ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany continues its second three-game road trip of the season, visiting two-time defending America East champion and preseason conference favorite Stony Brook on Sunday.
 
Game Info
Sunday, September 19 at Stony Brook (1:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3
 
Leading the Pack

• Five Great Danes have scored a goal this season, and four have recorded an assist
• UAlbany returns five All-Conference players from the spring season, including spring Strike of the Year Jasmine Colbert
• Colbert led UAlbany with five goals in the spring, all five of which were game-winners
• UAlbany also returns defensive starters Hailey Summers and Sophia Eifler, and goalkeeper Sophia Chen, alongside spring All-Rookie selections Olivia Piraino and Margot Nezaj
• The Colbert twins lead the America East in shots per game
• Stony Brook's 16 goals allowed is highest in the America East
• Following the spring's unique two-division schedule, the America East returns to its normal round-robin format for the fall

Scouting Stony Brook
Stony Brook has won each of the last two America East titles, and were picked as the 2021 Preseason America East favorite.  Since losing four of their first six games of the season, Stony Brook has won its last two, defeating Saint Joseph's 2-1 and Cornell 4-3 in the first two legs of the Seawolves' current three-game homestand.  The Seawolves return five All-Conference selections from last season, including leading scorer Alyssa Francese.
 
Last Time vs. Stony Brook
The Great Danes hosted the Seawolves in the spring 2020 season on the team's senior day, and knocked off the conference leader 1-0.  UAlbany's defense held Stony Brook to just seven total shots, and just one on goal.  Jasmine and Jada Colbert connected on the game's only goal, combining for just the third time in their UAlbany careers.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany kicked off its second three-game road swing of the season last weekend at Wagner, and fell to the Seahawks 2-1.  UAlbany dominated pressure during the game, outshooting Wagner 26-7 overall.  Wagner, however, scored first, in the 59th minute, before Jasmine Colbert scored an equalizer on a penalty kick just one minute later.  Wagner broke through with a shot from deep that bounced away from UAlbany goalkeeper Sophia Chen to put the Seahawks up 2-1 and seal the victory.
 
Around the America East
Hartford, at 5-1-1, has started to separate from the rest of the league in the standings with conference play starting this weekend.  Maine is second at 2-1-2, followed by UMBC at 3-2-2 and UMass Lowell and Vermont at 3-3-1 each.  Stony Brook has climbed to seventh after their slow start at 3-4-1, while UAlbany is ninth with a record of 1-4-1.  Hartford leads the league in both scoring offense and scoring defense, averaging two goals per game and giving up less that half a goal per game.
 
Sunday's America East Games

• UMBC at Maine, 12:00 pm
• Vermont at Binghamton, 12:00 pm
• UAlbany at Stony Brook, 1:00 pm
• New Hampshire at Hartford, 1:00 pm
• NJIT at UMass Lowell, 2:00 pm

Breaking Through
The Great Danes' first victory of the season came in their fifth game, against Yale, and featured a barrage of scoring with both teams combining for a total of seven goals.  UAlbany defeated the Bulldogs 4-3, scoring three goals in the second half.  Yale scored within the first two minutes, in what looked like the start of a repeat of the last meeting between the two teams in 2019 when Yale won 4-0.  UAlbany tied the game before halftime however, before ceding another goal to the Bulldogs shortly after the second half.  UAlbany scored the next three goals, including an own-goal from Yale to go up 4-2, before Yale scored on a PK to cut the lead to one.  The Bulldogs earned three corner kicks in the final minute of the game, the second of which nearly resulted in an equalizer if not for UAlbany goalkeeper Sophia Chen turning it away.
 
Schedule Shakeup
Four of UAlbany's first five games on the 2021 calendar have required adjustments from their original plans.  The opener at Syracuse was cancelled due to inclement weather.  The second game, the home opener against Hofstra, was moved up two hours to avoid weather from Tropical Storm Henri.  The third game, at CCSU, was pushed back one hour to avoid excessive heat.  Most recently, the team's road game at Quinnipiac was cancelled due to inclement weather.
 
Picked Fifth
The Great Danes were picked to finish fifth in the 2021 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  UAlbany drew 52 points in fifth place behind two-time defending conference champion and unanimous favorite Stony Brook.  The Seawolves pulled in 81 total points and all nine possible first-place votes.  UMass Lowell was second, garnering the final first-place vote and 67 total points.  Binghamton (61) and New Hampshire (52) were picked just ahead of UAlbany.  Behind the Great Danes, perennial power Hartford was picked sixth with 50 points, followed by Vermont (28), Maine and NJIT (20), and UMBC (17).
 
Captains
The UAlbany women's soccer team features three captains for the 2021-22 season in goalkeeper Sophia Chen, midfielder Sophia Eifler, and defender Hailey Summers.  Each was a sophomore on the team for UAlbany's most recent America East title in 2018, and each has elected to utilize their additional year of eligibility to return to UAlbany this season.
 
Colbert Connection
Three times in their careers, twin sisters Jada and Jasmine Colbert connected on a goal.  Jasmine set up Jada for the first goal of the 2019 game against UMass Lowell.  Earlier in the 2019 season, against St. Francis Brooklyn, the twins connected for the first time in their UAlbany careers, when Jada set up Jasmine to put UAlbany up 2-0 right after halftime.  Most recently, the twins connected when Jada set up Jasmine for the game-winner against Stony Brook in the spring 2021 season.
 
Home Field
The Great Danes finished the 2019 regular season unbeaten at home, going 6-0-2, before falling at home in the America East semifinals.  UAlbany went 8-1-1 at Casey Stadium in 2018, including quarterfinal and championship victories in the America East Tournament.  The Great Danes let up just eight goals in 10 games at home in 2019, and just two in the last five.  Dating back to the 2015 season, the year of the program's first America East title, and through the 2021 spring season, the Great Danes are 34-15-4 at home.
 
Next: UAlbany closes its three-game road trip at Crosstown Rival Siena on September 22.