Legendary UMBC men’s soccer coach Pete Caringi recently announced his retirement after 32 brilliant seasons in charge of the Retrievers.
Caringi, 67, was the longest-tenured head coach for any one sport in UMBC history. But he has made it clear that he is simply stepping down from his head coaching position and he is not leaving the game of soccer just yet.
UMBC announced on Feb. 6 that associate head coach Anthony Adams is taking over as head coach with Caringi officially retiring on April 1, 2023, and Adams will have plenty of talent at his disposal. The Retrievers finished the 2022 season 10-6-2, and most of the team will return. Among the top returners is Taylor Calheira, who finished second on the team in both goals and assists last season.
“It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. But I really took the approach that it was best when we got our grades. It was the best team average we’ve ever had,” Caringi said on Glenn Clark Radio on Feb. 1, referring to the Retrievers’ team GPA of 3.5. “Our APR rate was 1000, which is our graduation rate, which was perfect. No one went in the portal, which is in today’s day is kind of crazy.
“And that kind of led me to believe that, even though the team next year is going to be really good … I wanted to leave it in a good spot.”
The legacy that Caringi leaves behind includes 320 victories, second in the school’s history in any sport, and an overall winning percentage of .595 (.714 at home). He also won 11 conference championships, led the Retrievers to the College Cup Final Four in 2014 and coached nine All-Americans.
Caringi, a Highlandtown native and Calvert Hall graduate, is viewed as a perfect embodiment of Baltimore soccer. He has coached at the high school, club and community college levels in the area — and of course, the Division I college level. In short, he is Baltimore soccer.
It was no secret that Caringi liked to recruit the area. In 2022, the Retrievers’ roster was comprised of 16 Maryland natives and four from Baltimore City. He spoke about what separates Baltimore soccer players from the rest and why he liked to recruit them to play for him.
“Growing up here, [local college teams] have always had success,” Caringi said. “There were a lot of good teams, and they were all successful with a lot of local players, with all local players … so it’s always been a soccer town. … I’ve always believed that we could do it with players from the area.”
When he took over ahead of the 1991 season, Caringi immediately led the Retrievers to a 15-5-1 record, the most wins in an inaugural season in school history. In 1999, UMBC earned its first NCAA Tournament bid as part of a 19-1-2 season. The Retrievers led the nation that year in winning percentage.
Caringi never had back-to-back fall seasons with a losing record during his tenure. Caringi spoke briefly about the environment that he created so quickly in the program upon his arrival in 1991.
“I think the mentality started when I first went in,” Caringi said. “I remember going there my first year and obviously played a schedule that I had nothing to do with. But the mentality of the players was clearly, ‘Hey Coach, last year we played such and such, and we played really well for 80 minutes. We lost 2-1, but we played great.’
“I remember that was the mentality of the team in the bus or the van. … They would accept defeat and it was OK to play good, or play pretty, but not win the games. … From that point on, I think they understood no matter what that we were playing for championships every year.”
For more from Caringi, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of UMBC Athletics