Destinys Darlings
UMBC Mens Soccer Kicks Into the Final Four
On a chilly night in Omaha, Nebraska, UMBCs mens soccer squad reached giddy heights that a Division I team in any sport at the university has never touched before: the Final Four of a national collegiate tournament.
After 110 hard-fought and scoreless minutes against the No. 12-ranked Creighton Bluejays, the Retrievers snatched a 4-3 win on penalty kicks.
UMBCs Road Warriors (15-5-4) have travelled to four different stadiums and won four straight games against nationally-ranked opponents to earn their place among the elite teams in college soccer.
We were destined to be here, said UMBC mens soccer head coach Pete Caringi, Jr. in a press conference after the victory.
The Retrievers played with immense composure throughout the first 90 minutes of the game, shutting down a Creighton squad previously unbeaten on its home field in NCAA tournament history. The two ten-minute overtime sessions were a study in contrasts. The Retrievers came close to scoring on a few occasions in the first overtime, while Creighton nearly snatched a victory in the second overtime period.
With a place in the NCAA College Cup on the line in a penalty kick shootout, standout sophomore goalkeeper Billy Heavner made an impressive stop on the first Creighton attempt and watched the second Bluejay attempt hit a goalpost. The Retrievers then scored on four of their five penalty kicks, with senior midfielder Mamadou Kansaye, senior defender Jordan Becker and junior forward/midfielder Michael Scott scoring penalties to set up a winning conversion by senior forward Kay Banjo.
We feel like we belong here, Heavner said in a press conference held after the victory. We feel like we belong at this level .But we have more work to do.
The UMBC mens soccer squad has achieved this athletics milestone by taking a different path to success. The university and its athletics department share a vision to seek excellence for UMBCs student athletes in the classroom as well as on the field.
In a recent interview with UMBC Magazine, UMBC athletics director Tim Hall said: My own beliefs about intercollegiate athletics and academics are congruent with the leadership of the university. I believe that success in athletics and success in academics are not mutually exclusive. You can be successful and balanced in both.
Its a vision thats paying off with a UMBC squad that is now in the Final Four.
Last week, Heavner was presented with the inaugural America East Elite 18 award, which recognizes student-athletes competing in conference championship matches who possess high academic and athletic achievements. In addition to being one of the catalysts on UMBCs amazing postseason run, Heavner also maintains a 4.0 GPA as a major in financial economics.
The UMBC men’s and women’s soccer teams also earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Awards for the 2013-14 academic year for posting cumulative team grade point averages of 3.0 or better. UMBC was one of only 188 schools that had both men’s and women’s programs recognized in the NSCAA awards.
To see video highlights of the historic win, explore detailed game accounts and statistics, and obtain information on obtaining tickets to next Fridays national semifinal game in Cary, N.C., head to umbcretrievers.com.
(Updated 12/5/2014)
