ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's soccer team begins a three-game home stand on Tuesday, welcoming non-conference opponent Army West Point to Tom & Mary Casey Stadium.
 
Game Info
Tuesday, October 11 vs. Army West Point (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 2-0-2 at home this season; Army West Point is 2-1-3 on the road
• UAlbany has not allowed a goal in its last three games
• UAlbany leads the America East in penalty kicks attempted and converted
• Shafique Wilson leads the America East in save percentage
• UAlbany and Army West Point are playing for the first time since the 2004 season

Scouting Army West Point
Army West Point is 5-3-3 on the season so far with a 3-1-1 mark against their Patriot League opponents.  Most recently, the Black Knights ended a two-game winless skid with a victory over Navy, 2-0.  Last season the Black Knights went 8-7-3 overall and fell in penalty kicks in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament to top-seed Loyola Maryland.  The Black Knights were picked to finish sixth in the 2022 Patriot League Preseason Coaches' Poll, and are led in scoring by Gage Guerra, who has scored seven goals this season.  UAlbany has played Army West Point four times in the Great Danes' Division I era, but not since the 2004 season.  UAlbany leads the series 3-1-0.
 
Last Time vs. Army West Point
October 27, 2004 | UAlbany played Army West Point to a scoreless tie through 90 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime.  The Great Danes' Rodrigo Marion scored to win the game in the 104th minute.  UAlbany outshot Army West Point 20-15 overall. Including 12-5 in the first half, while Great Danes' goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul recorded six saves.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany visited Binghamton for the team's third America East match of the year.  The game ended in a 0-0 tie, with each team earning one point in the conference standings.  The first half played out largely evenly, with both teams taking three corner kicks and both goalkeepers recording three saves, but Binghamton did hold a small advantage in shots taken, 6-5.  Binghamton extended its shots advantage in the second half but UAlbany's offensive pressure resulted in five second-half corner kicks, though neither team was able to find the back of the net in regulation.
 
Around the America East
Vermont, ranked #15 in the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll, has now won their last eight games and are 9-1-1 on the season so far.  They and New Hampshire, who has won six-straight, lead the conference standings with nine points each.  UAlbany remains third, with seven points, and is still unbeaten in three America East games after tying Binghamton.  Behind the top three teams, UMBC secured their first conference victory of the season and are now fourth with three points, followed by NJIT and Binghamton with two points each.  Rounding out the standings are UMass Lowell with one point and Bryant with zero points.
 
Tuesday's America East Games

• UMass at #15 Vermont, 2:00 pm
• Northeastern at New Hampshire, 7:00 pm
• UMBC at Delaware, 7:00 pm
• Army West Point at UAlbany, 7:00 pm
• Yale at UMass Lowell, 7:00 pm

Common Opponents

• Boston University
  • UAlbany: 8/25 vs. Boston University, T, 1-1
  • Army West Point: 9/28 at Boston University, T, 2-2

Rookie of the Week
Jackson Finn scored the game-winner against the America East's top-scoring team, UMBC, on the road in the team's conference opener, and earned his first career weekly award.  The Retrievers had scored eight more goals than any other America East squad, but the Great Danes held UMBC scoreless over their 90-minute match.  Finn broke the scoreless tie late in the game, collecting a rebound against an open net after teammates Saad Faiz and Domenic Baumann took back-to-back shots to draw UMBC goalkeeper Quantrell Jones out of position.
 
Hall of Fame Semifinalist
The most prolific scorer in UAlbany men's soccer history, Lee Tschantret, was named a semifinalist to the National Soccer Hall of Fame's 2023 Veteran Ballot.  Tschantret played at UAlbany from 1987-90, scoring a program-record that still stands today 51 goals.  He earned All-America honors in 1988 and 1989, and after his collegiate season enjoyed a 20-year professional career.
 
Associate
Rich Nassif was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2022, his fifth season on the sidelines at UAlbany.  Nassif joined UAlbany in 2018 following his second stint on the coaching staff at his alma mater, Northwestern University.  Since joining the Great Danes' sidelines, the team has averaged nine wins per full season and qualified for two America East tournaments.  Some of the Great Danes biggest wins with Nassif are Vermont in 2018 and 2019, #14 New Hampshire in 2019, Villanova in 2021, and Penn this season.
 
U.S. Open Cup
Former UAlbany goalkeeper Danny Vitiello and his Sacramento Republic FC team advanced to the championship game of the U.S. Open Cup against Orlando City SC of the MLS.  Sacramento was the first team from outside the MLS to reach the title game since Charleston Battery played against D.C. United in 2008.  Vitiello and Sacramento defeated three MLS teams en route to the final, the San Jose Earthquakes, the L.A. Galaxy, and Sporting Kansas City.  In the latter game, the semifinal, Vitiello recorded the decisive save in the penalty kick shootout to advance Sacramento to the final.  Sacramento's magic run ended against Orlando City, falling 3-0.
 
From the Field
When Saad Faiz scored his first goal of the season, in the 24th minute of the Great Danes' sixth game of the year, at Rutgers, it was the team's first goal scored from the field of the 2022 season.  All three of the Great Danes' previous goals were scored on penalty kicks.  Faiz's goal ended a drought of just over 520 minutes of game time since their previous goal from the field, in the 44th minute of the 2021 America East quarterfinal against NJIT.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Daniel Shannon recorded his first career shutout and victory as UAlbany's goalkeeper in the Great Danes' fifth game of the year when they hosted the Penn Quakers.  Shannon faced a total of 21 shots and made four saves to keep the Quakers off the board and hold the 1-0 lead to victory.  Shannon is UAlbany's first defensive player of the week since former teammate Carlos Tofern was named on September 7, 2021.
 
Three-for-Three
Through five games, UAlbany has scored three goals on the 2022 season.  Each goal came via penalty kick, first in the season opener against Boston University and second at Marist at the end of a three-game road swing.  Pantelis Panteli took each penalty kick for the Great Danes, making Panteli accountable for all UAlbany scoring through the early part of the season.  In the fifth game of the season, Domenic Baumann stepped in for Panteli on the Great Danes' PK against Penn and successfully converted the attempt, making UAlbany 3-3 on PKs this season.
 
International Flavor
Continuing a tradition within the UAlbany men's soccer program under head coach Trevor Gorman, the 2022 Great Danes feature a sizeable international roster.  Thirteen countries are represented among UAlbany's ranks this season: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.
 
New Faces
UAlbany welcomes 16 new players to the roster for the 2022 season, replacing 15 departures and bringing the team roster to a total of 30.  Though the Great Danes return second-leading scorer Andrew Weiner from last year, the members of the new class will fill in for the production left behind by the departures of the first, third, and fourth-leading scorers, a total of six goals and 11 assists.
 
Picked Fourth
After finishing the 2021 regular season third in the America East standings, the Great Danes were picked to finish fourth in the league's 2022 preseason coaches' poll.  Behind unanimous favorite New Hampshire, picked to win the league for the fourth-straight season, the distribution tightened up.  Defending tournament champion Vermont was picked second just two points ahead of third-pick UMBC, and five points ahead of UAlbany.  NJIT was picked fifth, ahead of Binghamton and UMass Lowell in a tie for sixth, with conference newcomer Bryant picked eighth.
 
Game Over
Adopted starting this season, regular-season matches will no longer go into extra time when tied at the conclusion of regulation.  The regular-seasons games will conclude after 90 minutes of play.  Overtime and shootouts will return starting in the postseason.
 
Next: UAlbany hosts New Hampshire on October 14.