UMBC Parent Preview

“Extraordinary” is an apt word to describe the UMBC men’s soccer team’s dash to an America East championship, a first-round victory on penalty kicks in the NCAA men’s soccer tournament against Old Dominion University and a heartbreak exit, also on penalty kicks, against the nation’s fifth-ranked team and defending NCAA men’s soccer champions, the University of North Carolina (UNC), on the Tarheels’ home field on Sunday, November 18.

A single number shows the extraordinary quality of the Retrievers’ run: UMBC’s defense, led by junior goalkeeper Phil Saunders, kept its opponents off the scoreboard from open play for a staggering 420 minutes over the team’s last four single-elimination tournament games.

The 2012 UMBC men’s soccer team’s America East championship ensured the team’s second appearance in the NCAA Men’s Soccer College Cup in the last three years. And the 2012 team matched the achievements of a 2010 squad that was also one of the best in UMBC soccer history. The 2010 team beat a Princeton University squad that was ranked 10th in the nation before also falling on penalty kicks to The College of William and Mary in the second round.

“We’re so proud of the achievements of men’s soccer team and coach Pete Caringi,” said UMBC president Freeman A Hrabowski III, who observed that academic achievements have also been a hallmark of the university’s men’s soccer program.

Indeed, the day after their first round NCAA victory over Old Dominion, the men’s soccer team was also recognized with a 2011-2012 College Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The team earned that distinction by being among the 221 men’s programs in America with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher. (The university’s women’s soccer team also was recognized with the same award, and UMBC was one of only 150 programs in which both its men’s and women’s programs received the NSCAA award.)

The 2012 Retrievers won their way to an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a victory over the University of New Hampshire in the America East championship game, held on November 10 at Retriever Soccer Park. After losing junior forward Pete Caringi III (who had been named America East Striker of the Year) to an injury in the championship game’s fourth minute, the Retrievers displayed the necessary determination and grit to take the game to overtime and then triumph on penalty kicks – with Saunders making two penalty saves and being named the championship’s outstanding player

The joy of winning a place in the NCAA tournament on a chilly Saturday night was quickly replaced by determination to make a mark in the Men’s Soccer College Cup. And UMBC would have to do that the hard way: playing on the home fields of their opponents.

First up on Thursday, November 15 were the Monarchs of Old Dominion University who had been ranked in the top-25 in collegiate men’s soccer at various points of the 2012 season. And for the second contest in a row, a hard-fought 0-0 game ended once again with a scoreless double overtime and a UMBC win on penalty kicks to advance to a second round game against the University of North Carolina at UMBC’s Fetzer Field.

The Retrievers rode their defense again in the first half of its match against the defending NCAA champions, scratching and clawing their way to halftime with a clean sheet. The team put more pressure on the Tarheels in the second half and through two scoreless overtime periods, but once again, the game came down to penalty kicks.

This time, however, a Retriever team that had lived by the penalty kick found its luck had turned. North Carolina’s goalkeeper Scott Goodwin made three saves on UMBC penalty tries, while Phil Saunders could only save one of the Tarheels’ attempts and won the penalty round 3-2.

The Retrievers ended their 2012 campaign at 11-4-7, but the team’s torrid close to the season (including seven wins, one loss and one tie in their final eight games) and wins in the conference championship and the first round of the NCAA tournament not only have earned the 2012 squad a treasured place in UMBC athletics history, but also show that UMBC is on the rise in the ranks of collegiate soccer.

“We lost to a very good team, a championship team, so we have nothing to hold our heads down about,” Coach Caringi told reporters after the loss to North Carolina. “I am very proud of these guys and what they accomplished since they’ve been here. They put UMBC on the map in soccer.”

Tuesday, December 11
UMBC Camerata: Carols for The Season
1:45 pm, UMBC Commons, Mainstreet

The UMBC Camerata revisits a portion of it’s most recent performance, “Choruses and Carols”, for a holiday themed, afternoon concert entitled “Carols for The Season” under the direction of Dr. Stephen Caracciolo.

The program will feature:

Carol of The Bells by Mykola Leontovych
Hush, My Dear Lie Still And Slumber by Stephen Caracciolo
Wassail Song arranged by Ralph Vaughn Williams
Angels We Have Heard on High arranged by Alice Parker

The Camerata is a select choir of 40-50 singers drawn from all majors of the university, Camerata performs a wide variety of works drawn from the expansive choral repertoire: including Renaissance motets, folksongs, choral-orchestral works, German part songs, Russian sacred liturgies, American spirituals, and new works. In previous seasons Camerata has accepted invitations to perform with conductor-composer John Rutter at Carnegie Hall, and provide entertainment for guests touring the White House during the holiday season.

Admission to this performance is free.

The Departments of American Studies and Visual Arts at UMBC and the Baybrook Coalition, a non-profit community development corporation, will host an event celebrating the history and culture of the Baltimore neighborhoods Brooklyn and Curtis Bay (referred to together as Baybrook), on Saturday, December 1 from 1 to 5pm. The Polish Home Hall is located at 4416 Fairhaven Avenue in the Curtis Bay neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland.

Students in Professor Nicole King’s American studies course and Professor Steve Bradley’s visual arts course worked together on various aspects of programming for this event. This work is funded by a UMBC BreakingGround grant and illustrates how the successes and failures of urban industrial development contribute to our understanding of historic places and the creation of social space. A central theme of this project is that preserving places through original research, virtual mapping, and public humanities and arts programming creates social space—the room for diverse people and perspectives to come together and enhance today’s urban environments. “Mapping Baybrook: From Main Street to the Harbor” recognizes historic main streets as an essential place for the future development of the community and features the aesthetic resources within the community. The event will also mark the launch of the Mapping Baybrook website, which was designed in collaboration with UMBC’s Imaging Research Center (IRC).

A $10 ticket provides a pulled pork barbeque lunch with all the fixings, a copy of Mapping Baybrook’s main streets walking tour brochure, an event program, live music, public history programming, and an art exhibit designed and executed by Professor Steve Bradley and UMBC’s IRC Fellows. Children under 10 will be admitted free of charge and are invited to participate in special activities just for kids. Anyone who lives or works in Baybrook will receive $2 off the $10 ticket price.

All proceeds raised at the event will be donated to the non-profit Baybrook Coalition for the continued preservation of the historic Polish Home Hall. The Polish Home Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as an anchor for the communities of Baybrook.

This event is sponsored by the Orser Center for the Study of Place, Community, and Culture in the Department of American Studies, the Visual Arts Department, a Breaking Ground grant, the Imaging Research Center (IRC) Fellows all at UMBC as well as the Baybrook Coalition, a non-profit community development corporation serving the residents of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay.

UMBC embraces the potential of all students to become innovative problem solvers, resource creators and boundary busters in their fields. Matching students with opportunities to learn through practice is one key way the Shriver Center helps them realize that potential.

This summer, nearly 700 UMBC students enrolled in the Shriver Center’s internship, co-op and research practica at sites across the United States. These experiences go beyond on-the-job skills training. They enable our students to articulate their passions, envision their futures, and break ground on unique professional paths—all while making a visible impact, whether they are at the White House or a Baltimore hospital.

Research Program Coordinator Carly Hunt of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center writes, “Over the past several years, UMBC interns have contributed immensely to our research on psychological and psychosocial recovery following severe burn injury.”

In a 2012 Shriver Center survey, approximately 90% of respondents said that their placement increased the clarity of their career goals, their self-confidence and their ability to make decisions—essential qualities for effective agents of change in any field. Further, 77% wrote that their leadership skills improved as a direct result of their internship, co-op, or research experience.

UMBC students have applied this leadership in an incredibly diverse range of ways. They have worked with non-profits to lead community service initiatives and spread their organizations’ reach through media campaigns. They have made companies more efficient and effective at serving clients and have offered fresh insight on scientific research. They have broken down preconceptions and cultivated new partnerships.

Timothy Potteiger ’14, computer engineering, writes that his White House internship program “really adopted an entrepreneurial mindset encouraging everyone on the team to be proactive.” He was thrilled to hit the ground running and meet the office’s high expectations.

This is gratifying news for Christine Routzahn, Director of Professional Practice at the Shriver Center. Routzahn says, “Our goal is that all UMBC students engage in applied learning and graduate with the knowledge and experience they need to find empowerment and success in their careers.”

Here we feature student interns from across UMBC who are making tangible impacts on their fields and the world.

Want to get an in-depth look at what it means to be a Retriever? Our Visit Day programs enable prospective students and their families to learn about admission, financial aid and scholarships, residential life, the Honors College, student activities and more. You will also have an opportunity to speak with representatives from various academic and service departments and, during weekday programs, sit in on a class of your choice. Student-guided walking tours are also provided.

Friday, December 7, 2012 from 8:30 AM to 2 PM

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