Minneapolis, Minn.—Former UMBC men's soccer standout Billy Heavner (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) has signed a professional contract with Minnesota United FC of the MLS, it was announced on Friday. Heavner will suit up with the team starting tomorrow.

"We are happy for Billy. He has worked very hard to achieve his dream of playing in the MLS, and we wish him nothing but the best this season," head coach Pete Caringi Jr. said on Friday afternoon.

Heavner becomes the eighth Retriever since 2011 to have either signed or been drafted by an MLS club.

During his tenure with the Retrievers, Heavner has earned distinction not only for his play on the field, but in the classroom as well. He was named as the America East Elite 18 Award winner for having the best grade-point average at the America East title game. He subsequently earned the NCAA Elite 89 Award at the 2014 College Cup. Last year, he was named America East Men's Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year, while also being named as a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American.

This past year, Heavner finished with a 1.57 goals against average, making 54 saves for a save percentage of .659 with two shutouts, earning America East All-Conference Second Team and All-Academic Team honors. For his career, Heavner is currently seventh in career victories (21), tenth in saves (173) and fifth in shutouts (17). 

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