Score: No. 3 UAlbany 2, No. 6 NJIT 0
 
Location: Tom & Mary Casey Stadium in Albany, N.Y.
 
Records: UAlbany (5-7-6) | NJIT (5-8-4)
 
Short Story: Three-seed UAlbany men's soccer records its fourth-straight shutout, defeating six-seed NJIT 2-0 in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 America East Tournament.
 
Key Stats

• Mohamed Soumah scored his first career goal
• Pantelis Panteli scored his third goal of the season, and third by PK
• UAlbany has converted successfully on all five of its penalty kicks this season
• Shafique Wilson recorded his fourth-straight clean sheet
• UAlbany narrowly outshot NJIT 10-9
• The teams combined for nine yellow cards, including eight in the second half, and seven in the final 10 minutes 

Head Coach Trevor Gorman: "It was a good performance today and we're pleased to advance.  Our guys kept control of play for most of the game and we felt the chances would come if we stayed patient.  We'll look forward to continuing into next week and to an upcoming semifinal."
 
How it Happened

• For the second-straight season, the UAlbany men's soccer team earned the three-seed in the America East Tournament.  Also for the second-straight season, the Great Danes hosted six-seed NJIT in their quarterfinal matchup.
• Last season, the Highlanders upset the Great Danes in their quarterfinal, 2-1, following UAlbany's 2-1 victory during the regular season.  In their latest matchup, late in the 2022 regular season, the first game in the series in Newark since the Highlanders joined the America East, UAlbany won 1-0 behind a goal in the 89th minute from Andrew Weiner.
• The game started out largely evenly from UAlbany's opening kickoff.  The Great Danes recorded three shots in the first 17 minutes, only one of which was on target, the team's first in the second minute.  NJIT did not attempt a shot until the 29th minute, which was handled by UAlbany goalkeeper Shafique Wilson.
• NJIT's first chance to score came shortly after, in the 30th minute.  Alejandro Rabell, breaking into the box on the left side, fired a low cross to the far post that got past Wilson.  Jordi Navio Sanchez ran onto the ball and had an open net, but was stopped just before the goal line by Tiago Dias, sliding and blocking Sanchez's shot with his leg and out of bounds.
• The first half ended without a score, marking a fifth-straight half in which the Great Danes had not found the back of the net.  UAlbany faced a small shots deficit against the Highlanders, 4-3.
• UAlbany broke through in the 74th minute when Mohamed Soumah ran onto a through ball played behind the Highlanders' defensive line by Jackson Finn.  Soumah, now one-on-one with NJIT goalkeeper Samuel Reisgys, ripped his shot into the back of the net to put UAlbany up 1-0.
• The Great Danes drew a penalty in the NJIT box in the 84th minute.  For the third time this season, Pantelis Panteli stepped up to take the ensuing penalty kick, and for the third time this season, Panteli successfully converted his attempt, giving UAlbany an insurance goal to lead 2-0 with just under seven minutes remaining.
• The final six minutes and 57 seconds of gametime saw seven yellow cards doled out by the referee, bringing the game total to eight.  UAlbany's defense held firm and the game ended with a 2-0 victory for the Great Danes.
• Saturday was the first game UAlbany has scored more than one goal since defeating Bryant 3-0 on October 1.  It was also the team's fourth-straight game not allowing a goal.  The victory snaps a three-game losing streak in the quarterfinal round for the Great Danes. 

Next: UAlbany advances to the America East semifinal round for the first time since the 2017 season to face two-seed Vermont.  Kickoff is scheduled for Thursday, November 10 at 7:00 pm.