 ground balls (4.15 per game). As a long stick midfielder he was never the spotlight of the team, but he was usually up against the teams top offensive player, and usually won the battle.

Unsung Female Athlete

Kira Giles, Volleyball

When you’re a setter in Volleyball it is only natural for you to get overlooked. The credit always went to Ashley Oscars, Alyssa Lang, and Naomi Bush for smacking the ball down for kills, and for good reason. But Kira Giles was iatrical in all of that happening. As the setter she not only had to lob the ball up for them to hit, but she had to do it in the right place, which she did 633 times during the season. But she also contributed everywhere else on the floor, tying for second with 16 service aces, finished fourth with 171 digs, and fifth with 28 blocks.

Fan’s Choice Male Athlete of the Year

Andrew Bulls, Men’s soccer

Andrew Bulls ran away with the fan vote, more than doubling the second place finisher. With 15 goals and 11 assists, Bulls finished the regular season as the nations leading scorer and earned the AEC Striker of the Year award. It didn’t take long to see that Bulls was headed for a spectacular season. He scored four goals and had five assists after the first week of games and was named Player of the Week by collegesoccernews.com. He started the season with a score in 11 straight games, tying Giuliano Celenza’s streak set in 2000. He became the faster Retriever to score eight goals (six games) in their D-I history and finished second in the nation with 26 points, only behind his teammate Levi Houapeu.

Fan’s Choice Female Athlete of the Year

Fan’s just could not pick between the two seniors as they both finished with the same number of votes.

Carlee Cassidy, Women’s Basketball

Carlee Cassidy is certainly one of UMBC’s greatest scorers and continued to prove it as a senior with 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.3 three-pointers, and a 36.1 FG% and 32.0 3-pt%.

Amanda Fefel, Softball

Fefel is also arguably one of the best players in the softball team’s history. This year she not only dominated at the plate, totaling 53 hits, 13 home runs, 35 RBIs, 101 total bases, a .631 slugging percentage, and 40% on-base percentage. She also dominated on the mound with a team-best 2.64 ERA and four saves. She eventually moved back into the starting rotation as the season wore on. This year she also became UMBC’s all-time leader in home runs as she hit her 41st career home run. She finished the season with her fourth-straight first-team All-AEC selection, and also earned an ECAC all-star selection.

Male Athlete of the Year

Levi Houapeu, Men’s Soccer

When you’re the nation’s leading scorer and ECAC Offensive Player of the Year it’s hard not to be the UMBC Sports Blog Player of the Year. The fact is, Levi Houapeu was just absolutely dominate this year and was a huge reason the team was really successful. His speed and scoring ability opened up the other offensive players, but was also just too good for his opponents to stop. He finished the season with 28 points off 15 goals and 13 assists. He recorded two hat tricks this season, becoming the first to do so since Derek McElligott in 2001. After being injured as a sophomore, he came back and helped lead the team to their first AEC finals since 2000, and put them back on the map for next year.

Female Athlete of the Year

Courtesy www.umbcxctf.wordpress.com

Sara Parkinson, Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field

While she did not win the award for any particular season, it is hard to break her success down into just on because, well, she competed in three seasons. Parkinson was always her team’s top performer and that showed with her awards at the end of those seasons. She received all-conference three times in the 2009-2010 athletic year, which to say the least, is impressive. Being named All-AEC for one sport is a big accomplishment, but to carry that level of success into three seasons is very tough to do.

UMBC head men’s soccer coach Pete Caringi has announced that a pair of prospective student-athletes have committed to the Retriever program.

Junior forward Nirav Kadam (Germantown, Md./Northwest/UNC-Greensboro) has signed a grant-in-aid and is matriculating at UMBC this spring. Forward Pete Caringi, III (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) has signed a national letter-of-intent and will attend in the fall of 2010.

Kadam had a brilliant prep career and earned All-State and All-Metro honors from The Washington Post in 2006. He earned All-America honors and recorded 12 goals in his senior campaign at Northwest. In 2007, he tallied three goals and added three assists for the Spartans and earned South Conference All-Tournament team honors. The dymanic 5’4” Kadam started 19 of 23 games in 2008 and scored five goals. He will have two years of eligibility at UMBC.

“Nirav should make an immediate impact in our program.” Caringi said. “He has a proven track record of creating and scoring goals. We are looking forward to him contributing to an already experienced group.”

The younger Caringi was a First Team All-Metro honoree (Baltimore Sun) and also earned All-State honors this fall. He captained the Calvert Hall squad and led the Cardinals for the second straight year in scoring, posting 15 goals this fall.

“Pete’s development the past two years at the club and high school levels has been tremendous,” Caringi said. “His passion, work ethic and ability to score goals will be an asset to our program.”

The Retrievers registered a mark of 14-6-0 in 2009 and advanced to the America East title game. Junior midfielder Levi Houapeu and sophomore forward Andrew Bulls finished 1-2 in the nation in scoring and no seniors were on the 2009 active roster.

First, I’d like to show the most successful teams UMBC has had this past decade. Ten teams have brought a championship to UMBC, combining for 33 total:

Men’s Swimming and Diving:
(10)- 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

It was a clean sweep for the men’s swimming and diving team. No team could dethrone them as championship this past decade. Easily the most successful program in UMBC history, the men’s swimming and diving team’s streak goes half way through the last decade as they have won 15 league titles stretching from when they were in the Big South, to the Northeast Conference, and now the America East.

Women’s Swimming and Diving:
(5)- 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008

While the men’s team has absolutely dominated competition, the women’s team has been right there with them for half of the decade as they came away with five championships. But even when they did not win, they were always right up there in the final standings, easily making them the second most successful team in UMBC history.

Men’s Tennis:
(5)- 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007

The men’s tennis team was literally untouchable in the early part of the decade, taking four championships. While they had success right away in the America East Conference the team took a little step back, but like the women’s swimming and diving team, were never out of contention to win another championship. They have recently found there way back to the top of the conference and after coach Keith Puryear left to take on a new challenge at the Naval Academy women’s coach, Paul Hubbard does not look like his team will be off track of their tradition of excellence.

Women’s Tennis:
(4)- 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

Just like their male counterpart, the women’s tennis team was untouchable in the earlier part of the decade, taking four straight conference championships in a row. Since the switch into the new conference the team has gradually risen to the top of the conference and could be headed back to the top very soon.

Men’s Lacrosse:
(3)- 2006, 2008, 2009

Under arguably the best coach in the nation Don Zimmerman, the UMBC lacrosse team has risen to the upper echelon of college lacrosse in the later part of the decade. They have made four straight trips to the NCAA tournament on the back of three championships and one at-large bid. They have beaten national powerhouse Maryland the last three times they have met, including a first round game in the NCAA tournament. As UMBC’s only serious national championship contender, the men’s lacrosse team does not look to be going away any time soon.

Women’s Lacrosse:
(2)- 2002, 2003

Before the men’s team dynasty in the later part of the decade the women’s lacrosse team was consistently one of the top teams in the Northeast conference and in their final two seasons their they won two championships. Since the move the team took a step back and took a little while to build up to the new level of competition but are very close to making it back to the top of the conference. It has been a while but they should be a contender once again within the next two seasons.

Men’s Basketball:
(1)- 2008

After several abysmal seasons the men’s basketball team soared to success when three transfers joined a dangerous duo of Brian Hodges and Jay Greene to dominate competition and run away with a conference championship. The next season UMBC did not see the same type of success, or repeat as championship but they made a miracle run to the conference championship, coming just one game short. While there season is not going very well this year everybody is expected to return next season and deep freshman class has potential to make the team dangerous for a while.

Women’s Basketball:
(1)- 2007

Nobody saw there championship coming. There finished seventh in the conference in the regular season with a losing record but proceeded to knock off the top three seeds, Stony Brook, Vermont, and Hartford, in the conference tournament to become champions. While they have not made it back to the top the last two seasons the benefits of winning a championship have clearly paid off as a now sophomore class has tremendous talent and potential to get them back to the top if not this year, at least by their senior year.

Men’s Cross Country:
(1)- 2006

Once again, this was a team that nobody expected to win. They were picked to finish fifth in the conference but had their top five players finish 16th or earlier to give then 52 points as they beat the overwhelming favorite New Hampshire by 10 points.

Baseball:
(1)- 2001

Hall of Fame Coach John Jancuska had a dynasty in the 1990′s that carried over into the earlier part of this decade. Since the move to the America East Conference the team has taken a slight step back but are slowly moving up the ladder. In 2008 the 20 year head coach led his senior laden team to a playoff appearance. While the team finished last in the conference the next season as they lost a very good group of seniors, the freshman showed potential to be a good nucleus to build a contending team around.

In those 10 seasons UMBC has seen many championships, but good athletes make good teams. While I planned on making a list of just the top 10 athletes, there were just too many good athletes to limit the list to just 10. With 19 teams at UMBC between the men and women, I upped my list to the top 20 to give everybody their credit. The stipulations of the list were that a player had to play at least two years at UMBC, including their senior season. Also, eligibility was based on when their final season ended. If a player played in the 1990′s but his final season was in 2000, he was eligible. On the other hand, if a player is currently playing and will finishing in 2010 or later, they are not eligible.

Without further adieu:

Honorable Mentions:
(winter seasons cross over into multiple years)
Jana Karavosa- Women’s Tennis- 2000-2003
Adam Grossman- Men’s Track and Field- 2002-2006
Kristie Pickeral- Softball- 2002-2006
Brian Hodges- Men’s Basketball- 2004-2008
Ali Levendusky- Women’s Lacrosse- 2005-2008

Top 20:

20. Kelly Fiorani- Women’s Lacrosse- 2003-2006
Fiorani started her career at UMBC off with a boom, earning second team all-conference honors and the Rookie of the Year award. She followed her impressive freshman campaign up with a first team selection as a sophomore. In her senior year she once again earned first team honors in 2006. Over her four years she scored 140 goals, which ranked third all-time in UMBC history. She dished out 49 assists, which is ninth all-time, and totaled 189 points, which ranks third in school history.

19. Kennedy Okafor- Men’s Basketball- 1997-2001
After an incredible freshman season where he was named to the all-conference second team and Rookie of the Year, Okafor was only earned all-conference honors one more time, which was after his senior season when he was named to the second team for a second time. But despite his lack of post-season honors Okafor put together a great career highlighted by a record 985 career rebound (8.7 per game), which still stands today. He totaled 1,319 points (11.6 points per game), which ranks eight all-time in school history. His 50.1% mark from the field, and 113 games played both ranks seventh all-time. He also set a record of 14 double-doubles in a season as a senior, a record that still stands today.

18. Jen Dragoni- Women’s Lacrosse- 2001-2004
Dragoni finished her four year career with three straight first team all-conference selections and a Player of the Year award as a junior. In her career she gave out 68 assists, which is the most in school history. She also scored 123 points, which is eigth all-time, and 186 points, which ranks fifth in school history.

17. Jeremy Blevins- Men’s Lacrosse- 2006-2009
No goalie in the nation had more success than the UMBC net minder during the four seasons her was there. His 44-19 record not only shattered the previous Division I best by a UMBC goalie, but he was the winningest active goalie in the nation when he finished. He helped to lead UMBC to the NCAA tournament all four years he was in goal by making 628 saves, which ranked fourth in school history. As a freshman he was named Rookie of the Year and finished his career with two straight first team all-conference selections, honorable mentions all-American honors, and a Player of the Year Award as a senior.

16. Lisa Boone- Softball- 2000-2003
Already a member of the UMBC Hall of Fame, Boone was an all-conference honoree all four seasons at UMBC and topped it off with first-team honors in her junior and senior seasons. She holds records in career doubles with 56, triples with 15, and at bats, with 758. She ranks second all-time in games played and started as she started all 223 games she took part in. Her 79 extra base hits in a career also ranks second. She recorded 249 hits in her career, which ranks third all-time, and 119 RBI’s, which ranks seventh. She also he 90 hits and nine triples in a season are both records.

15. Jared Boyd- Baseball- 1999-2002
Another former athlete who is already a member of the UMBC Hall of Fame, Boyd was a two-time first-team all-conference honoree and finished his career with a Player of the Year honor, and ECAC first-team selection. When he graduated he was the holder of four career records. While his 240 career hits still stand at the top he is now second in games played with 194, at bats with 687, and doubles with 61. He is also ranked second all-time with 166 runs. His records of 84 hits and 56 games played in a season have yet to be touched.

14. Derek McElligott- Men’s Soccer- 2001-2004
No player in UMBC Division I history put more balls in the back of the net than McElligott. The three-time first-team all-conference honoree and former Rookie of the Year scored 47 goals, a UMBC Division I record, and had 12 assists for a UMBC Division I record 106 points in his career. If it wasn’t for his senior season being his worst, thought eight goals and second-team all-conference honors is still great, he would be much higher on this list.

13. Josef Novotney- Men’s Tennis- 2002-2004
Novotney is without question the most successful tennis player UMBC has ever had. After transferring from Norfolk State he competed in three seasons for UMBC and earned all-conference honors all three-years as a singles competitor. He accumulated a 76-16 singles record in his three years and became the highest ranking tennis player in UMBC history when he was listed #4 in the Northeast as a senior. He was no slouch in doubles competition though. He was a two-time all-conference honoree in doubles competition as he finished with a 32-16 record.

12. Joe Fowler- Baseball- 2005-2008
It’s hard to imagine a player who was on three losing teams to be ranked higher than a player who is already in the UMBC Hall of Fame, but Fowler should certainly be headed there. He currently hold four all-time records in UMBC Baseball history, three of which previously belonged to Boyd. His 199 games played, 759 at bats, 67 doubles, and 407 total bases are all tops for Baseball and he came just one hit away from Boyd’s 240 career hits. His 31 home runs in a career ranks fourth and his 215 RBI’s and 149 runs rank sixth all-time.

11. Brendan Mundorf- Men’s Lacrosse- 2003-2006
Mundorf capped off a brilliant career with three straight first team all-conference honors and two straight Player of the Year awards. As a junior he was an honorable mention all-American and as a senior he was named to the third team. Mundorf is arguably the most athletic lacrosse player to every play for UMBC, and he was just a deadly scorer. He totaled 112 goals, 73 assists, and 185 points, all of which rank sixth in UMBC history.

10. Deanna Vecchio- Softball- 1999-2002
Another member of the UMBC Hall of Fame, Vecchio was a four time first team all-conference honoree and capped off her career as Player of the Year and a first team all-region honoree. She currently holds records in career runs with 179 and steals with 135. Her 68 runs in a season and 26 straight games with a hit are also UMBC bests. She ranks second all-time with 258 hits, fourth with nine triples and 731 at bats, and fifth with 338 total bases. Her career .353 batting average ranks seventh.

9. Justin Bronson- Men’s Swimming and Diving- 2006-2009
As successful at the men’s swimming and diving team has been they have obviously had their fair share of talented swimmers, but Justin Bronson stands out in the group. The four time all-conference honoree led the Retrievers to their four championships while he was at UMBC, totaling 80 golds. He was one of the top freestyle swimmers in UMBC history as he holds three records. He has the best time in the 200 and 500 free’s and was apart of the 800 free relay team that is also an America East, and America East Championship record. He also holds two other conference championship records, the 200 free which he broke his own record in, and the 500 free.

8. Terrence Ward- Men’s Basketball- 1997-2001
Few players have seen more success on the basketball court than Terrence Ward did in his career. He still holds four UMBC records and was just a dominate point guard, both offensively, and as a floor leader. He holds records in career three’s with 296, career free throws with 374, career free throw percentage as he made 85.4% of his attempts, and his 122 starts is also a record. His 81 three’s as a senior is the second most in a season in UMBC history. He totaled 1,692 career points (14.2 per game), which ranks fourth all-time, hit 510 field goals, which ranks fifth all-time, and gave out 307 assists, which is tenth all-time. He played 3,715 minutes, which is the third most in school history. As a freshman he garnered all-rookie honors, was named to the second team as a sophomore, and finished his career with two straight first-team all-conference honors.

7. Drew Westervelt- Men’s Lacrosse- 2004-2007
While Westervelt was only a first team all-conference honoree one time while at UMBC, which was as a senior, he still had a great career. In his final season he was also a third team all-American honoree. The two seasons prior he was a second team all-conference player, and as a freshman he was an all-rookie team selection. In his career he totaled 112 goals, which is tied for sixth with Brendan Mundorf. He also totaled 104 assists and 216 career points, which both ranks third in UMBC history. The post season awards may not have been friendly to him but he was one of the reasons for UMBC’s surge to the top of the college lacrosse world, and a leader who was a key contributor to the upset of Maryland in the NCAA tournament.

6. Andy Wells- Men’s Soccer- 1998-2001
In soccer the position of sweeper is rarely used because nobody is good enough to play it, but coach Pete Caringi found a gem in Wells and took advantage of it and was rewarded with a four time first team all-conference defender. Wells’ remarkable athleticism, endurance, and knowledge of the game also earned him three all-region honors, third team as a sophomore, second team as a junior, and first team as a senior. Even though Wells was a top notch defender, he also scored 16 goals in his career, gave out seven assists, and was 11 of 13 on penalty kicks.

5. Darryl Proctor- Men’s Basketball- 2007-2009
In just two years after transferring from Coppin State Darryl Proctor put his name in with the greatest in UMBC history. Though he did not win a Player of the Year award, he was named first team all-conference both seasons at UMBC and was arguably the most dominate player in the conference those two years. Though he only had two seasons in a UMBC history he led UMBC to a conference championship as a junior, and a trip to the conference finals as a senior. He totalled 1,138 points in those two years, which ranks 14th in UMBC history. His 558 rebounds ranks 10th all-time. He holds single season records in points with 639, field goals with 254, and minutes with 1,269, all three of which were set as a senior. As a junior his 499 points and 278 rebounds ranked sixth, his 60 steals ranked third, 194 field goals ranks fifth, and 1,193 minutes ranked fourth in a season. In his final season, Proctor recorded 13 double-doubles, just one away from the UMBC record. He also scored in double figures in every game, giving him 40 to end his career, shattering the previous record. Proctor failed to scored in double figures just twice in his two seasons.

4. Cleopatra Borel- Women’s Track and Field- 1998-2002
It’s not often that UMBC is home to a national champion. In fact it has only happened once and that was when Borel won a national championship in the shot put as a senior. The five-time all-American still holds four UMBC record. In Indoor track and field she holds records in the shot put with a mark of 17.50 meters, which won her the national championship, and also in the weight throw with a mark of 18.03 meters. In outdoor track and field she holds records in the shot put with a mark of 16.44 meters, and in the hammer throw with a mark of 51.28 meters.

3. Giuliano Celenza- Men’s Soccer- 1999-2000
If you ask anybody who follows UMBC soccer who UMBC’s all-time leading scorer is they will say Giuliano Celenza, not Derek McElligott. While McElligott had a great career, he broke Celenza’s career goal total of 41, and career point total of 100. The difference between the two, Celenze set both those records in just two years while it took McElligott four years to do. In 1999 Celenza made his debut for UMBC by scoring a record 22 goals with 10 assists, which ranks fifth in a season, for a record 54 points, leading UMBC to an undefeated regular season and a conference championship. As a senior he scored 19 goals, third in a season, and had eight assists for 46 points, third all-time. He was a two time Player of the Year and first team all-conference honoree. As a junior he was an all-American. He has also been claimed to be the reason for the end of the Battle of Baltimore in soccer as every team in the tournament wanted UMBC to reschedule their year out for his senior season because they did not want to play him.

2. Jay Greene- Men’s Basketball- 2005-2009
What does it take for a 5’6″ point guard to steal the hearts of UMBC basketball fans? A lot of talent and that is just what “Little Scrappy” had. He never let his size be a disadvantage for him, instead he was one of the most dominate players in the conference and a finalist for the Bob Cousey Award, nations best point-guard, as a junior and senior. With four other very talented starters Greene won UMBC’s first ever conference championship in 2008, and with Proctor, they put the team on their back and carried them to another finals appearance the following season. As a junior he earned first team all-conference honors and as a senior he was named to the second team. While Greene scored 1,186 points in his career, which ranks 12th all-time, and hit 240 three-pointers, which ranks third all-time, he was not known for his scoring ability, rather his ability to manage a game. He shattered the all-time assists mark by 176 as he dished out 683 in four years. His 157 steals in his career ranks fourth all-time and his 4,213 minutes is the most ever recorded by a UMBC basketball player. During his phenomenal junior season he set a single season record by giving out 236 assists, and was the only player in the entire nation to be ranked in the top five in assists and assists-to-turnover ratio. His assists totals in all four seasons ranks in the top ten with the record being during his junior season. His senior total of 187 ranks second, his sophomore total of 159 ranks seventh, and his freshman total of 153 ranks seventh.

1. Terry Kimener- Men’s Lacrosse- 2005-2008
As much talent as the men’s lacrosse team has had in this decade, and UMBC athletics have had in this decade, no player stands out more than Terry Kimener. While he did not see the field much as a freshman, after that he was a three time first team all-conference selection, two time honorable mention honoree, and as a senior a second team all-American and America East Player of the Year. While Kimener’s 71 career goals, 63 assists, and 144 points are not even in the top 10 in UMBC’s history, Kimener was a midfielder. His job was not to score, it was to lead his team, and in that he excelled far more than any record could show. During his senior season Kimener worked miracles. With a bevy of talent gone from the previous season, including the top three scorers, Kimener’s leadership, and both offensive and defensive ability helped to turn around an 0-2 team that was embarrassed in their first two games, to the number five team in the nation and a serious national championship contender. While the team fell to the number one team in the nation, Virginia, they were in the game until the last second.