A three-year letterman, Steve Karakitsios returns for his final collegiate season. A strong center back who can also play in the midfield, he has played a key role over his three years, helping the Scarlet Raptors to three New Jersey Athletic Conference playoff berths, one NJAC title, two NJAC finals, one NCAA berth and the 2014 ECAC Div. III Metro/Upstate title.
Karakitsios also captured New Jersey Athletic Conference Academic Honorable Mention as a sophomore and a junior. He was a member of the inaugural Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2015 semester and repeated on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Spring 2016, Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters.
A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, he joined fellow SAAC member and soccer teammate Shane Guyer as a volunteer helping with the Teddy’s Toys for Camden kids party at the Adventure Aquarium in December, 2016.
Karakitsios has appeared in 32 games, starting 13, over his Scarlet Raptor career. He has collected two goals (one a game winner) and four assists for eight career points.
Soccer 2016: Played in 20 games, starting 11…Contributed to all seven Raptor shutouts, four as a starter…Notched one game-winning goal and added four assists (third on the team) for six points…Took 17 shots, 10 on goal for a .588 percentage…Named to the Cialella Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team (Sept. 10-11)…Started the season-opening 3-3 tie against St. Mary’s (Sept. 2)…Collected the game-winning goal and added an assist in a 4-0 victory over Farmingdale State during the Raptors’ Cialella Soccer Classic opener (Sept. 10)…Collected an assist as the Scarlet Raptors tied Brockport, 1-1, on the second day of the Cialella Soccer Classic (Sept. 11)…Assisted on the Raptors’ lone goal in a 3-1 loss at Montclair State (Sept. 24)…Earned an assist during a 5-1 win over New Jersey City University (Oct. 8).
Soccer 2015: Played in three games…Took one shot, which was on goal…Played in season-opening 9-0 win against Rosemont College (Sept. 1), logging 30 minutes…Had his season high of 45 minutes played during a 7-1 win over Misericordia University (Sept. 23), taking his only shot of the season, which was on net…Appeared in the Raptors’ 5-1 win over Ramapo College (Oct. 10).
Soccer 2014: Appeared in nine games, starting two…Scored one goal for two points…Made collegiate debut with 12 minutes of playing time during a 4-0 win over Susquehanna University (Sept. 7) as Rutgers-Camden won the Cialella Soccer Classic title game…Took his first and only shot of the season and scored his first collegiate goal in a 3-0 win at New Jersey City University (Sept. 27)…Made his first collegiate start against The College of New Jersey (Oct. 16) in a 3-0 Raptor win…Made his other start in a 5-2 loss at Montclair State University (Oct. 18).
High School: Four-year soccer letterman at Timber Creek Regional High School for Coach Sean Ortzman…Scored three goals and dished off 16 assists as a senior captain… Olympic Conference National Division Second Team player in 2013…Coach’s Award winner.
Club Team: Played club soccer for NJSA 04 and the South Jersey Elite Barons…With the Barons, picked for the ASL All-Star Team which trained and played in Italy in 2013.
Personal: Born October 11, 1995…Stephen “Steve” Karakitsios…Last name pronounced “Kara-KEET-see-os”…Hobbies and interests include playing soccer, listening to music and traveling…Member of Rutgers-Camden’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC)…Athenaeum…Finance and Accounting double major at Rutgers-Camden with a minor in Computer Science…Plans to work in the city in the finance industry as a financial advisor…Steve is the son of Vasilios and Nancy Karakitsios of Sicklerville.
