ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany men's soccer team returns to Casey Stadium one final time in 2023 to host NJIT on Senior Night.
 
Game Info
October 31, 2023 vs. NJIT (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Int'l Stream | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 5-2-0 at home this season; NJIT is 0-6-2 on the road
• NJIT ranks sixth in the America East in scoring offense; UAlbany ranks seventh
• UAlbany ranks fourth in the America East in scoring defense; NJIT ranks sixth
• NJIT's Maximus Barboto leads the America Easts in assists
• Alex Pechacek ranks second in the America East in assists

Scouting NJIT
UAlbany and NJIT have met in each of the last two America East quarterfinal rounds, but their regular-season meeting will be the only one of 2023 with the Great Danes eliminated from postseason contention.  NJIT is 5-7-4 overall this season, and has a victory over then-#15 Vermont, while most recently playing UMBC to a 0-0 draw.  The Highlanders are led by Alvaro Heredia, who has scored five goals and added two assists for a total of 12 points.  Maximus Barboto has recorded a league-leading eight assists.  UAlbany is 4-2-0 in six games against NJIT in the Great Danes' Division I era, and has won four of the last five meetings.
 
Last Time vs. NJIT
November 5, 2022 | For the second-straight season, the Great Danes earned the three-seed in the America East Tournament and hosted six-seed NJIT in the quarterfinal round.  The two teams had played late in the 2022 regular season, with the Great Danes' Andrew Weiner scoring in the 89th minute to give UAlbany a 1-0 victory.  Following a scoreless opening half, UAlbany scored twice after halftime to defeat the Highlanders for the second time in 14 days, avenging their defeat to the Highlander's in last year's quarterfinal.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes played its regular-season road finale at #21 Vermont, falling to the Catamounts 1-0.  The goal for Vermont was the team's first against UAlbany since 2021, breaking a shutout stretch of 319:08 of game time, spanning parts of four games.  The loss, along with other results around the conference, eliminated UAlbany from 2023 postseason contention.
 
Around the America East
The six-team field for the 2023 America East Tournament has been set, with seeding among the six teams still up for grabs with one game remaining.  The top four teams are separated by just one point, with leaders #21 Vermont and #17 New Hampshire meeting on Tuesday night.  #24 Bryant and UMBC each have 11 points, one behind the Catamounts and Wildcats, and play UMass Lowell and Binghamton, respectively.  NJIT and Binghamton are tied for fifth place with eight points each.
 
Tuesday's America East Games

• #21 Vermont at #17 New Hampshire, 6:00 pm
• UMass Lowell at #24 Bryant, 7:00 pm
• Binghamton at UMBC, 7:00 pm
• NJIT at UAlbany, 7:00 pm

Common Opponents

• Villanova
  • UAlbany: 8/27 vs. Villanova, W, 2-0
  • NJIT: 8/31 vs. Villanova, W, 4-1
• UMBC
  • UAlbany: 9/23 vs. UMBC, L, 1-2
  • NJIT: 10/27 vs. UMBC, T, 0-0
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 9/29 at #24 New Hampshire, T, 0-0
  • NJIT: 10/21 at #19 New Hampshire, L, 1-2
• Binghamton
  • UAlbany: 10/7 vs. Binghamton, L, 1-3
  • NJIT: 9/30 at Binghamton, T, 1-1
• UMass Lowell
  • UAlbany: 10/14 vs. UMass Lowell, W, 2-0
  • NJIT: 9/23 vs. UMass Lowell, W, 4-1
• Bryant
  • UAlbany: 10/21 at #24 Bryant, L, 1-3
  • NJIT: 10/15 at Bryant, L, 0-5
• Vermont
  • UAlbany: 10/27 at #21 Vermont, L, 0-1
  • NJIT: 10/7 vs. #15 Vermont, W, 1-0

Seniors
In the Great Danes 2023, the team will hold a brief pregame ceremony to recognize and honor the six members of the 2023 senior class: Alejandro Giner, Miltiadis Hadjipanayiotou, Alex Pechacek, George Pitsillides, Jeff Thielmann, and Piet Wesling.
 
100
In UAlbany's game at Vermont, goalkeeper Shafique Wilson recorded the 100th save of his career.  Wilson, who now has recorded 102 saves in 31 career appearances, is the seventh Great Dane to eclipse the milestone in program history.
 
Shutout Streak
UAlbany's head-to-head shutout streak against Vermont came to an end in their latest meeting, when the Great Danes visited the #21-ranked Catamounts on October 27.  Vermont had last scored a goal against UAlbany in the 12th minute of their game during the 2021 season, on October 23.  Over the next 319:08 of game time, spanning parts of four games, UAlbany did not concede a goal in the series.  Vermont's goal, to win 1-0, in the 61st minute of the 2023 meeting ended the streak.
 
Counterpunch
The Great Danes were the first team in 2023 to score a goal in a game against Bryant after the Bulldogs scored their first goal.  Bryant held the top-ranked defense in the NCAA at the time of the game against UAlbany, having conceded just three goals in 14 games this season while recording 11 shutouts.  Against the Great Danes, the Bulldogs scored their first goal in the 26th minute, and UAlbany turned around and scored right away in the 28th, just 1:19 of game time later.
 
USL Championship Playoffs
Two former Great Danes, Danny Vitiello and Daniel Krutzen, have seen their respective teams, Sacramento Republic FC and Phoenix Rising FC, qualify for the 2023 USL Championship postseason.  Sacramento is the top seed in the west, behind Vitiello's Golden Glove Award-winning season in net, while Krutzen's Phoenix Rising earned the West's six-seed.  The pair would meet in the Western Conference finals, should both teams advance that far.
 
Golden Glove
For the second time in his career, former UAlbany goalkeeper Danny Vitiello won the USL Championship Golden Glove award, recognizing the league's most outstanding goalkeeper each season.  Previously winning the award in 2020 as a member of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, Vitiello recorded a goals-against average of 0.83 with 11 shutouts to anchor Sacramento Republic FC's first-place Western Conference finish in 2023.  His save percentage of .762 in 30 appearance this season led the league's eligible goalkeepers.
 
500
On October 14, 2023, the University at Albany men's soccer program recorded its 500th victory in history.  The program began in 1950, and reclassified to Division II in 1995, and to Division I in 1999.  The victory came against one of the Great Danes newest, yet staunchest, rivals, UMass Lowell, 2-0 in Albany.
 
Dangerous Strikes
Through the Great Danes' first eight games, the team had scored 12 goals.  Five of their previou seven had come on either free kicks or corner kicks, starting with three such goals against Marist.  So far, the Great Danes have scored four goals off corner kicks alone.
 
Helping Hand II
Alex Pechacek recorded his first assist of the season in the Great Danes' fifth game, at home against Marist.  Pechacek finished the game with three assists, the second-most in a single game in Division I program history.  Including the game against Marist, Pechacek has assisted on six of UAlbany's seven goals scored, and has recorded at least one assist in three of four games.
 
First Halves
Until Penn scored in the 11th minute in the Great Danes' seventh game of the season, UAlbany had held its first six opponents scoreless in the first half of each game.  Conversely, UAlbany had scored four goals in first halves this season.
 
At the Top
In Week 3 of the United Soccer Coaches regional rankings, America East institutions accounted for each of the top four, and five of the top 10, spots in the Northeast Poll.  Vermont, New Hampshire, both nationally ranked, took the top two spots, followed by UMBC and undefeated and untied Bryant.  UAlbany landed seventh out of 10, behind Cornell and LIU.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Tiago Dias' two-goal performance, including the game-winner, earned his first career America East Defensive Player of the Week honor.  In scoring twice, first in the 17th minute and next in the 54th, Dias powered the Great Danes to victory over Marist, and doubled his career goals total.
 
Helping Hand
Graduate midfielder Alex Pechacek recorded an assist on all three UAlbany goals against Marist.  The three assists were the second-most in a single game in the program's Division I history, ranking only behind Daniel Krutzen's four at American University during the 2018 season.  No other player in the program's Division I era had recorded three assists in a game.
 
From the Back
All three of UAlbany's goals against Marist came from the defensive line, and specifically center backs Tiago Dias and Santiago Frias.  Dias scored the first two goals of the game, in the 17th and 54th minutes, and Frias added one in the 57th.  All three goals were scored on set pieces, with midfielder Alex Pechacek assisting on each.
 
Shutting Out
After earning shutouts in back-to-back games early in the 2023 season, the UAlbany men's soccer team had recorded seven shutouts in its previous 10 games dating back to the 2022 season.  Since playing Colgate to a 1-1 tie on October 18, 2022, UAlbany had allowed just six goals in 11 games, including two shutouts in 10 days against then #8-ranked Vermont.  UAlbany's shutout streak reached a peak of 505 consecutive minutes between allowing goals to Colgate and in the 2022 America East title game against #22 New Hampshire.
 
Without Borders
Including the United States and Canada, the 2023 men's soccer roster features 29 players representing 13 different countries.  In total, 21 players have joined the team from outside the United States.
 
New Faces
The Great Danes' roster of 29 players features 13 new faces.  Three of the 13 are freshmen, while the remaining 10 have transferred into UAlbany from their previous institutions.  The transfers hail from such programs as Akron, South Florida, and defending national champion Syracuse, among others.
 
Picked Third
After a run to the America East title game in 2022, the Great Danes were picked to finish in a tie for third in the 2023 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  They shared their point total of 34 with UMBC, and narrowly edging the Retrievers by garnering one first-place vote.
 
Schedule Strength
Including defending national champion and preseason #1 Syracuse, five of the Great Danes 17 opponents in 2023 hold preseason rankings in the United Soccer Coaches national poll.  Behind the Orange, the Great Danes will play games against #12 Vermont, #20 Cornell, #23 New Hampshire, and #25 Penn.
 
Phoenix Rising
Former UAlbany defender Daniel Krutzen '18 signed a deal in January with Phoenix Rising FC of the USL Championship, the second-tier league in the United States.  Krutzen made the move after playing four years in the Canadian Premier League for Forge FC, winning three league titles.
 
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.
 
U.S. Open Cup
Former UAlbany goalkeeper Danny Vitiello and his Sacramento Republic FC team advanced to the championship game of the 2022 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.
 
Next: UAlbany's 2023 season ends Tuesday.  The America East Tournament begins November 4.