The 2012-13 America East season continues to get underway with field hockey, volleyball and men's soccer opening their respective schedules this weekend.
Highlighting the weekend is a field hockey slate that includes four nationally ranked squads. Leading the way is preseason favorite Boston University, which checks in at No. 14 in the latest NFHCA poll. The Terriers will open up at Delaware on Friday. Elsewhere in the America East, No. 18 New Hampshire will host a pair of games over the weekend, including a marquee matchup with No. 15 Ohio State on Sunday. No. 19 Albany will spend the weekend on the road, starting with a matchup versus Rutgers on Friday and then a Sunday date with Delaware. Also nationally ranked, Maine (No. 22) will host a pair of big names in No. 17 Boston College and Michigan State.
Rounding out the action in field hockey are the openers for Vermont and associate member Fairfield. The Catamounts will spend the weekend in Ohio to face James Madison, Indiana and Kent State while Fairfield has matchups against Hofstra and Bucknell.
America East volleyball play will take place all over the country this weekend, highlighted by Albany's trip to Honolulu for the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational. The Great Danes, selected by the coaches to win the regular season, will face Hawaii, Stanford and Saint Mary's over the course of the weekend.
Elsewhere, a pair of conference schools will visit the military academics, with preseason runner-up Stony Brook playing in the Army Invitational and Hartford traveling to Annapolis for the Navy Tournament. Binghamton will head to the Boston College Invitational, New Hampshire will take part in the Villanova Classic and associate member Providence will compete in the Hofstra Tournament. The only team not on the road this weekend is UMBC, who hosts the Battle at the Bay Tournament.
Men's soccer also kicks off on Friday, headlined by defending champion and preseason favorite Stony Brook. The Seawolves, led by preseason National Player of the Year candidate Leonardo Fernandes, will get under way with an away match versus Fairleigh Dickinson. Also highlighting the weekend is Boston University's opener with nationally ranked St. John's on Friday. The Red Strom checks in at No. 15 in the NSCAA preseason poll.
Other action this weekend includes New Hampshire playing a
pair of opponents from the state of Michigan in Oakland and Michigan State
while Hartford will travel to Morgantown to play a West Virginia squad that
received votes in the preseason poll. Rounding out the weekend are home games
for Vermont (vs. Rhode Island) and UMBC (vs. Radford) and a pair of all New
York matchups on Friday with Binghamton squaring off against Hamilton and
Albany traveling to Syracuse.