ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer team heads back on the road for a game at Bryant this weekend.
 
Game Info
October 8, 2023 at Bryant (1:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Int'l Stream | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 1-3-2 on the road this season; Bryant is 2-1-1 at home
• UAlbany ranks sixth in the America East in scoring offense; Bryant ranks seventh
• Bryant leads the America East in scoring defense; UAlbany ranks eighth
• Megan Hart ranks second in the America East in total saves
• Bryant's Kathryn McNeill leads the America East in goals-against average and save percentage
• Sunday is Bryant's 2023 Senior Day

Scouting Bryant
The Bulldogs are 5-3-3 in 2023 so far, and 1-1-2 against America East opponents, earning five points in their first four conference games.  The Bulldogs have suffered one defeat since September 3, going 3-1-2 in six games since.  Four Bulldogs have scored two goals this season, led by Catherine Bean and Madison Luke, who are tied for the team lead with five total points.  Bulldogs' goalkeeper Kathryn McNeill has been the top goalkeeper in the conference, leading the league in goals-against average and save percentage, anchoring Bryant's league-leading scoring defense.  UAlbany is 1-1-1 in three Division I-era meetings against Bryant.
 
Last Time vs. Bryant
September 29, 2022 | UAlbany hosted America East newcomer Bryant for the first time as conference opponents for the team's 2022 Spread Respect game.  The Great Danes scored first when freshman Ashley Ladner converted a setup from Joanna Van Royen for her first career goal in the ninth minute.  Bryant responded in the 30th, tying the game at one.  Neither team scored after halftime and the game ended in a 1-1 tie, despite UAlbany holding a 14-9 advantage in shots, a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks, and a 57%-43% advantage in total possession.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany welcomed defending America East champion New Hampshire to Casey Stadium for its fourth conference game of the 2023.  For just the third time, UAlbany scored the first goal of the game, and for just the second time, the Great Danes scored in the first half.  UAlbany led 1-0 at halftime behind Hailey Hnis' second goal of the season, but New Hampshire scored two quick goals early in the second half, in the 52nd and 57th minutes, to claim a 2-1 victory.
 
Around the America East
Maine remains unbeaten in 2023 at 7-0-4 overall, but is tied for second with New Hampshire in the America East standings with seven points.  Binghamton is the conference leader with eight points in four games, one more than the Black Bears.  Bryant is in sole possession of fourth places with five points, while UMass Lowell and NJIT are tied with four points.  Vermont has three points, followed by UAlbany and UMBC, tied with two points each.  Maine, UMass Lowell, NJIT, and Vermont have played three conference games, while Binghamton, New Hampshire, Bryant, UAlbany, and UMBC have played four.
 
Sunday's America East Games

• Binghamton at UMass Lowell, 12:00 pm
• Maine at NJIT, 1:00 pm
• UAlbany at Bryant, 1:00 pm
• Vermont at UMBC, 2:00 pm

Common Opponents

• Binghamton
  • UAlbany: 9/28 at Binghamton, T, 2-2
  • Bryant: 10/1 vs. Binghamton, T, 1-1
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 10/1 vs. New Hampshire, L, 1-2
  • Bryant: 9/24 vs. New Hampshire, L, 0-2

To the Wire
Trailing 2-0 with just over four minutes remaining, Selma Elverum scored two goals, including one with three seconds remaining on the clock, to force a tie with Binghamton on the road and steal a point in the conference standings.  Elverum is the first Great Dane in 2023 to record more than one goal, and recorded the first multi-goal game for a single player of the season.
 
Uruguay U-19
Freshman defender Florencia Bartholomai stepped away from the UAlbany women's soccer team briefly to compete for her home country, Ururguay, in the U-19 Liga Evolución Tournament.  Uruguay was placed in a group with Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Paraguay, and would play each of the four countries from September 17-22.
 
Back Heavy
Through its first eight games of the 2023 season, eight of the UAlbany women's soccer program's nine total goals have been scored in the second half.  The Great Danes are, on average, scoring in the 62nd minute.
 
Spread the Wealth
In its first eight games of the 2023 season, the UAlbany women's soccer program scored nine goals.  Each goal was scored by a different player, including two goals from defenders Charlotte Takacsy and Devon Schmitt.  Takacsy is the early-season leader in total points as the only player to tally a goal and an assist.
 
First Time
In the first game of her senior-year season, the 42nd appearance of her career, defender Charlotte Takacsy scored her first career goal as a Great Dane.  Takacsy capitalized on a rebound following a serve from a corner kick to put UAlbany up 2-1 over Hofstra in the 71st minute of the season opener and clinch the game for the Great Danes.
 
Backloaded
During the 2022 season, UAlbany scored 26 total goals in 20 games, for an average of 1.30 goals per game.  However, the Great Danes were shut out in each of their first four games of the season, and subsequently scored their 26 goals in the final 16 games, for an average of 1.63 goals per game.
 
Rookie of the Year
After leading the Great Danes in scoring, freshman forward Emily Jozak was named the 2022 America East Rookie of the Year.  Jozak led UAlbany in 2022 with seven goals, ranking in a tie for third-highest total in the America East.  Jozak was also named America East Rookie of the Week three times, including after she tied the single-game program records with three goals and six points against Rider in the Great Danes' first victory of the season.  Jozak is UAlbany's seventh Rookie of the Year winner, following Teresa Boring (2007), Chelsea DeVerna (2009), Vivian Vega (2014), Meghan Cavanaugh (2016), Jasmine Colbert (2018), and Leah Pais (2019).
 
Mainstays
Since earning their first postseason berth during the 2009 season, UAlbany women's soccer has qualified for all but two postseason tournaments, missing out only in 2013 and in the COVID-affected 2020-21 season.  Overall, UAlbany is 13-7-2, in America East postseason matches, with three America East championships.
 
Picked Fifth
For the third-straight season, UAlbany was picked to finish fifth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  The Great Danes finished the 2022 regular season in fifth place and advanced to the conference semifinal round against top-seed Binghamton.  The Bearcats narrowly edged 2022 champion New Hampshire as the 2023 preseason favorite.
 
Home Field
UAlbany has been excellent within the confines of Tom & Mary Casey Stadium for the better part of the last decade, boasting a 42-21-8 record at home since the start of the 2015 season, the year of the program's first America East title.  The Great Danes went 4-3-3 at home in 2022, and between the 2018 and 2019 seasons, UAlbany was 14-1-3, including a 2019 season in which they gave up just eight goals at home while going 8-0-1 during the regular season.
 
Next: UAlbany hosts UMBC on October 12.