ALBANY, N.Y. – After opening the season with three of four on the road, the University at Albany women's soccer program returns to Tom & Mary Casey Stadium to host Rider on Wednesday.
 
Game Info
Wednesday, August 31 vs. Rider (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | AE.tv
 
Leading the Pack

• Rider has three road wins this season after going 0-7-1 on the road last year
• UAlbany last played Rider during the 2004 season
• Rider has outscored its opponents 10-2 this season
• Rider is playing its fourth-straight game on the road to start the 2022 season

Scouting Rider
Rider is 3-0 on the season so far, most recently defeating Delaware State 6-0.  Previously, the Broncos defeated Wagner in the season opener 3-2 and then Villanova 1-0.  All three of Rider's games so far have been on the road.  Rider's Chloe Fisher was named Preseason All-MAAC Preseason, and the Broncos were picked to finish seventh in the league this year.  Rider went 5-10-2 in 2021 and fell to top-seed Monmouth in the quarterfinal round of the MAAC Tournament.  The Broncos have three road wins this season after going winless in eight games away from home last year.  UAlbany last played Rider in 2004, and are 0-5 in five meetings against the Broncos since the 2000 season.
 
Last Time vs. Rider
In their last meeting in 2004, Rider scored twice in the first half, the only two goals of the game.  The Broncos first broke through in the 26th minute and again just before halftime in the 43rd.  The Rider defense locked UAlbany down, holding the Great Danes to just six total shots during the game, while taking 22 themselves.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany played its third road game of the season, visiting Hofstra on Long Island.  The Great Danes conceded an own goal early in the game to fall behind, but locked down on defense for the remainder of the first half.  Hofstra came out in the second with two goals in the first 10 minutes to go up 3-0, which would prove to be the final score.
 
Around the America East
Maine has climbed to the top of the America East standings and remain one of two unbeaten teams in the league through the season's first four competition dates.  The Black Bears are 2-0-1, just ahead of UMBC at 2-1-1.  NJIT is also unbeaten at 1-0-3.  New Hampshire sits fourth at 2-2-0, followed by Binghamton and defending regular-season and tournament champion Vermont.  Bryant and UMass Lowell are each 1-3-0, and UAlbany is the lone winless team in the league.
 
Wednesday's America East Games

• Maine at Holy Cross, 7:00 pm
• NJIT at Wagner, 7:00 pm
• Rider at UAlbany, 7:00 pm

Picked Fifth
UAlbany was picked to finish fifth in the 2022 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, after finishing the 2021 season fourth and advancing to the America East semifinal round.  It is the second-straight season in which the Great Danes were picked fifth.  UMass Lowell narrowly edged defending regular-season and conference champion Vermont for first-place in this season's poll.
 
Home Field
UAlbany has been excellent within the confines of Tom & Mary Casey Stadium for the better part of the last decade, boasting a 36-15-4 record at home since the start of the 2015 season, the year of the program's first America East title.  The Great Danes went 4-3-1 at home in 2021, and between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, UAlbany was 14-1-3, including an unbeaten 2019 season in which they gave up just eight goals at home.
 
First Year
Sade Ayinde was hired on February 16, 2022 as UAlbany's 14th head women's soccer coach, and eighth during the program's Division I era.  She steps in for Leigh Howard, who oversaw the team for two seasons before moving on to work with the Special Olympics.  Ayinde was a standout at Maryland during her collegiate career, scoring 16 goals with 17 assists in 79 appearances over four seasons.  Her previous collegiate coaching stops include Stony Brook and, most recently, Yale, and she also works with the US National program.
 
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 visits La Salle on September 4.