ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's soccer program kicks off its 2021 postseason run hosting six-seed NJIT in the America East quarterfinal round.
 
Game Info
#3 UAlbany (10-6-1, 4-3-1) vs. #6 NJIT (5-11-1, 3-5-0)
Saturday, November 6 (7:00 pm)
Championship Central | Live Stats | AE.tv | Tickets | Game Notes
 
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 7-0-1 at home this season; NJIT is 2-5-0 on the road
• Austin DaSilva ranks tied for fourth in the America East in assists (5)
• Carlos Tofern ranks third in shutouts (5) and goals-against average (1.12)
• NJIT's Rene White leads the America East in goals scored (11) and total points (26)
• Three NJIT players have recorded five or more assists
• NJIT ranks ninth in the America East in scoring defense
• After utilizing a unique three-pod scheduling format during the spring 2021 season, the America East returned to its regular round-robin format and six-team playoff field for the fall

Scouting NJIT
NJIT joined the America East in July, 2020, and took two seasons to play each of their new conference opponents due to the spring 2021 unique pod scheduling format.  In 2021, the Highlanders finished the season in sixth place, clinching a playoff spot on the final day of the regular season with a win at Hartford.  The Highlanders rank last in the America East in scoring defense, averaging nearly 2.2 goals-against per game, while their scoring offense, once ranked second in the conference, has dropped off slightly to fourth.  The Highlanders, after finishing the spring season 4-5-1 (4-2-0) and advancing to the America East semifinal round, were picked to finish third in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, one spot ahead of UAlbany.
 
Last Time vs. NJIT
UAlbany played its second America East game of the season, and first against NJIT as conference opponents.  The Great Danes defeated the Highlanders in their first conference meeting 2-1.  UAlbany scored first on an odd play where the NJIT defense stopped playing, assuming UAlbany was offsides.  Adam Aoumaich ended up alone in front of the Highlanders' goalkeeper and scored uncontested.  Soon after, NJIT scored on a deflection into the goal from a UAlbany defender.  UAlbany clinched the game in the 68th when Andrew Weiner broke past the Highlander defense on a through ball and beat the charging Highlander goalie.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany entered the final game of the 2021 regular season locked into third place in the America East standings.  The Great Danes visited Stony Brook, a team they have not beaten since the 2006 season, going 0-11-3 against the Seawolves during that stretch.  The trend continued in the finale, with Stony Brook, needing a win for a chance at a playoff berth, scoring the game's only goal to defeat UAlbany 1-0.  The Seawolves ultimately finished fourth in the league, after the dust settled, earning home field advantage in the quarterfinal round.
 
Around the America East
Though not as chaotic as the women's standings on the final day of the regular season, each of the America East's nine teams were still in play for a postseason bid.  Four teams, New Hampshire, Vermont, UAlbany, and UMBC, had locked up their spots in the playoffs, while the final two spots were up for grabs for Stony Brook, UMass Lowell, NJIT, Hartford, and Binghamton.  After the last games had been played, Stony Brook and NJIT claimed the final two spots, with the Seawolves' victory over the Great Danes, mixed with the other results, earning a home game in the quarterfinal round.
 
Common Opponents

• Hofstra
  • UAlbany: 9/14 at Hofstra, L, 0-4
  • NJIT: 10/16 at Hofstra, L, 0-4
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 9/18 at #9 New Hampshire, L, 0-2
  • NJIT: 10/1 at #6 New Hampshire, L, 0-3
• Hartford
  • UAlbany: 10/9 at Hartford, W, 1-0 (OT)
  • NJIT: 11/1 at Hartford, W, 2-0
• UMass Lowell
  • UAlbany: 10/13 vs. UMass Lowell, W, 2-1
  • NJIT: 9/18 vs. UMass Lowell, W, 2-1 (OT)
• UMBC
  • UAlbany: 10/17 vs. UMBC, T, 1-1 (2OT)
  • NJIT: 10/28 vs. UMBC, L, 2-3
• Vermont
  • UAlbany: 10/23 at RV Vermont, L, 0-2
  • NJIT: 10/9 vs. Vermont, L, 0-1
• Binghamton
  • UAlbany: 10/28 vs. Binghamton, W, 1-0
  • NJIT: 10/23 at Binghamton, W, 3-2 (OT)
• Stony Brook
  • UAlbany: 11/1 at Stony Brook, L, 0-1
  • NJIT: 10/13 vs. Stony Brook, L, 1-2
• UAlbany (3-4-1) | NJIT (3-5-0)
• Head-to-head: 9/25 - UAlbany 2, NJIT 1 (at UAlbany)

 
Saturday's America East Games

• #5 UMBC at #4 Stony Brook, 4:00 pm
• #6 NJIT at #3 UAlbany, 7:00 pm

All-Conference
The Great Danes saw five of its players named to the 2021 America East All-Conference Teams.  Senior forward Austin DaSilva and junior defender Neophytos Scottis were named to the All-Conference Second Team.  Two freshmen, defender Jay Alves and forward Saad Faiz were picked as America East All-Rookies.  Finally, senior goalkeeper Carlos Tofern was UAlbany's lone representative on the All-Academic team.
 
USC Regional
In its first iteration following the conclusion of the regular season, UAlbany has climbed two spots in the United Soccer Coaches Northeast regional poll.  In Week 10, the Great Danes rank fifth, up from seventh in Week 9, and down from their high of fourth in Weeks 2, 3, and 5.  UAlbany has alternated between fifth and seventh each week since Week 6.  New Hampshire, who remains undefeated, ending the regular season 15-0-2, still holds the top spot in the regional rankings.   Two other America East schools, Vermont (2), and UMBC (9) each earned spots in the Northeast top-10.

• Week 10: 5th
• Week 9: 7th
• Week 8: 5th
• Week 7: 7th
• Week 6: 5th
• Week 5: 4th
• Week 4: 9th
• Week 3: 4th
• Week 2: 4th
• Week 1: 5th 

Clinched
The UAlbany men's soccer team, following a one-season hiatus, will return to the America East postseason after clinching their spot with a victory over Binghamton on the team's 2021 senior night.  The Great Danes defeated the Bearcats 1-0 and will make their 10th appearance in the conference tournament in the last 11 years.
 
Seniors
In the regular-season home finale against Binghamton, the UAlbany men's soccer team held a brief pregame ceremony to honor the members of the 2021 senior class: Alex Bourgeois, Austin DaSilva, Bjarki Leosson, Guillermo Mijancos, Carlos Morehouse, Zach Powell, Bjarki Ragnar, Haflidi Sigurdarson, and Carlos Tofern.  The Great Danes came away with a 1-0 victory against Binghamton and punched their ticket to the America East Tournament.
 
Rookie of the Week
Freshman Saad Faiz, a forward from Casablanca, Morocco, was named America East Rookie of the Week on October 17.  Faiz scored his first career goal for UAlbany on October 13 against UMass Lowell, sealing the 2-1 victory for the Great Danes in the 80th minute.  Faiz is UAlbany men's soccer's first America East Rookie of the Week since Hugo Guerra on October 15, 2018.
 
First Draw
In their fourth overtime game of the season, UAlbany men's soccer finally saw a game end in a draw.  Playing UMBC, the Retrievers scored early before UAlbany netted the equalizer.  Despite outshooting the Retrievers 21-9, the game went into overtime and neither team was able to score.  It was UAlbany's first draw of the season, having won each of their previous three overtime games.
 
First Timers
UAlbany's game against UMass Lowell, a 2-1 victory, featured two players scoring their first goals as Great Danes.  In the first half, in the 38th minute, Neophytos Scottis redirected a corner kick serve from Pantelis Panteli into the far side netting with his head to tie the game at one, after the River Hawks took advantage of a defensive miscue for UAlbany in the fourth minute to take an early lead.  Later, in the 81st, Saad Faiz ripped a rocket from the top corner of the box into the top netting, off a pass from Haflidi Sigurdarson, to put UAlbany up 2-1, which would prove to be the final score.
 
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: The winner of Saturday's game advances to the America East semifinal round on November 10.