CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Hartford forward Kevin Hall, who scored two goals, including the game-winner in a 2-1 overtime win over Binghamton, was named America East Player of the Week on Monday. Boston University's Aaron O'Neal, who scored two goals and added an assist in wins over Maine and Penn State, was named Rookie of the Week. CLICK HERE FOR FULL RELEASE.
Hall (Portland, Ore./Lake Oswego) had both Hartford goals as the Hawks handed defending America East Champion Binghamton its first loss of the season. His goal in the 74th minute tied the game, 1-1. Hall then won it when he scored 8:33 into the first overtime.
O’Neal (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) scored both goals in Boston University’s 2-0 win over Maine Wednesday. He also had an assist on the game’s first goal in a 2-1 win over Penn State on Saturday. O’Neal now leads the team with five goals and two assists for 12 points. Three of his goals have been game-winners.
TEAM NOTES
Albany Great Danes
UAlbany (2-7-2, 1-0-1 America East) went 0-0-1 in its only game last week... The Great Danes tied New Hampshire, 0-0, in double overtime on Saturday, Oct. 13... The draw extended UAlbany’s unbeaten streak to two, the longest of the season... Junior goalkeeper Steward Ceus (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) registered four saves in the match to earn his second-consecutive shutout for the Great Danes... UAlbany outshot New Hampshire 15-14 in the contest, including 3-2 in the overtime periods, but could not convert any chances into a goal... UAlbany returns to action at home on Wednesday, Oct. 17 against Boston U. at 4 p.m., before traveling to UMBC on Saturday, Oct. 20 for a 1 p.m. start.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (9-3-0, 2-1-0 AE) has played three consecutive overtime games, having gone 2-1 in the process. The Bearcats have already equaled their win total from a year ago and were receiving votes in last week's College Soccer News Top 30 and NSCAA/adidas Top 25 weekly poll ... sophomore forward Cameron Keith (Aberdeenshire, Scotland/Aberdeen University) continues to led Binghamton with six goals and 13 total points. He scored the Bearcats' lone goal in their 2-1 loss at Hartford on Saturday night ... junior midfielder Justin Leskow (Endwell, N.Y./Union-Endicott) ranks second on the squad with two goals and eight points. He also leads Binghamton with four assists. Leskow scored the game winner in overtime against UMBC last Wednesday and assisted on Keith's goal against Hartford on Saturday ... Binghamton is 3-0 at the Bearcats Sports Complex this season, having outscored their opponents 6-1 in the process.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (7-5-0, 1-1-0 America East) went 2-0 last week, recording a 2-0 win against Maine and a 2-1 defeat of Big Ten opponent Penn State... Freshman Aaron O’Neal (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) accounted for all the scoring against Maine in Boston U’s first conference win of the season... The freshman got the rebound off his own shot and scored in the 42nd minute and added an insurance goal in the 53rd minute after a feed from junior forward Jin Oh (Dededo, Guam)... this marked O’Neal’s first multiple goal game... With his assist against Penn State, he is now the team-leader in goals (5) and points (12)... The Terriers outshot the Black Bears 15-4 and held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks... Boston U’s 2-1 win over Penn State was the Terriers’ second win over a Big Ten team in program history... Sophomore Samuel Appiah (Obuasi, Ghana) led Boston University with the game-winning goal and an assist... In the 79th minute, Appiah received a pass from junior Neil Hlavaty (Lombard, Ill.) while PSU was setting up against Boston U’s corner kick and sent a one-touch rocket to the upper right corner of the net... Sophomore Shaun Taylor (Sandown, England) scored the Terriers’ other goal off assists from Appiah and O’Neal... Assistant coach Scott Black faced his former team when Boston U met Penn State on Saturday... The Terriers return to conference action on Wednesday, Oct. 17 when they travel to face Albany at 4 p.m.
Hartford Hawks
The University of Hartford men’s soccer team (6-3-2 overall, 1-0-1 America East) picked up four points in its opening week of conference play with a tie in the conference opener at Stony Brook and a 2-1 come-back victory over reigning AE champion Binghamton at Al-Marzook Field on Saturday. Against the Seawolves, Hartford was out shot by a 14-8 margin, never forcing Stony Brook keeper Dawid Ditrich to make a save. Hawks keeper Matt Glaeser (Fredericksburg, Va./James Monroe/James Madison) finished with a season-best of eight saves against SBU. The Hawks fell behind in the first half against Binghamton in the home conference opener. The Bearcats scored their only goal of the game in the 41st minute. Hartford would come out of the break as a different team, much more aggressive. Kevin Hall (Portland, Ore./Lake Oswego) provided all the heroics for Hartford scoring both goals. His first came in the 74th minute when Andreas Blamo (Monrovia, Liberia/Hall/Manchester CC) sent a chip pass over the top of the defense. Hall found the pass after working free of the defense and sent a shot to the right corner for the goal. Hall then connected with Oswald Adu (Toronto, Ontario/C.W. Jefferys/Nyack College) and Daniel Antunez (Flint, Texas/Santa Ana/Lon Morris) with less than 1:30 to play in the first overtime for the game-winner. Hall’s original shot was an attempt at the opposite corner of the net, but it deflected off the keeper’s hands to the right corner. Hartford will play at Maine on Wednesday afternoon before returning to Al-Marzook Field to host Vermont on Alumni Day, with the game scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (2-9-1, 0-2-1) dropped a pair of games to Boston University and UMBC on the week... Against BU, the Black Bears allowed a the first goal in the game with just 2:01 remaining in the first half... Nemanja Kostic (New Belgrade, Serbia/Virginia Intermont) made six saves in the game in 50:09, while Giacomo Brunino (Concord, Ontario/UMaine Machias) made a pair of saves in 39:51... On Saturday at UMBC, the Black Bears allowed two goals in the first 7:01... Maine outshot UMBC 11-9 in the game, including 9-5 in the second half... The Black Bears also had a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks... Dimitri Anastasiou (Colchester, Conn.) led Maine with four shots in the game against the Retrievers... After playing their last two games on the road, the Black Bears return home to play three of their next four games at Alumni Field in Orono.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (6-4-2, 2-1-0 America East) won for the third time in four games as the Retrievers blanked Maine, 3-0 at UMBC Soccer Stadium on Saturday... UMBC scored twice in the first 7:01 of the contest to take control... junior midfielder Kevin Gnatiko (Montgomery Village, Md./Watkins Mill) scored at the 3:04 mark and sophomore forward Andrew Gillis (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) added another marker at 7:01... it was Gillis’ team-leading fifth goal of the season and his fourth in the last four games... freshman midfielder Sean Rothe (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) scored his first career goal at the 38:00-minute mark to seal the scoring... junior netminder Steve King (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) recorded his seventh shutout of the season, making four saves in the win... King now has 15 career shutouts and has moved into third place in school history...entering play last week, King was ranked 27th in the nation in goals against average (.680) and 30th in save percentage (84.1%)... UMBC has now defeated Maine four straight times and holds a 4-1 series advantage... The Retrievers are now 12-2-4 at home vs. America East Conference foes...UMBC lost a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime decision to defending league champion Binghamton on Wednesday night before 677 fans at the new Sports Complex...U MBC looked as if they had the game won in the 95th minute, as junior midfielder Shondell Busby had a one-on-one opportunity... his shot from seven yards out beat Binghamton netminder Jason Stenta, but hit the inside the of right post...the Retrievers have already surpassed last year’s victory total...UMBC will travel to Burlington, Vt. to take on Vermont on Wednesday before returning home for the Homecoming contest vs. Albany on Saturday, Oct. 20.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (3-4-5, 0-1-2) battled to a scoreless tie with Albany on Saturday afternoon in Albany ... It was the fourth scoreless draw of the season for the Wildcats ... Junior forward Kyle Urso (Lombard, Ill./ Glenbard East) recorded a team-leading four shots in the game, two on goal ... Junior midfielder Scott Rowling (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South) tallied three shots for the Wildcats ... Senior goalkeeper Mike Jenne (Vernon, N.Y./Whiteboro Central) turned away two shots on goal to earn his fourth shutout of the season ... In the game vs. Vermont, Urso tallied a game-tying goal in the 24th minute, but the Catamounts were able get back on top for the win ... Rowling earned the assist on the goal, who tapped it to Urso off a direct kick ... Urso’s shot was hit hard through a crowd of players into the lower left corner of the net ... Jenne made a season-high six saves in the game, his third six-save performance of the season ... The Wildcats, who are still in search of their first conference win of the season, host Stony Brook on Wednesday, Oct. 17.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (7-4-2, 1-1-1 America East) went 1-0-1 in games last week. In its 0-0 tie in double overtime, Stony Brook recorded eight shots on goal but was unable to found the back of the net. Dawid Ditrich (Gdansk, Poland/Academy of Physical Education & Sport) did not record a save. In the 1-0 win over Vermont in overtime, Matt Avellino (Merrick, N.Y./St. John’s University) scored just 44 seconds into the first overtime to give the home team a victory. Ditrich made four saves in net for his third shutout of the season. The Seawolves travel to play key conference games at New Hampshire on Wednesday and Boston University on Saturday.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (4-9-0, 1-2-0 America East) split a pair of games last week topping New Hampshire, 3-1, Wednesday before falling at Stony Brook Saturday ... Vermont busted out with a season-high three goals at UNH to snap its four-game losing streak where it was shut out 1-0 each time ... T,J. Gore (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) scored a goal and set up another against the Wildcats. His goal Wednesday was the game-winner and he has two GWGs this season after tying for the team lead with a pair a year ago ... Tyler Hasman (Portland, Ore./Lincoln/Yavapai J.C.) and Matt Hennessey (Havertown, Pa./Havertown) scored the other UVM goals at UNH. For Hennessey, a sophomore forward, it was the first of his career ... Jordan Crasilneck (Eugene, Ore./Sheldon) picked up an assist Wednesday, his first point of the season. He now has 15 career assists to tie for fourth all-time at Vermont ... Three of UVM’s four wins this season have come on Lewis Field at Durham, N.H. Vermont topped Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut back in mid-September to capture the UNH Nike Fall Soccer Classic for the fourth straight season ... The Catamounts this week host UMBC Wednesday at 2:30pm and are at Hartford Saturday at 2:00pm.