4 #AEMSOC Teams Clinch #AEChamps Bids, Week #9 Awards Handed Out
BOSTON - Four #AEMSOC teams clinched America East Championship bids over the weekend as Albany, UMass Lowell, New Hampshire and Vermont all posted wins to punch tickets to the tournament. With just two regular-season games remaining, New Hampshire, the 18th-ranked team in the nation, and Vermont sit tied at the top of the standings at 4-1-0 and 12 points. Albany and UMass Lowell follow at 4-2-0 and nine points apiece. UMBC (7 pts.), Binghamton (5), Stony Brook (2) and Hartford (1) all remain alive for the championship berths. The top six teams in the #AEMSOC standings will qualify for the 2017 America East Men’s Soccer Championship, which takes place Nov. 4, 8 and 12.
#AEMSOC teams have compiled a .615 non-conference win percentage thus far, the third-best rate in Division I, trailing only the ACC and BIG. Three teams are ranked in the top 50 of the RPI and have NCAA at-large bids in sight with New Hampshire at #19, UMBC at #41 and Albany at #48.
The majority of #AEMSOC conference games will appear on AmericaEast.TV, the place to watch free live content on any device, including the network's Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Android TV OTT channels. Select contests will air on ESPN3, home to over 30 America East school-produced events this fall. Full #AEMSOC Schedule/Results
Here are the conference's week nine award winners:
Player of the Week
Robin Schmidt, New Hampshire – Gr., Forward, Cologne, Germany
- Tallied four goals in two games, scoring twice in each of UNH’s wins last week.
- Found the back of the net in the 47th and 66th minutes of New Hampshire’s 4-2 win over #20 Dartmouth Wednesday.
- Scored both UNH goals in a 2-0 win over Stony Brook Saturday, which secured a championship berth for the Wildcats.
- This is Schmidt’s first-ever #AEMSOC Player of the Week honor.
Rookie of the Week
Roko Prsa, UMass Lowell – So., Forward, Sisak, Croatia
- Scored the first goal, which proved to be the game winner, in UMass Lowell’s 2-0 road win at Binghamton Saturday.
- The win secured the River Hawks’ first-ever bid to the America East Men’s Soccer Championship. UMass Lowell is championship eligible for the first time after completing its four-year transition to Division I.
- This is Prsa’s first career #AEMSOC Rookie of the Week award.
Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 28 - Player of the Week: Geo Alves, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Noah Luescher, Binghamton
Sept. 5 - Player of the Week: Afonso Pinheiro, Albany; Rookie of the Week: Alex Popovich, Vermont
Sept. 11 - Player of the Week: Vince Erdei, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Noah Luescher, Binghamton
Sept. 18 - Player of the Week: Jakov Basic, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Owen Fingar, Albany
Sept. 25 - Player of the Week: Haris Brkovic, Binghamton; Rookie of the Week: Adam Malekos, Albany
Oct. 2 – Co-Players of the Week: Sammy Kahsai, UMBC & Ivar Orn Arnason, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Ciaran O’Loughlin, UMBC
Oct. 9 – Player of the Week: Danny Vitiello, Albany; Rookie of the Week: Josh Bauer, New Hampshire
Oct. 16 – Player of the Week: Geo Alves, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Jack Muller, Binghamton
Oct. 23 – Player of the Week: Robin Schmidt, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Roko Prsa, UMass Lowell
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