ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer team makes its return to the America East Tournament as the five-seed with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 4 UMass Lowell on the road.
 
Game Info
Sunday, October 30 at No. 4 UMass Lowell (4:00 pm)
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Game Notes
 
Leading the Pack

• UAlbany is 2-5-1 on the road this season; UMass Lowell is 6-1-1 at home
• UMass Lowell ranks second in the America East in scoring offense; UAlbany ranks seventh
• UAlbany ranks sixth in the America East in scoring defense; UMass Lowell ranks eighth
• UAlbany defeated UMass Lowell 1-0 in Albany during the regular season
• Sahara Zingano leads the America East in total shots and shots per game
• Selma Elverum shares the America East lead in total assists
• UMass Lowell's Ionna Papatheodorou shares the America East lead in goals scored and ranks second in total points
• Emily Jozak ranks tied for third in goals scored
• Megan Hart leads all America East goalkeepers in minutes played and ranks third in total saves

Scouting UMass Lowell
The River Hawks were picked as the favorite in the 2022 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, returning reigning Striker and Rookie of the Year Ioanna Papatheodorou, and two-time Defender of the Year Dunja Mostarac from last season's 8-6-3 campaign that ended in a shootout to New Hampshire in the America East semifinal round.  This season, UMass Lowell is 7-6-4 overall and finished 4-2-2 against conference opponents.  UMass Lowell has scored 32 goals this season, the second-highest total in the conference, but has allowed 31, the second-most among America East teams.  Papatheodorou shares the conference lead with 10 goals scored and ranks second with 23 points.  UAlbany is 6-4-1 against UMass Lowell since the River Hawks joined the America East.
 
Last Time vs. UMass Lowell
September 25, 2022 | UAlbany hosted preseason America East favorite UMass Lowell at Casey Stadium for the team's second conference game of 2022.  Great Danes' goalkeeper Megan Hart, after taking the brunt of a collision with a UMass Lowell player, made a big save on a penalty kick in the 10th minute to keep the game scoreless.  In the 56th minute, Emily Jozak scored in a scrum off a corner kick to net the game's first and only goal, giving UAlbany the 1-0 victory.
 
Last Time Out
UAlbany closed the 2022 regular season at defending America East regular-season and tournament champion Vermont.  The Catamounts had struggled in their 2022 campaign and had not recorded a victory over an America East opponent.  UAlbany, who had clinched its spot in the 2022 America East Tournament, needed to win and have UMass Lowell tie or lose in order to secure the four-seed and hosting privileges in the quarterfinal round.  Sahara Zingano scored off a corner kick early in the game, in just the sixth minute, but Vermont rallied to tie the game at one in the 75th.  The game ended with the same score, 1-1, and UAlbany locked into the five-seed.
 
Around the America East
The 2022 America East Tournament field is set, with Binghamton claiming the regular-season title and top overall seed, followed by second place and two-seed New Hampshire.  Both teams have earned byes into the semifinal round, which they will host against the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal matches.  Maine finished third, followed by UMass Lowell, who will each serve as quarterfinal hosts.  The tournament field rounds out with five-seed UAlbany and six-seed NJIT, with defending regular-season and tournament champion Vermont missing the postseason with UMBC and America East newcomer Bryant.
 
Sunday's America East Games

• No. 5 UAlbany at No. 4 UMass Lowell, 4:00 pm
• No. 6 NJIT at No. 3 Maine, 5:00 pm

Common Opponents

• UMass
  • UAlbany: 8/18 at UMass, L, 0-1
  • UMass Lowell: 9/4 at UMass, T, 2-2
• New Hampshire
  • UAlbany: 9/18 at New Hampshire, W, 2-1
  • UMass Lowell: 10/27 vs. New Hampshire, T, 1-1
• Bryant
  • UAlbany: 9/29 vs. Bryant, T, 1-1
  • UMass Lowell: 10/9 vs. Bryant, W, 3-0
• Maine
  • UAlbany: 10/2 at Maine, L, 0-1
  • UMass Lowell: 10/13 at Maine, T, 1-1
• UMBC
  • UAlbany: 10/9 at UMBC, W, 2-1
  • UMass Lowell: 10/16 vs. UMBC, W, 2-0
• Binghamton
  • UAlbany: 10/13 vs. Binghamton, L, 1-3
  • UMass Lowell: 10/23 at Binghamton, L, 4-5
• NJIT
  • UAlbany: 10/16 vs. NJIT, T, 1-1
  • UMass Lowell: 10/2 at NJIT, W, 2-0
• Hartford
  • UAlbany: 10/20 vs. Hartford, W, 1-0
  • UMass Lowell: 9/11 at Hartford, T, 1-1
• Vermont
  • UAlbany: 10/27 at Vermont, T, 1-1
  • UMass Lowell: 9/29 vs. Vermont, W, 4-3 

All-Conference
Following the 2022 regular season, the Great Danes saw five players earn six All-Conference awards.  Three players, Olivia Piraino, Marisa Tava, and Carly Binn earned Second Team honors, while freshmen Emily Jozak and Selma Elverum were named to the All-Rookie Team.  Finally, Piraino was the team's lone representative on the All-Academic Team.
 
Mainstays
Since earning their first postseason berth during the 2009 season, UAlbany women's soccer has qualified for all but two postseason tournaments, missing out only in 2013 and in the COVID-affected 2020-21 season.  Overall, UAlbany is 12-7-1, including 5-2-1 in the quarterfinal round, in America East postseason matches, with three America East championships.
 
Five-Seed
Following UAlbany's tie in the regular-season finale at Vermont, the Great Danes locked into the five-seed for the 2022 America East Tournament.  This is the third time in program history that UAlbany will be the five-seed in the postseason, with the last time coming in the 2012 season.  That season, the Great Danes tied four-seed Vermont in Burlington in the quarterfinals, and were eliminated 2-3 on penalty kicks.
 
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 40-19-8 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 while going 8-0-1 during the regular season.
 
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.  Overtime will be played in its entirety, and will not be ended via golden-goal.
 
Next: The winner of Sunday's game will advance to the semifinal round against top overall seed Binghamton on November 3.