ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer team plays its final two games at home of the 2021 regular season starting with its Breast Cancer Awareness game on Thursday against Vermont.
 
Game Info
Thursday, October 14 vs. Vermont (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | AE.tv
 
Leading the Pack

• Six Great Danes have scored a goal this season, and four have recorded an assist
• UAlbany returns five All-Conference players from the spring season, including spring Strike of the Year Jasmine Colbert
• Colbert led UAlbany with five goals in the spring, all five of which were game-winners
• UAlbany also returns defensive starters Hailey Summers and Sophia Eifler, and goalkeeper Sophia Chen, alongside spring All-Rookie selections Olivia Piraino and Margot Nezaj
• Jasmine Colbert leads the America East in shots taken (52), 12 more than second place, and ranks second in goals scored (7) and total points (15)
• Cassandra Coster leads the America East in save percentage and ranks second in goals-against average
• Vermont has two players, Alyssa Oviedo and Cricket Basa, who have each scored four goals
• Following the spring's unique two-division schedule, the America East returns to its normal round-robin format for the fall

Scouting Vermont
Thanks to a three-game winning streak, Vermont has climbed into sole possession of third place in the America East standings.  Their winning streak is tied with Binghamton for the longest active streak in the conference.  The Catamounts rank second in the America East in scoring offense but ranks seventh in scoring defense.  UAlbany has won eight of the last nine meetings against Vermont, including each of the last three.
 
Last Time vs. Vermont
Playing once during the 2020-21 spring season, the Great Danes defeated the Catamounts in Burlington 2-0 to earn their first America East victory, and second victory overall, of the spring.  Jasmine Colbert scored for UAlbany in the 19th minute to give the Great Danes and early lead, and then-freshman Iola Cotter sealed the deal in the 78th with a second goal.  UAlbany outshot Vermont 22-7 over the course of the game, and drew six corner kicks while not allowing Vermont to earn any.
 
Last Time Out
For the second time in 11 days, the Great Danes played the first-place team in the America East standings on the road.  First, UAlbany tied then-first place Hartford 1-1 in double-overtime.  Most recently, UAlbany visited first place UMass Lowell, who to date was also undefeated in conference play at 4-0-0.  UAlbany and UMass Lowell played a scoreless 90 minutes and went into overtime where Jasmine Colbert scored in the 93rd minute to knock off the River Hawks.  It was UAlbany's fifth overtime game of the year, and fourth in their last five games.  Colbert scored a game-winner for the second-straight game, and UAlbany goalkeeper Cassandra Coster recorded her second-straight shutout behind a career-high 11 saves.
 
Around the America East
Due to the defeat by the Great Danes, UMass Lowel has fallen into a tie for first place in the America East standings, with each team 4-1-0 in-conference.  Vermont, riding a three-game winning streak, holds sole possession of third place with nine points.  UAlbany, after defeating UMass Lowell and tying Hartford, both in first place at the time, has jumped to fourth, leading Hartford and New Hampshire by one point.  Hartford has lost its last two since tying UAlbany, and sits in a tie for fifth after leading the standings for most of the season.
 
Common Opponents

• Stony Brook
  • UAlbany: 9/19 at Stony Brook, L, 1-2
  • Vermont: 9/26 vs. Stony Brook, L, 3-0
• Siena
  • UAlbany: 9/22 at Siena, T, 1-1 (2OT)
  • Vermont: 8/27 at Siena, W, 3-2
• Hartford
  • UAlbany: 9/30 at Hartford, T, 1-1 (2OT)
  • Vermont: 10/10 at Hartford, W, 2-0
• Maine
  • UAlbany: 10/3 vs. Maine, W, 1-0
  • Vermont: 9/30 at Maine, W, 2-0

Thursday's America East Games

• Binghamton at Stony Brook, 5:00 pm
• Hartford at UMass Lowell, 6:00 pm
• NJIT at UMBC, 7:00 pm
• Vermont at UAlbany, 7:00 pm
• New Hampshire at Maine, 7:00 pm

Overtime Madness
Against UMass Lowell on October 10, UAlbany went into overtime for the fifth time this season.  Each of the first four overtime matches ended in a tie after 110 minutes of play.  The game against UMass Lowell, at the time 4-0-0 against America East opponents and leading the conference standings, broke that trend, with Jasmine Colbert scoring in the 93rd minute to give UAlbany its first victory in extra time all season.
 
Tying Up
For three games in a row, at Siena, vs. New Hampshire, and at Hartford, the Great Danes recorded a result of a 1-1, double-overtime tie.  In the first two games, UAlbany took the lead and let up the equalizer later, and against Hartford, the first-place Hawks scored first only for UAlbany to respond and force overtime.  The streak ended at home against Maine, a 1-0 victory.  An additional streak for the Great Danes remains active, six straight games scoring exactly one goal.
 
Streak Ender
With her unassisted goal in the 62nd minute at Hartford, Jada Colbert ended a streak where the Hawks had not conceded a goal at home to that point in the season.  Hartford had not allowed a goal at home for 361 total minutes, into their fifth home game, before Colbert found the back of the net.  The last goal Hartford conceded at home was in the 14th minute of the game against New Hampshire by Ally Reynolds on October 20, 2019, since the Hawks did not play in the 2021 spring season, adding 291 minutes to their streak dating to that game.
 
Breaking Through
The Great Danes' first victory of the season came in their fifth game, against Yale, and featured a barrage of scoring with both teams combining for a total of seven goals.  UAlbany defeated the Bulldogs 4-3, scoring three goals in the second half.  Yale scored within the first two minutes, in what looked like the start of a repeat of the last meeting between the two teams in 2019 when Yale won 4-0.  UAlbany tied the game before halftime however, before ceding another goal to the Bulldogs shortly after the second half.  UAlbany scored the next three goals, including an own-goal from Yale to go up 4-2, before Yale scored on a PK to cut the lead to one.  The Bulldogs earned three corner kicks in the final minute of the game, the second of which nearly resulted in an equalizer if not for UAlbany goalkeeper Sophia Chen turning it away.
 
Schedule Shakeup
Four of UAlbany's first five games on the 2021 calendar have required adjustments from their original plans.  The opener at Syracuse was cancelled due to inclement weather.  The second game, the home opener against Hofstra, was moved up two hours to avoid weather from Tropical Storm Henri.  The third game, at CCSU, was pushed back one hour to avoid excessive heat.  Most recently, the team's road game at Quinnipiac was cancelled due to inclement weather.
 
Top Drawer Soccer Preseason America East Top-20

• Jasmine Colbert – 2
• Hailey Summers – 4
• Olivia Piraino - 20

Picked Fifth
The Great Danes were picked to finish fifth in the 2021 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll.  UAlbany drew 52 points in fifth place behind two-time defending conference champion and unanimous favorite Stony Brook.  The Seawolves pulled in 81 total points and all nine possible first-place votes.  UMass Lowell was second, garnering the final first-place vote and 67 total points.  Binghamton (61) and New Hampshire (52) were picked just ahead of UAlbany.  Behind the Great Danes, perennial power Hartford was picked sixth with 50 points, followed by Vermont (28), Maine and NJIT (20), and UMBC (17).
 
Captains
The UAlbany women's soccer team features three captains for the 2021-22 season in goalkeeper Sophia Chen, midfielder Sophia Eifler, and defender Hailey Summers.  Each was a sophomore on the team for UAlbany's most recent America East title in 2018, and each has elected to utilize their additional year of eligibility to return to UAlbany this season.
 
Colbert Connection
Three times in their careers, twin sisters Jada and Jasmine Colbert connected on a goal.  Jasmine set up Jada for the first goal of the 2019 game against UMass Lowell.  Earlier in the 2019 season, against St. Francis Brooklyn, the twins connected for the first time in their UAlbany careers, when Jada set up Jasmine to put UAlbany up 2-0 right after halftime.  Most recently, the twins connected when Jada set up Jasmine for the game-winner against Stony Brook in the spring 2021 season.
 
Home Field
The Great Danes finished the 2019 regular season unbeaten at home, going 6-0-2, before falling at home in the America East semifinals.  UAlbany went 8-1-1 at Casey Stadium in 2018, including quarterfinal and championship victories in the America East Tournament.  The Great Danes let up just eight goals in 10 games at home in 2019, and just two in the last five.  Dating back to the 2015 season, the year of the program's first America East title, and to date in the 2021 fall season, the Great Danes are 35-15-4 at home.
 
Next: UAlbany hosts UMBC on October 17 as part of a double-header with the men's team.  The Great Danes will honor the members of the 2021 senior class in a brief ceremony before kickoff.