ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer program hosts NJIT Sunday for the team's 2022 Senior Day.
 
Game Info
Sunday, October 16 vs. NJIT (1:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN3 | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 3-3-2 at home this season; NJIT is 1-2-3 on the road
• NJIT ranks third in the America East in scoring defense
• Sahara Zingano leads the America East in total shots taken and shots taken per game
• NJIT goalkeeper Molly Saylor leads the America East in total saves and saves per game, ranks second in save percentage, and third in goals-against average

Scouting NJIT
 The Highlanders are the lone remaining winless team against conference opponents in the America East.  NJIT is 0-4-1 in-conference, earning one point in the season standings.  The Highlanders have five total ties this season, leading all America East teams.  Since winning 4-0 in their season opener against LIU, NJIT is 2-7-5 overall, including 1-5-1 in its last seven.  Four Highlanders have scored two goals this season, led by Bailey Chant with five total points.  UAlbany is 4-1-0 in five Division I-era meetings against the Highlanders, with the lone defeat coming last season.
 
Last Time vs. NJIT
 October 24, 2021 | The Great Danes suffered a setback defeat at NJIT over the weekend, falling in overtime to the Highlanders 1-0.  The game's most consequential play, except for the Highlanders' game-winning goal, came in the 27th minute when Jasmine Colbert was assessed a red card and removed from the game, leaving UAlbany with just 10 players for the remainder of the afternoon.  UAlbany controlled the first half, outshooting NJIT 9-2, but fell behind in the second half, seeing NJIT hold an 8-3 shots advantage.  The Highlanders, after a scoreless 90 minutes, broke through in overtime on a transition play that left UAlbany goalkeeper Cassandra Coster one-on-one with Christine Conaghy, who scored to clinch the game for NJIT in the 94th minute.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany hosted Binghamton to kick off the team's second three-game home stand of the season.  Olivia Piraino scored for the Great Danes in the seventh minute, off a setup from Selma Elverum, to give UAlbany an early lead.  Binghamton countered with two goals before halftime to take a 2-1 lead into the break, and then one more in the second half to win 3-1.  The teams combined for a total of 48 shots taken over the 90 minutes.
 
Around the America East
Binghamton has moved into a share of the lead in the America East standings with just over two weeks remaining in the regular season.  The Bearcats have accumulated 12 points, equalling Maine's total, ahead of the teams' showdown on Sunday.  UAlbany currently sits in a three-way tie for third with 10 points with New Hampshire and UMass Lowell, both of whom the Great Danes have beaten head-to-head.  UMBC is sixth with five points, followed by Bryant with three, defending champion Vermont with two, and NJIT with one.
 
Sunday's America East Games

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

Common Opponents

• Monmouth
  • UAlbany: 8/21 at Monmouth, L, 0-3
  • NJIT: 9/14 vs. Monmouth, L, 0-2
• Wagner
  • UAlbany: 9/11 vs. Wagner, W, 4-1
  • NJIT: 8/31 at Wagner, L, 1-2
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 9/18 at New Hampshire, W, 2-1
  • NJIT: 9/25 vs. New Hampshire, L, 1-2
• UMass Lowell
  • UAlbany: 9/25 vs. UMass Lowell, W, 1-0
  • NJIT: 10/2 vs. UMass Lowell, L, 0-2
• Maine
  • UAlbany: 10/2 at Maine, L, 0-1
  • NJIT: 9/18 at Maine, T, 0-0
• UMBC
  • UAlbany: 10/9 at UMBC, W, 2-1
  • NJIT: 10/13 vs. UMBC,
• Binghamton
  • UAlbany: 10/13 vs. Binghamton,
  • NJIT: 9/29 at Binghamton, L, 0-1

Seniors
The Great Danes will recognize the five seniors on the 2022 roster in a short ceremony before the game against NJIT: Tiffany Bernot, Savannah Edwards, Natasha Fowler-Varon, Marisa Tava, and Savannah Edwards.  Collectively, the quintet has gone 25-27-9 overall with one America East regular season title in 2019.
 
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 former America East rival Hartford on October 20 in the team's regular-season home finale.