ALBANY, N.Y. – UAlbany women's soccer returns to Tom & Mary Casey Stadium on Sunday to host Maine in the team's Pride game.
 
Game Info
Sunday, October 3 vs. Maine (2:00 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 (45), 13 more than second place Jada Colbert, and ranks fourth in goals scored (5), and fifth in total points (11)
• UAlbany has won each of the last seven against Maine
• Following the spring's unique two-division schedule, the America East returns to its normal round-robin format for the fall
• Sunday is women's soccer's annual Pride game, the team's extension of their America East Spread Respect game, to ensure equality and safety for all student-athletes, coaches, and fans without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity

Scouting Maine
Maine is 2-4-2 overall and 0-3-0 against America East opponents.  The Black Bears are winless since their victory over Bryant on August 29.  Maine hasn't scored a goal in each of its last three games.  Maine ranks 10th in the America East in scoring offense, averaging 0.75 goals per game, but ranks fourth in scoring defense.  Maine was picked to finish eighth in the 2021 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, tied with NJIT, a second-year member of the conference.
 
Last Time vs. Maine
The Great Danes last played Maine during the 2021 spring season, but as a non-conference opponent in an effort to secure another game played for each team.  UAlbany defeated the Black Bears 2-0, with goals scored in each half by Jasmine and Jada Colbert, respectively.  UAlbany outshot Maine 15-10 overall, including 8-2 in shots on target, while Sophia Chen recorded her first shutout of the unusual season.
 
Last Time Out
The Great Danes, after a brief respite at home following their second three-game road trip of the season, visited Hartford on Thursday.  The Hawks sat atop the America East standings at 7-1-1 overall, with their only loss coming to Big-12 opponent Texas Tech.  Additionally, Hartford led the America East in both scoring offense and scoring defense, and had not conceded a goal at home this season.  The first half went by without a score, though Hartford outshot UAlbany 9-2 overall.  The Hawks broke through in the 56th minute to take the lead, but Jada Colbert scored her second goal of the season in the 62nd to tie the game at one.  For the third-straight game, UAlbany went into overtime, and for the third-straight game, the Great Danes produced a result of a 1-1, double-overtime tie.
 
Around the America East
Hartford retains the top overall record in the America East, but has been supplanted by UMass Lowell, who remains undefeated in-conference, after the Hawks' 1-1 draw with UAlbany.  Behind the top two team, Binghamton, Stony Brook, and NJIT are tied for third at 2-1-0.  The Great Danes are eighth and Maine is 10th.
 
Common Opponents
None
 
Sunday's America East Games

• NJIT at Vermont, 12:00 pm
• Hartford at Binghamton, 12:00 pm
• New Hampshire at Stony Brook, 1:00 pm
• Maine at UAlbany, 2:00 pm
• UMass Lowell at UMBC, 2:00 pm

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 through the 2021 spring season, the Great Danes are 34-15-4 at home.
 
Next: UAlbany visits UMass Lowell on October 10.