BOSTON - The six-team field for the 2016 America East Championship is set following the weekend's action. Binghamton and Vermont secured the final two bids joining Albany, Hartford, New Hampshire and Stony Brook in the field. With just one regular-season game remaining, UMass Lowell sits atop the conference standings with 13 points, but the River Hawks are ineligible for the championship due to NCAA reclassifying rules. New Hampshire is in position to earn the top seed with 12 points, followed by Albany (10), Stony Brook (10), Vermont (9), Hartford (8) and Binghamton (6). Here are the week #10 weekly award winners:
Player of the Week
Wuilito Fernandes, UMass Lowell - Sr., Forward, Praia, Cape Verde
- Tallied six points in a pair of quality wins vs. Boston College and Albany.
- Factored in all four River Hawk goals last week.
- Led UMass Lowell to a 3-2 comeback overtime win at Boston College Tuesday.
- Scored the lone goal in the River Hawks' 1-0 win vs. Albany Saturday.
- This is Fernandes' second Player of the Week award of the season (9/12) and third of his career.
Rookie of the Week
Ivan Abramovic, UMass Lowell - R-Fr., Forward, Zagreb, Croatia.
- Scored twice, including the game winner, in UMass Lowell's comeback overtime win at Boston College Tuesday.
- This is his fourth Rookie of the Week honor of the season (8/29, 9/6, 10/17).
Need to Know
- America East's conference RPI (3) trails only the ACC and Pac 12 amongst the 24 Division I conferences that sponsor men's soccer.
- America East is one of just four conferences, joining the ACC, Big East and Pac 12, with five teams in the top 45 of the RPI as of 10/24.
- UMass Lowell, 9; Albany, 17; New Hampshire, 28; Vermont, 37; Stony Brook, 45
- The league's teams are a combined 51-21-12 in non-conference play thus far in 2016. The .679 non-conference winning percentage is second only to the ACC.
- UMass Lowell is ranked 17th in this week's College Soccer News Top 30 and was #19 in last week's NSCAA Top 25.
- Four America East programs (Albany, UMass Lowell, New Hampshire, Vermont) have been ranked in at least one national poll this season.
- Albany beat #3 Syracuse on Oct. 4. The Orange were the highest-ranked opponent an America East team has beaten since Boston University knocked off #3 St. John's in 2009.
Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 29 - Player of the Week: Bernard Yeboah Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Ivan Abramovic, UMass Lowell
Sept. 6 - Player of the Week: Brian Wright, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Ivan Abramovic, UMass Lowell
Sept. 12 - Player of the Week: Wuilito Fernandes, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Tre Pulliam, UMBC
Sept. 19 - Player of the Week: Andrew Pesci, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Jack Dickson, New Hampshire
Sept. 26 - Player of the Week: Chris Arling, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Jack Dickson, New Hampshire
Oct. 3 - Player of the Week: Andrew Pesci, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week; Rookie of the Week: Jimmy Slayton, Hartford
Oct. 10 - Co-Player of the Week: Afonso Pinheiro, Albany & Thibualt Duval, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Ivan Abramovic, UMass Lowell
Oct. 17 - Player of the Week: Nico Solabarrieta, Albany; Rookie of the Week: Ivan Abramovic, UMass Lowell
Oct. 24 - Player of the Week: Bernard Yeboah, Vermont; Co-Rookie of the Week: Jimmy Slayton, Hartford & Jon Arnar Barodal, Vermont
Oct. 31 - Player of the Week: Wuilito Fernandes, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Ivan Abramovic, UMass Lowell
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