ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's soccer team welcomes America East newcomer Bryant to Tom & Mary Casey Stadium, looking to start their conference slate 2-0-0.
 
Game Info
Saturday, October 1 vs. Bryant (6:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3 | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 1-0-2 at home this season; Bryant is 0-2-0 on the road
• UAlbany leads the America East in penalty kicks drawn and converted
• Including Saturday, UAlbany plays four of its next five games at home
• Shafique Wilson ranks third in the America East in saves per game
• Bryant is 1-4-0 in its last five games

Scouting Bryant
Bryant is 3-5-0 on the season so far, and 0-1-0 against America East opponents in their first season as a member of the league.  The Bulldogs opened against defending regular-season champion New Hampshire, falling 4-1 to the Wildcats.  Bryant has scored nine goals in eight games, led by Digger Iqbal and Nick Awada, who have each scored twice.  UAlbany and Bryant have met just once during the Great Danes' Division I era, a 4-1 victory for UAlbany in 2008.
 
Last Time vs. Bryant
October 25, 2008 | The 2008 season saw the Great Danes put together their best start in program history, entering their 15th game of the season with a record of 10-3-1.  The torrid start continued against the Bulldogs with the Great Danes securing a 4-0 victory.  UAlbany scored just once in the first half before finding the back of the net three times after the break. 
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany opened its 2022 conference slate at UMBC.  The Retrievers were the highest scoring team in the conference, with eight more goals scored than the second-leading offense Vermont.  The Great Danes played UMBC to a scoreless stalemate, however, until freshman forward Jackson Finn took advantage of an empty net late in the game.  Saad Faiz and Domenic Baumann took shots back-to-back that drew UMBC goalkeeper Quantrell Jones out of position, clearing the way for Finn to score the first goal of his career and win the game for the Great Danes 1-0.

Around the America East
Vermont had its latest game, against UMass, postponed, but has still won its last six games to lead the America East at 7-1-1 overall.  The Catamounts, with New Hampshire and UAlbany, each have three points after winning their conference openers.  NJIT and UMass Lowell have one point after drawing in their conference game, while UMBC, Bryant, and Binghamton are each 0-1-0 after the first weekend of the America East schedule.
 
Saturday's America East Games

• #16 Vermont at UMass Lowell, 3:00 pm
• Bryant at UAlbany, 6:00 pm
• UMBC at New Hampshire, 6:00 pm
• Binghamton at NJIT, 7:00 pm

Common Opponents

• Fairfield
  • UAlbany: September 2 at Fairfield, L, 0-1
  • Bryant: September 11 vs. Fairfield, L, 1-2
• Marist
  • UAlbany: September 5 at Marist, L, 1-2
  • Bryant: September 20 vs. Marist, L, 0-1

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 visits Binghamton on October 8.