ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer team wraps its second and final three-game road swing of the 2021 regular season with a visit to Crosstown Rival Siena.
 
Game Info
Wednesday, September 22 at Siena (4:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+
 
Leading the Pack

• Five 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
• UAlbany has outscored Siena 10-4 in their last five meetings
• Following the spring's unique two-division schedule, the America East returns to its normal round-robin format for the fall

Scouting Siena
Siena opened the season 2-0 with victories over Binghamton and Holy Cross before dropping each of the next five.  Most recently, Siena snapped their skid with an overtime victory over Rider in their MAAC opener.  The Saints won the MAAC regular season and tournament titles in the 2021 spring season, and were picked to finish third in the fall Preseason Coaches' Poll.   The Saints also landed three players on the MAAC's Preseason All-Conference Team in seniors Leslie Adams, Emily McNelis, and Brianna Montinard.  Adams is the reigning MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year, and ranked 16th nationally in the spring with a .868 save percentage.  McNelis is the reigning MAAC Tournament MVP, and finished second in the conference in scoring in the spring.  Montinard was named MAAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the spring.  UAlbany is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings with Siena and has conceded one goal or fewer in each of the five games.
 
Last Time vs. Siena
UAlbany hosted Siena in the final leg of a four-game homestand during the early part of the 2019 season, tying the Saints 1-1 in double-overtime.  Future America East Rookie of the Year Leah Pais scored her first career goal, finding the back of the net on a penalty kick in the 64th minute.  Siena tied the game in the 76th minute, converting their own PK and ultimately forcing overtime.  Neither team was able to score in either extra period, despite UAlbany outshooting Siena 8-3 in extra time, including 5-1 in the second overtime period, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany opened its 2021 conference schedule at two-time defending champion and preseason favorite Stony Brook on Sunday.  The Seawolves scored twice in the first half against freshman Cassandra Coster who was making her first start in her Great Dane career.  After the break, UAlbany upped the offensive pressure, outshooting Stony Brook by a margin of 20-2, but the Great Danes were only able to come away with one goal for their efforts, in the 77th when Jada Colbert notched her first of the season off a rebounded shot from her twin sister Jasmine.
 
Around the America East
Hartford, Binghamton, UMBC, UMass Lowell, and Stony Brook each won their conference openers and are tied for first in the America East after one league game.  Hartford retains the top overall record at 6-1-1, followed by Binghamton, who has won its last three games.  UMBC is 4-2-2, followed by UMass Lowell at 4-3-1, and Stony Brook, also winners of their last three, at 4-4-1.  UAlbany has fallen to 10th at 1-5-1.  Hartford continues to lead the conference in scoring offense, averaging 2.00 goals per game, and in scoring defense, averaging 0.38 goals against per game.
 
Wednesday's America East Games

• UAlbany at Siena, 4:00 pm
• St. Francis Brooklyn at NJIT, 7:00 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.
 
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 returns home Sunday, September 26 to host New Hampshire.