ALBANY, N.Y. – Men's soccer visits Hofstra, with its three-game winning streak on the line, for their final test before America East competition opens next weekend.
 
Game Info
Tuesday, September 14 at Hofstra (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | FloFC
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany has won three-straight games
• 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
• Hofstra will host its home opener Tuesday after opening the season with four-straight games on the road
• 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 Hofstra
Hofstra is 3-1-0 through four games this season, and has played all four of its games so far on the road.  The Pride most recently suffered their first loss of the season, 2-1 at Northeastern in their conference opener.  Hofstra was picked third in the 2021 Preseason CAA Coaches Poll, and landed four players on the Preseason All-Conference team.  During the spring 2021 season, Hofstra advanced to the CAA title game, playing James Madison to a double-overtime draw, and falling in penalty kicks.  UAlbany is 2-2 lifetime against Hofstra.
 
Last Time vs. Hofstra
UAlbany hosted Hofstra during the 2019 season, defeating the Pride by a final score of 4-1.  Austin DaSilva scored twice for the Great Danes, and Niklas Roessler added the game's first in the 13th minute.  UAlbany's fourth score was an own goal by the Pride in the 28th.  Hofstra narrowly outshot UAlbany 15-13 during the game, but held a big 9-3 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes defeated Lafayette at the horn 1-0 to win their third-straight game.  Each of the three wins were decided by the same final score, and the victory was UAlbany's fourth-straight against the Leopards.  After 89 minutes of scoreless play, the Great Danes broke through with the win, scoring with three seconds remaining in regulation.  Giuliano Lucca received the ball in the middle of the Lafayette box off a setup from Adam Aoumaich and Austin DaSilva, and beat the Lafayette goalkeeper's outstretched hands to clinch the win.
 
Around the America East
New Hampshire and Vermont remain unbeaten atop the America East standings with each team boasting a 5-0-0 record.  Behind them, UAlbany is locked in a three-way tie with Stony Brook and Binghamton at 4-1-0.  UMBC trails the three-way tie for third at 2-2-1, followed by NJIT at 1-2-1, UMass Lowell at 1-3-1, and Hartford at 0-3-2.  UMBC leads the conference in total scoring, while NJIT leads in average scoring.  Vermont has not allowed a goal this season, and New Hampshire has allowed one.
 
Tuesday's America East Games

• Iona at NJIT, 6:00 pm
• Mount St. Mary's at UMBC, 7:00 pm
• New Hampshire at Marist, 7:00 pm
• Merrimack at UMass Lowell, 7:00 pm
• CCSU at Hartford, 7:00 pm
• Stony Brook at Rider, 7:00 pm
• Binghamton at Syracuse, 7:00 pm
• UAlbany at Hofstra, 7:00 pm

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.
 
USC Regional
In the Week 2 United Soccer Coaches Regional Rankings, the UAlbany men rank fourth among their Northeast regional competitors, up from ninth in the Week 1 poll.  New Hampshire leads the Northeast poll, followed by Vermont, and then Yale.  Two other America East schools, Stony Brook (5), and UMBC (8), each earned spots in the Northeast top-10.
 
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 opens America East competition on Saturday, September 18 at #12 New Hampshire.