ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer team closes out its early-season three-game road swing with a trip to Rider on Thursday.
 
Game Info
August 31, 2023 at Rider (4:00 pm)
Live Stats | BroncVision | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 0-2-0 on the road this season; Rider is 1-1-0 at home
• Rider is winless in three games since their home opener
• UAlbany is 1-5-0 in its Division I era against Rider, but played five of the games in the series from 2000-04
• UAlbany won its first game in the series last season
• Last year's win over rider was head coach Sade Ayinde's first career victory

Scouting Rider
Rider went 8-7-3 in 2023, and 5-5-0 against MAAC opponents.  The Broncs qualified for the MAAC Tournament for the 10th-straight season, but fell in the first round in penalty kicks against Canisius.  From the 2022 team, Rider returns eight starters, but only one of its top-five scorers.  The Broncs were picked to finish fifth in the 2023 MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, and landed one Preseason All-MAAC selection in Ellie Sciancalepore, who earned the conference's Golden Glove award last season, recognizing the league's top goalkeeper.
 
Last Time vs. Rider
August 31, 2022 | UAlbany hosted Rider for their second home game of 2022, and fifth game of the season, having dropped each of their first four without scoring a goal.  Emily Jozak changed that, scoring three goals in 10 in-game minutes after the Great Danes fell behind the Broncs 1-0.  The Great Dane offense committed to aggressive play, outshooting Rider 29-7 overall.  The win, UAlbany's first of the season, was also the first career victory for head coach Sade Ayinde, as well as goalkeeper Megan Hart.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany played its middle game of a three-game road swing, visiting former America East opponent Boston University.  The Terriers scored first, but UAlbany scored twice in the second half, once on a PK from Hailey Hnis, her first career goal, and next on a header from Iola Cotter, to take a 2-1 lead.  Boston University rallied late, however, and scored goals in the 82nd and 83rd minutes to steal a 3-2 win.
 
Around the America East
Maine remains atop the early season America East standings and has maintained its unbeaten record a 3-0-1.  New Hampshire and Vermont have climbed into a tie for second at 2-1-0 each.  UMBC also has two wins, sitting at .500 overall.  Three teams, Bryant, NJIT, and UAlbany have one win each, and UMass Lowell and Binghamton remain winless.
 
Thursday's America East Games

• LIU at NJIT, 2:00 pm
• UAlbany at Rider, 4:00 pm
• Maine at Merrimack, 4:00 pm
• New Hampshire at Siena, 4:00 pm
• UMass Lowell at Stonehill, 4:00 pm
• UMBC at Towson, 6:00 pm
• Sacred Heart at Vermont, 6:00 pm
• Le Moyne at Binghamton, 6:00 pm
• Fairfield at Bryant, 7:00 pm

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 41-19-8 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 UMass on September 7.