BOSTON - Conference play in men's soccer begins on Saturday and figures to be ultra-competitive after teams have combined to go 43-14-12 (.710) in non-conference play thus far in 2016. Three teams- UMass Lowell, New Hampshire and Vermont- have been ranked in at least one national poll this year and all three appear in this week's College Soccer News' Top 30 with the Catamounts at #16, the River Hawks #22 and the Wildcats #30.
Need to Know
- America East's conference RPI (4) trails only the ACC, Big East and Pac 12 amongst the 24 Division I conferences that sponsor men's soccer.
- The league's .710 non-conference winning percentage is second only to the ACC.
- America East is joined by the ACC on the only conferences with five programs ranked in the top 50 of the RPI:
- #25 - UMass Lowell
- #36 - Albany
- #38 - Vermont
- #45 - New Hampshire
- #46 - UMBC
Here are the week #5 award winners:
Player of the Week
Chris Arling, New Hampshire - So., Forward, Windham, N.H.
- Racked up nine points on four goals and an assist in leading New Hampshire to a pair of wins last week.
- Scored twice in the Wildcats' 3-0 win over Northeastern Wednesday.
- Factored in on all three UNH goals in a 3-0 win over Yale Saturday with two goals and an assist.
Rookie of the Week
Jack Dickson, New Hampshire - Fr., Midfielder/Forward, Bournemouth, England
- Tallied six points last week, totaling three in each of New Hampshire's two wins last week.
- Had a goal and an assist in 3-0 victories against both Northeastern and Yale.
- This is Dickson's second-straight Rookie of the Week honor.
Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 29 - Player of the Week: Benard 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
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