PDL Feature
Monday, June 3, 2013
The Baltimore Bohemians’ Pete Caringi III has spent most of his life around a soccer field. The son of former professional player and current UMBC coach Pete Caringi, Jr., Caringi was a standout for the Baltimore Bays in the youth ranks, while also starring in high school.
After becoming a Retriever, and playing for his father in the process, Caringi’s success has continued. Last fall he had 14 goals and four assists, helping his side win the America East title as he was named the conference’s Striker of the Year.
Caringi has also found success for the Bohemians this season, earning PDL Player of the Week honors last week after a four-goal game lifted his side to victory against the NJ LUSO Rangers. With the Bohs now 2-0-1 this season, the second-year club could be a threat to make the playoffs in the Mid Atlantic Division.
Whether they will find a place in the postseason could be determined soon. The Bohemians face big games with defending division champion Ocean City this Saturday night, and perennial playoff contender the Jersey Express on Monday. Ahead of those games, USLSoccer.com caught up with Caringi to talk about the Bohs, his father’s influence, and playing alongside teammates from his youth soccer and college days.
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USL: As far as the game against the Rangers was concerned, what was it that clicked into gear in the second half for you guys?
Caringi: We showed a little bit up front in the first half with being fluid overall, but when the second half came around we decided that we had tied the first game before that and we needed to get these league points, especially with Reading and Ocean City and all of them ahead of us. We’ve all played together before, so it all kind of clicked, and we started rolling after that.
USL: What was it that got you involved with the Bohemians? Had you been part of the Baltimore Bays growing up?
Caringi: Most of us have been part of the Baltimore Bays growing up, and then after we all got to college and separated we all came back and join the Bohemians. There are other players in there as well, obviously, but the base of our group is from our Baltimore Bays U18 academy teams, U16 academy teams.
USL: Does that give you guys a certain amount of chemistry because a lot of you will have played together before?
Caringi: I’ve played with some of these guys on the team for three, four years now in a row, including last year with the Bohemians. A lot of us won the U19 National Championship with the Bays two years ago, so for a lot of us we’ve been together three or four years now, some of us have been even longer, and now I have four UMBC teammates and some other UMBC guys who have graduated, so coming into it right away it wasn’t like I had to learn a lot of people, the chemistry was already there, there were only a couple of people here and there who I had to learn their names and learn how to play with.
USL: As far as UMBC is concerned, you obviously had a great fall last year. What was that like to go through, and what was it like to pick up all of those accolades, particularly from America East?
Caringi: It was great, especially because the year before, I didn’t have my best year overall in my sophomore year. We came in together, and we tried to turn it on, and with the team’s success came my success with UMBC. I was just doing my job last year to score, and it was a great feeling to pick up all those accolades, obviously.
USL: What’s it like having your dad as your coach?
Caringi: Honestly, it’s normal. Growing up with my dad being there all the time, helping me here and there, he was never the dad who would get too involved, I would always know what I did wrong or did right, and I would talk to him and he would help when I’d ask him to, but it’s obviously been a good father-son relationship. Now when we’re on the field it’s not completely like that, because we have to be serious, but there haven’t been any negatives to it.
USL: He played professionally back in the 1970s, what did he tell you about that experience and how have you tried to apply that in the way you’ve grown in the youth ranks, and now in college and the PDL?
Caringi: I learned from him more about the journey to get there. He was there for a short tenure, but he showed me how you’ve got to work and how you need to rely on your teammates, and how you need to go. He showed me everything I need to get to that point, especially since we’re in the same position, so he showed me how to play forward, just from a young age to now, and I’m still learning things from him, the fitness, all the little things that add up to get to that level and get yourself prepared for the games at the level of the PDL and college ranks.
USL: You’re about to go into your senior season, do you feel as though you’re on the right track to be able to turn pro once you graduate and leave UMBC?
Caringi: Right now I do feel like I’m on the right track for all that. I think with the way our UMBC team is looking next season, the whole team, not just me, and for our PDL team, we already started 2-0-1, I think as our team success grows, for both those teams, I think mine does as well. Of course, you’re only as good as your teammates, so I think with them helping me out and me developing as a player to this age, I think I’m capable enough and ready enough to take that next step.
USL: You mentioned some of the teams in the Mid Atlantic Division, the Jersey Express, Reading United, Ocean City, who are all very powerful teams. As a second-year club, what’s the biggest thing the Bohemians have to accomplish to break into the top three and find a way to make the playoffs for the first time?
Caringi: I think it’s just taking care of every game, one game at a time. I know those clubs over there have been very successful for the last couple of years, and what they do is bring in the best players from around the country, or most of them do, and every single game they have an amazing team out there to take care of business. We have a group of guys, and a lot of us have played together for three to four years, so I see our team as being a little bit different, and honestly even though we’re a second-year club, we don’t see ourselves as that. We see ourselves as a club that can go as far as possible, because a lot of us have won national championships, college conference championships, and went as far as we can in college, so I think our next step is to just take it a game at a time, we shouldn’t look over and look at what they’re doing, we should just focus on what we’re doing.