ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer program plays its next three games at home, staring with Binghamton on Thursday.
 
Game Info
Thursday, October 13 vs. Binghamton (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 3-2-2 at home this season; Binghamton is 3-3-1 on the road
• Binghamton is tied with UMass Lowell as the second-highest scoring team in the America East
• Sahara Zingano leads the America East in shots taken
• Binghamton's Maya Anand leads the America East in goals scored and total points
• UAlbany is 5-2-2 in the last nine against Binghamton
• Thursday's game will be played in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Scouting Binghamton
Binghamton just had its four-game winning streak ended at home against New Hampshire, having just prior defeated defending America East regular-season and tournament champion 6-1.  The Bearcats are 6-5-2 overall, and 3-1-0 in-conference this season.  The Bearcats' Maya Anand leads the conference with nine goals scored and 21 total points.  Last season, UAlbany defeated Binghamton at the end of the regular season to drop the Bearcats out of second place in the standings and earn a home quarterfinal matchup, and again four days later in the quarterfinal round. UAlbany is 8-12-3 against the Bearcats since the 2000 season.
 
Last Time vs. Binghamton
October 31, 2021 | For the second time in four days, UAlbany played Binghamton.  The Great Danes visited the Bearcats to close the regular season and then hosted them in the America East quarterfinal.  Binghamton had struggled to close the season, failing to score a goal in their final four games.  In the quarterfinal, the Great Danes scored two goals in the second half, by Jada Colbert and Brooke Pickett, and once again held Binghamton without a score, to advance to Thursday's semifinal round against top-seed Vermont.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany played the second leg of its long road trip that saw visits to the team's two most distant opponents in the conference, Maine and UMBC, against the Retrievers.  UMBC scored first, late in the first half, to take a 1-0 lead into the break despite UAlbany holding a big advantage in shots taken.  The Great Danes rallied to score twice in the second half, first from Sahara Zingano and next from Marisa Tava, to earn the 2-1 victory and keep pace in the America East standings.
 
Around the America East
Maine came from behind to defeat Vermont on the road to retain their place at the top of the America East standings.  The Black Bears are unbeaten in-conference at 3-0-2 with 11 total points.  UAlbany is one point behind Maine in second with 10 points and a 3-1-1 record.  Preseason favorite UMass Lowell is tied with Binghamton with nine points.  New Hampshire is fifth with seven points.  After the Wildcats, the standings see a drop off, with Bryant sixth with three points, followed by UMBC and defending champion Vermont with two points each.  NJIT rounds out the standings with one point.
 
Thursday's America East Games

• Bryant at New Hampshire, 6:00pm
• UMass Lowell at Maine, 6:00 pm
• UMBC at NJIT, 7:00 pm
• Binghamton at UAlbany, 7:00 pm

Common Opponents

• Cornell
  • UAlbany: 9/7 vs. Cornell, T, 1-1
  • Binghamton: 9/14 vs. Cornell, T, 1-1
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 9/18 at New Hampshire, W, 2-1
  • Binghamton: 10/9 vs. New Hampshire, L, 1-2
• Bryant
  • UAlbany: 9/29 vs. Bryant, T, 1-1
  • Binghamton: 9/18 vs. Bryant, W, 1-0

Defensive Player of the Week
Megan Hart earned her first-ever America East weekly award following her performance in the Great Danes' 1-0 victory over America East preseason favorite UMass Lowell.  Hart recorded five total saves against the River Hawks, including one on a penalty kick in the 10th minute, and earned her first career shutout, powering the Great Danes' second conference win of the season.
 
Rookie of the Week III
Emily Jozak won her third America East Rookie of the Week award in four weeks following her game-winning goal against preseason America East favorite UMass Lowell.  When UAlbany drew a corner kick in the 56th minute, Jozak successfully navigated a scrum of UMass Lowell defenders to redirect Tiffany Bernot's serve into the back of the River Hawks' net.  The goal was the only score of the game, giving UAlbany a 1-0 victory.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Junior midfielder Olivia Piraino had a career game against New Hampshire to start the 2022 conference season.  Piraino scored a career-high two goals, one in each half, to power the Great Danes to victory over the 2021 America East finalists.  Her efforts earned Piraino her first-ever America East Offensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Road Win
In their fifth opportunity of the season, the UAlbany women's soccer team secured their first victory of the year away from home.  The Great Danes downed 2021 America East finalist New Hampshire in Wildcat Stadium by a final score of 2-1 behind two goals from junior midfielder Olivia Piraino.
 
Rookie of the Week II
Emily Jozak won her second-straight America East Rookie of the Week award after scoring one goal in UAlbany's 4-1 victory over Wagner at home.  Jozak brought her goals total to four on the season, maintaining her team lead and ranking tied for third among all America East scorers.
 
Rookie of the Week I
Following her big game against Rider, Emily Jozak was named America East Rookie of the Week.  Jozak's three goals matched the program's single-game record for goals and points in the Division I era, matching the mark set in 2017 by Mariah Williams against Maine.  Jozak is UAlbany's first Rookie of the Week winner since Cassie Coster was named Rookie and Defensive Player last October.
 
Record-Setting
The UAlbany women's soccer program record book required rewriting following the team's first victory of 2022, a 3-1 win over visiting Rider.  Freshman Emily Jozak recorded the program's second hat trick of the Division I era, matching Mariah Williams' single-game records with three goals and six points.  Additionally, the team's 29 total shots against the Broncs were tied for the sixth-highest in a single game in Division I program history, matching two previous efforts in 2019 against Maine and 2008 against UMBC.
 
First Win
Five games into her career as head coach at UAlbany, her first head coaching stint, Sade Ayinde recorded her first victory.  The Great Danes fell behind at home against Rider 1-0 but rallied and maintained their offensive pressure to score three times in 10 in-game minutes to knock off the Broncs 3-1.
 
Breaking Through
The Great Danes started the season slowly, dropping each of their first four games without scoring a goal in any.  In game five, at home against then 3-0-1 Rider, UAlbany finally found the back of the net in the 40th minute when Sahara Zingano connected with freshman Emily Jozak for Jozak's first career goal.  The score ended a run of more than 400 in-game minutes without a goal dating back to the final game of the 2021 season at Vermont in the America East semifinal round.
 
Picked Fifth
UAlbany was picked to finish fifth in the 2022 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, after finishing the 2021 season fourth and advancing to the America East semifinal round.  It is the second-straight season in which the Great Danes were picked fifth.  UMass Lowell narrowly edged defending regular-season and conference champion Vermont for first-place in this season's poll.
 
Home Field
UAlbany has been excellent within the confines of Tom & Mary Casey Stadium for the better part of the last decade, boasting a 39-18-6 record at home since the start of the 2015 season, the year of the program's first America East title.  The Great Danes went 4-3-1 at home in 2021, 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.
 
First Year
Sade Ayinde was hired on February 16, 2022 as UAlbany's 14th head women's soccer coach, and eighth during the program's Division I era.  She steps in for Leigh Howard, who oversaw the team for two seasons before moving on to work with the Special Olympics.  Ayinde was a standout at Maryland during her collegiate career, scoring 16 goals with 17 assists in 79 appearances over four seasons.  Her previous collegiate coaching stops include Stony Brook and, most recently, Yale, and she also works with the US National program.
 
Game Over
Adopted starting this season, regular-season matches will no longer go into extra time when tied at the conclusion of regulation.  The regular-seasons games will conclude after 90 minutes of play.  Overtime and shootouts will return starting in the postseason.
 
Next: UAlbany hosts NJIT on Sunday, October 16 for this year's Senior Day.