ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany hosts its 2022 regular-season home finale against former America East rival Hartford.
 
Game Info
Thursday, October 20 vs. Hartford (7:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 3-3-3 at home this season; Hartford is 4-2-0 on the road
• The Great Danes have scored 18 goals in their last 12 games
• Sahara Zingano leads the America East in shots taken and shots per game
• Selma Elverum shares the America East lead in assists
• Emily Jozak ranks tied for third in goals scored
• Megan Hart ranks third in total saves, and leads the conference in goalkeeper minutes played
• Hartford's Imani Jenkins ranks second nationally in goals per game and points per game, fourth in goals scored, and sixth in total points
• Four of UAlbany's five Division I-era victories over Hartford have come in the last nine meetings

Scouting Hartford
The Hawks are in their first year withdrawn from the America East and are 9-2-1 overall against an independent schedule.  On two separate occasions, Hartford has won three-straight games this season.  The Hawks are 4-1-0 in their last five, with one game cancelled during that stretch, September 19 against Franklin Pierce.  Hartford was a mainstay atop the America East before its departure, winning at least a share of five regular-season titles since 2014, and won at least a share of 14 regular season titles overall and seven tournament titles since 1991.  Since 2001, UAlbany is 5-16-5 against the Hawks, but are 4-2-3 in the last nine.
 
Last Time vs. Hartford
September 30, 2021 | 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.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany hosted NJIT for its 2022 senior day, honoring the five members of the 2022 senior class: Tiffany Bernot, Savannah Edwards, Natasha Fowler-Varon, Marisa Tava, and Sahara Zingano.  Freshman Emily Jozak scored her sixth goal of the season to put UAlbany up 1-0 53rd minute.  NJIT broke through in the 71st to tie the game, and neither team found the back of the net again.  UAlbany outshot NJIT 21-9 overall, including 13-5 in the second half, but the Great Danes were unable to capitalize on their chances.  The one point gained from the tie, however, secured UAlbany's spot in the 2022 America East postseason tournament.
 
Around the America East
A four-way tie has locked up the top of the America East standings, with New Hampshire, Binghamton, UMass Lowell, and Maine each accumulating 13 points on the season.  The Black Bears have yet to suffer a conference defeat, going 3-0-4 against America East opponents.  Behind the top group, UAlbany is currently fifth with 11 points.  Maine and UAlbany have one game remaining in-conference, while New Hampshire, Binghamton, and UMass Lowell have two.  Behind the top five, all of which have clinched postseason bids, UMBC leads the chase for the final tournament spot with five points, followed by Bryant with three points, and NJIT and Vermont with two points each.
 
Thursday's America East Games

• Hartford at UAlbany, 7:00 pm 

Common Opponents

• Siena
  • UAlbany: 9/22 vs. Siena, L, 1-2
  • Hartford: 9/4 at Siena, W, 2-1
• UMass Lowell
  • UAlbany: 9/25 vs. UMass Lowell, W, 1-0
  • Hartford: 9/11 vs. UMass Lowell, T, 1-1
• Bryant
  • UAlbany: 9/29 vs. Bryant, T, 1-1
  • Hartford: 10/16 vs. Bryant, W, 2-0
• NJIT
  • UAlbany: 10/16 vs. NJIT, T, 1-1
  • Hartford: 9/8 at NJIT, W 3-0

Clinched
With their 1-1 draw against NJIT, the Great Danes increased their season points total to 11 points and secured their spot in the 2022 America East Tournament.  It will mark UAlbany's 12th postseason appearance since 2009, during which time the Great Danes are 12-7-1 in conference tournament games overall.
 
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 39-18-7 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 visits defending America East regular-season and tournament champion Vermont to close the 2022 regular season on October 27.