ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's soccer program hosts NJIT in the America East quarterfinal round for the second-straight season on Saturday.
 
Game Info
Saturday, November 5 vs. No. 6 NJIT (4:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is at home this season; NJIT is 2-5-2 on the road
• NJIT ranks fifth in the America East in scoring offense; UAlbany ranks seventh
• UAlbany ranks fifth in the America East in scoring defense; NJIT ranks sixth
• UAlbany has qualified for its second-straight America East Tournament, and 11th-straight tournament that has been played in the fall season
• Shafique Wilson ranks second in the America East in save percentage and third in goals allowed, shutouts, goals-against average, and saves per game

Scouting NJIT
NJIT clinched the final spot in the 2022 America East Tournament on the final day of the regular season, notching its first conference victory, 4-0, over Bryant.  The Highlanders were UAlbany's opponent in the America East quarterfinals last season, a game in which NJIT claimed a 2-1 victory.  Most recently, NJIT ended a four-game winning streak, dispatching former America East opponent Hartford 4-0.  Four Highlanders have scored at least three goals, led by four-goal scorer Jose Del Valle.  UAlbany and NJIT have played five times in the Great Danes' Division I era, with UAlbany leading the series 3-2-0.
 
Last Time vs. NJIT
October 20, 2022 | The Great Danes visited NJIT in the first meeting between the teams since the Highlanders upset UAlbany in the 2021 America East quarterfinal round.  The first half of the game produced little action on goal, with a combined six shots and one corner kick between the two teams.  Pace increased after halftime, with 14 shots taken and five corner kicks drawn in the second 45 minutes.  UAlbany broke the scoreless tie on a sequence started by freshman forward Jackson Finn, relayed by junior midfielder Elias Ehlin, setting up a game-winning goal by Andrew Weiner in the 89th minute.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany closed the 2022 regular season against #8 Vermont at home.  Both teams had seeding at stake for the America East Tournament.  Vermont needed to win to clinch the top overall seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  UAlbany, with help could jump as high as three and host a quarterfinal, or fall as low as five and have to travel.  The Catamounts had just come off a 2-1 victory over then-#21 New Hampshire, while UAlbany had just played UMass Lowell to a 0-0 tie in their 2022 regular season road finale.  The game against the Catamounts was tight, with the two teams combining for just 12 total shots taken.  Shafique Wilson recorded his sixth clean sheet of the season and the Great Danes played the Catamounts to a 0-0 tie to end the regular season.
 
Around the America East
It took until the final day of the 2022 regular season to fully set the field for the America East Tournament.  New Hampshire's victory combined with #8 Vermont's tie against UAlbany clinched the fourth-straight regular season title for the Wildcats.  Binghamton defeated UMBC to allow UAlbany to jump the Retrievers into third place, while UMBC and Binghamton would face off again immediately in their quarterfinal.  Finally, NJIT clinched the sixth and final spot in the tournament after securing their first conference victory over Bryant.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• No. 6 NJIT at No. 3 UAlbany, 4:00 pm
• No. 5 Binghamton at No. 4 UMBC, 7:00 pm

Common Opponents

• UMBC
  • UAlbany: 9/24 at UMBC, W, 1-0
  • NJIT: 10/28 at UMBC, L, 1-4
• Bryant
  • UAlbany: 10/1 vs. Bryant, W, 3-0
  • NJIT: 11/1 vs. Bryant, W, 4-0
• Binghamton
  • UAlbany: 10/8 at Binghamton, T, 0-0
  • NJIT: 10/1 vs. Binghamton, T, 0-0
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 10/14 vs. RV New Hampshire, L, 0-4
  • NJIT: 10/8 vs. New Hampshire, L, 0-1
• UMass Lowell
  • UAlbany: 10/28 at UMass Lowell, T, 0-0
  • NJIT: 9/24 at UMass Lowell, T, 0-0
• Vermont
  • UAlbany: 11/1 vs. #8 Vermont, T, 0-0
  • NJIT: 10/15 vs. #12 Vermont, L, 0-4

All-Conference
Six members of the UAlbany men's soccer program earned All-Conference honors following the conclusion of the 2022 regular season.  Sam Philip earned Second Team honors, while three Great Danes, Jackson Finn, Caleb Vallance, and Max Wilhelm, were named to the All-Rookie team.  Finally, Giuliano Lucca and Neophytos Scottis earned spots on the All-Academic team.
 
Three-Seed
For the second-straight season, the UAlbany men's soccer team has clinched the three-seed in the America East Tournament.  Their matchup in their 2022 quarterfinal will be a repeat of the same game from last season, six-seed NJIT.  UAlbany has been the three-seed only last year and this year when they have made the tournament, and are 0-1 holding the three-seed.  UAlbany is 2-4-3 in the quarterfinal round overall.
 
Defensive Player of the Week II
Following his fifth clean sheet of the season, UAlbany goalkeeper Shafique Wilson earned America East Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors with his counterpart from UMass Lowell, Jacob Heihsel.  In the Great Danes' match against the River Hawks, both goalkeepers recorded four saves and allowed zero goals.  Wilson is the second UAlbany goalkeeper to be named America East Defensive Player of the Week this season, following Daniel Shannon and his shutout against Penn.
 
Rookie of the Week II
For the second time this season, UAlbany freshman forward Jackson Finn earned America East Rookie of the Week honors.  Finn recorded a secondary assist on UAlbany's game-winning goal in the 89th minute at NJIT, which clinched the game for the Great Danes as well as a spot in the 2022 America East Tournament.
 
Clinched
With the Great Danes' victory over NJIT, the team has earned its spot in the six-team 2022 America East Tournament.  By the time of the Great Danes' clinching, three other teams, Vermont, New Hampshire, and UMBC, also secured their spots.  UAlbany will make its 15th appearance in the America East Tournament, and 11th in the last 12 seasons.
 
Seniors
UAlbany honored the seven members of its 2022 senior class, Domenic Baumann, Vinicius Giannaccini, Giuliano Lucca, Pantelis Panteli, Sam Philip, Neophytos Scottis, and Julian Terris, ahead of the team's final non-conference game of the regular season, Colgate.  Since Philip, the class' longest-tenured player, arrived on campus in 2018, the class has gone 33-36-6 overall with a 15-15-2 against America East opponents.
 
Shutout
For three-straight games, and seven total halves, the men's soccer team did not concede a goal.  The Great Danes went 2-0-1 against UMBC, Bryant, and Binghamton, outscoring the three opponents 4-0.  In total, dating to the team's last goal conceded in the 86th minute at Rhode Island on September 20, until their next goal conceded, a penalty kick in the 66th minute against Army West Point on October 11, the Great Danes' shutout streak lasted 340 game minutes.
 
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 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 on the season.  Since then, the team added another PK, and are a perfect 4-4.
 
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: The winner of Saturday's game will visit two-seed Vermont on November 10.