ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany women's soccer returns home after its second and final three-game road swing of the 2021 regular season to host New Hampshire.
 
Game Info
Sunday, September 26 vs. New Hampshire (2:00 pm)
Live Stats | AE.tv
 
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
• Jasmine Colbert leads the America East in shots taken (39), 15 more than second place, and ranks fourth in goals scored (4)
• UAlbany has won each of the last three, five of the last six, and six of the last eight against New Hampshire
• Following the spring's unique two-division schedule, the America East returns to its normal round-robin format for the fall

Scouting New Hampshire
New Hampshire is 2-5-1 on the season, and 0-1-0 in-conference, dropping their America East opener to first-place Hartford in their last game on September 19.  The Wildcats have gone 1-5-1 since winning their season opener against Merrimack, with their only victory during that stretch coming at Siena, 1-0.  After going 5-2-0 overall and 2-2-0 in-conference during the 2021 spring season, and having to withdraw in the America East semifinal round due to COVID-19 issues, the Wildcats were picked to finish fourth in the 2021 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, just ahead of UAlbany.  New Hampshire ranks last in the America East in scoring offense and fifth in scoring defense.  UAlbany has won each of the last three meetings with the Wildcats, by a combined scored of 6-0.
 
Last Time vs. New Hampshire
UAlbany has won the last three meeting against New Hampshire, outscoring the Wildcats 6-0.  In their last matchup, during the 2019 season, Katie Gowing scored two goals while goalkeeper Sophia Chen recorded six saves en route to a 2-0 victory over the Wildcats.  The game was UAlbany's first since falling at Yale and suffering their first defeat in six weeks.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany renewed its Crosstown Rivalry with Siena for the first time since 2019 this week, playing the Saints to 1-1 draw in double-overtime.  An uneventful start to the game saw the first shot taken by either team in the 13th minute, before a miscue from Siena's midfield in the 42nd led to a breakaway goal for Jasmine Colbert, her fourth of the season.  Cassandra Coster made her second-straight start in goal for UAlbany and came up big with a punch save over the crossbar in the 59th.  Siena ultimately did break through in the 81st minute to tie the game and force overtime, during which period neither team was able to score, despite UAlbany outshooting Siena 4-1 after regulation ended.
 
Around the America East
Hartford remains in first place in the America East standings at 6-1-1 overall, followed by Binghamton at 5-4-1, UMBC at 4-2-2, and UMass Lowell at 4-3-1.  Two-time defending champion Stony Brook is fifth at 4-4-1.  New Hampshire is 2-5-1, two spots ahead of UAlbany, and both teams seek their first conference victories.
 
Common Opponents

• Central Connecticut State
  • UAlbany: 8/26/21 at CCSU, L, 1-2
  • New Hampshire: 8/29/21 at CCSU, L, 1-2 (OT)
• Siena
  • UAlbany: 9/22/21 at Siena, T, 1-1 (2OT)
  • New Hampshire: 9/9/21 at Siena, W, 1-0

Sunday's America East Games

• Stony Brook at Vermont, 11:00 am
• Maine at NJIT, 1:00 pm
• New Hampshire at UAlbany, 2:00 pm
• Hartford at UMBC, 2:00 pm
• Binghamton at UMass Lowell, 3:30 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.
 
Top Drawer Soccer Preseason America East Top-20

• Jasmine Colbert – 2
• Hailey Summers – 4
• Olivia Piraino – 20

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 visits first-place Hartford on September 30.