ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany men's soccer returns to conference play with a visit to Hartford on Saturday.
 
Game Info
Saturday, October 9 at Hartford (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany returns its five leading scorers from the 2021 spring season, including top scorer Adam Aoumaich (4 goals, 1 assist) and 2019 America East Striker of the Year Austin DaSilva (2 goals, three assists)
• UAlbany's roster features 15 new players
• UAlbany is 5-0-0 at home this season and 1-4-0 on the road
• Hartford ranks third in the America East in shots taken
• After utilizing a unique three-pod scheduling format during the spring 2021 season, the America East will return to its regular round-robin format for the fall

Scouting Hartford
The Hawks are 3-6-3 overall this season, and 1-2-0 against America East opponents.  Hartford is unbeaten in its last three games since losing 4-1 to #9 New Hampshire, defeating Dartmouth and Stony Brook and most recently playing Yale to a draw.  Hartford went 3-3-1 in the spring, and advanced to the America East semifinal round where they fell to top-seed New Hampshire, 2-0.  The Hawks were picked to finish seventh in the 2021 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, and ranks just ahead of UAlbany among America East teams in scoring offense.  Since meeting in the 2016 America East title game, a UAlbany victory, the Great Danes are 3-2 against the Hawks, including falling in three straight from the 2018 through the 2021 spring seasons.
 
Last Time vs. Hartford
The Great Danes played Hartford twice during the 2021 spring season, and snapped a three-game losing streak to the Hawks in the second meeting.  UAlbany saw goals from Adam Aoumaich and Andrew Weiner, with Hartford scoring in the 86th minute attempting a comeback but UAlbany held on to win 2-1.  The game, which featured seven total yellow cards issued, saw UAlbany outshoot Hartford 10-5 in the second half, and all goals were scored in the 63rd minute and later.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany returned to action after a 10-day hiatus to face off against their penultimate non-conference opponent of the 2021 regular season, Dartmouth, on the road.  The Big Green, winless in seven games before meeting UAlbany, scored on a corner kick in the first half to take a 1-0 lead.  UAlbany overcame a sluggish first 45 minutes to dominate play in the second half, controlling more than 60% of possession, outshooting Dartmouth 11-5, and drawing eight corner kicks, but the Great Danes were unable to score and fell by the same score.
 
Around the America East
New Hampshire retains its top spot in the America East standings at 3-0-0 in-conference and 11-0-0 overall.  The Wildcats currently rank #7 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll, #5 in the College Soccer News national poll, and #3 in the Top Drawer Soccer national poll.  Behind New Hampshire, Binghamton holds sole possession of second place with six points, while each team behind the top two, including UAlbany, has three points.  UAlbany is one of four teams in the America East with at least six wins.
 
Common Opponents

• Fairfield
  • UAlbany: 8/26/21 vs. Fairfield, W, 1-0
  • Hartford: 9/21/21 at Fairfield, L, 0-1
• Villanova
  • UAlbany: 9/3/21 vs. Villanova, W, 1-0
  • Hartford: 8/30/21 at Villanova, L, 1-2
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 9/18/21 at #9 New Hampshire, L, 0-2
  • Hartford: 9/25/21 vs. #9 New Hampshire, L, 1-4
• Dartmouth
  • UAlbany: 10/5/21 at Dartmouth, L, 0-1
  • Hartford: 9/28/21 vs. Dartmouth, W, 1-0

Saturday's America East Games

• UMass Lowell at Drexel, 1:00 pm
• Vermont at NJIT, 3:00 pm
• New Hampshire at Binghamton, 6:00 pm
• UAlbany at Hartford, 7:00 pm
• Stony Brook at UMBC, 7:00 pm

USC Regional
UAlbany, idle for 10 days, fell one spot in the United Soccer Coaches Northeast poll.  In Week 6, the Great Danes rank fifth, down from their high of fourth in Weeks 2, 3, and 5.  New Hampshire, who remains undefeated, still holds the top spot in the regional rankings.   Three other America East schools, Binghamton (3), Vermont (6), and Stony Brook (10) each earned spots in the Northeast top-10.

• Week 6: 5th
• Week 5: 4th
• Week 4: 9th
• Week 3: 4th
• Week 2: 4th
• Week 1: 5th

Team Academic
The United Soccer Coaches announced its honorees for Team Academic honors from the 2020-21 season, and the UAlbany men once again made the list.  Head coach Trevor Gorman's squad during the last school year recorded a cumulative GPA of 3.34.  To qualify for the recognition, a team needs to record a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher.
 
Game-Winner
Another tight game for the Great Danes went into overtime against Rhode Island.  UAlbany overcame their first-half scoring struggles, putting one away in the sixth minute and again in the 45th right before the break.  Rhode Island tied the game a two in the 73rd, ultimately forcing overtime.  In the 105th, Austin DaSilva, 2019 America East Striker of the Year, scored his first goal of the season to clinch the golden-goal victory for the Great Danes over the Rams.
 
Shutouts
In their first seven games to start the 2021 season, each game UAlbany played included a shutout.  In victories, UAlbany had not allowed a goal, winning four games by a score of 1-0.  And in defeats, UAlbany had not scored, falling 3-0 at St. John's, 4-0 at Hofstra, and most recently 2-0 at #9 New Hampshire.  UAlbany had not scored a goal in the first half this season, and have not scored a goal earlier than the 62nd minute, with their average goal coming in the 81st minute.  Both streaks were broken against Rhode Island, a 3-2, double-overtime victory for the Great Danes during which they scored their first goal in the sixth minute.
 
To the Wire
One game after defeating Marist in the 99th minute, and after playing Lafayette to a scoreless tie for 89 minutes, the Great Danes broke through to defeat the Leopards 1-0 with three seconds remaining in regulation.  A serve in to Austin DaSilva from midfield was redirected to Adam Aoumaich.  Aoumaich played the ball into the middle of the Lafayette box to Giuliano Lucca, whose shot tipped the Lafayette goalkeepers fingers and fell into the right side netting for the win.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
UAlbany goalkeeper Carlos Tofern was named America East Defensive Player of the Week on September 7, earning his first-ever weekly award from the conference and the team's first weekly award of the season.  Tofern recorded six saves in the Great Danes' shutout victory at Villanova.  At the time of his award, Tofern was 2-1-0 on the season with two shutouts.
 
Three-for-Three
Through UAlbany's first four games of the 2021 fall season, and three Great Dane victories, Haflidi Sigurdarson has accounted for each UAlbany goal scored.  He scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory in the season opener against Fairfield, off assists from Andrew Weiner and Giuliano Lucca, and then scored on a penalty kick to knock off Villanova.  Most recently, Sigurdarson scored the game-winner in the 99th minute to seal an overtime victory over Marist.
 
Picked Fourth
The Great Danes were picked fourth in the 2021 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  Three-time defending champion New Hampshire was picked as the unanimous favorite, ahead of Vermont and NJIT.  UAlbany edged out a pack of four teams separated by a total of five points: UAlbany (33), UMass Lowell (31), UMBC (30), and Hartford (28).
 
Familiar Foes
Due to the America East's implementation of a unique three-pod scheduling format for the 2021 spring season, UAlbany played six conference games against a total of four conference opponents (Binghamton, Hartford, UMBC, and Vermont).  This season, the Great Danes will return to their full round-robin conference slate to once again play every other team in the America East, including three-time defending champion New Hampshire, as well as the first-ever game against NJIT as a conference opponent.
 
New Look
Despite returning its top five scorers from the 2021 spring season, the fall 2021 Great Danes feature 15 new players on the roster.  The new recruits hail from a total of seven countries, including the United States, adding to the diverse background that already exists within Coach Gorman's program.
 
Finishing Strong
After starting the 2021 spring season 0-4-1, the Great Danes rallied down the stretch to win three of their final four games of the season by a total score of 8-3.  UAlbany claimed victory over both of its pod opponents, Binghamton and postseason-bound Hartford during the stretch, avenging earlier-season losses to both squads.
 
Next: UAlbany hosts UMass Lowell on October 13.