ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's soccer team returns to the road to face Rhode Island just ahead of the start of America East Conference play this weekend.
 
Game Info
Tuesday, September 20 at Rhode Island (7:00 pm)
Live Stats
Tuesday's ESPN+ live stream production has been cancelled due to inclement weather
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 0-4-0 on the road this season; Rhode Island is 1-0-1 at home
• UAlbany has won four-straight against Rhode Island
• Three of UAlbany's five goals have come via penalty kick

Scouting Rhode Island
The Rams are unbeaten in seven games this season, so far going 3-0-4.  They opened the season facing two-straight ranked opponents, first tying #21 Penn State 1-1, and next defeating #8 Hofstra 2-0.  Both games were on the road.  Five Rams have scored at least two goals this season, led by Rafa Villanueva's three.  Rhode Island was picked second in the 2022 Atlantic-10 Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing 2021 10-5-2 overall and falling to Duquesne in the A-10 semifinals.  UAlbany is 4-1-1 against Rhode Island in six total meetings, and has won each of the last four.
 
Last Time vs. Rhode Island
After a brief dive into the America East schedule, the Great Danes returned home after two games on the road and returned to non-conference play to host Rhode Island.  Andrew Weiner scored the Great Danes' earliest goal of the season, and first of the first half, finding the back of the net in the sixth minute to put UAlbany up early.  Next, just before halftime, Ricardo Rego scored on a corner kick to give UAlbany a 2-1 lead at the break.  After Rhode Island tied the game in the 73rd minute, the game went into overtime.  In the 93rd minute, Shafique Wilson made a kick save on a breakaway to prevent Rhode Island from wining, and in the 105th minute Austin DaSilva broke through with his first goal of the season to defeat the Rams 3-2.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany hosted its second-straight Ivy League opponent, Dartmouth, bookending a trip to Big Ten opponent Rutgers.  The Great Danes scored from the field for the second-straight game, when Andrew Weiner put away his first of the season, but the defense gave up a penalty kick in the 90th minute to the Big Green, who ultimately forced a final 1-1 draw.
 
Around the America East
With the start of conference play on the horizon, UMBC and Vermont continue their share of the league lead at 5-1-1 overall.  The Catamounts, since starting 1-1-1, have won each of their last four.  Bryant and New Hampshire are each 3-3-0, followed by NJIT at 2-3-2.  UAlbany is sixth, 1-4-2, just ahead of UMass Lowell at 1-4-1.  Finally, Binghamton remains winless at 0-4-2.
 
Tuesday's America East Games

• Marist at Bryant, 3:00 pm
• UMass Lowell at UMass, 4:00 pm
• UAlbany at Rhode Island, 7:00 pm
• Sacred Heart at NJIT, 7:00 pm
• Hofstra at Binghamton, 7:00 pm
• UMBC at St. Joseph's, 7:00 pm

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 visits UMBC on September 24.