BOSTON – UMBC earned its biggest win of the season, taking down #16 Vermont 2-1 on Saturday to move into first in the #AEMSOC Standings. #19 New Hampshire, #24 Bryant and Binghamton also came away with wins to help solidify their playoff positioning.
The Retrievers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the opening two minutes and pushed their lead to 2-0 before holding on for the 2-1 win. UNH is now unbeaten in its last ten contests following its 2-1 win against NJIT. The Bulldogs won twice last week, including a 3-1 victory against UAlbany after receiving the program’s first-ever national ranking last week. Binghamton strengthened its chances at a playoff berth with a 2-1 win over UMass Lowell.
On Monday morning the NCAA released its RPI rankings, which are used to rank teams based on their overall success. The America East was ranked fifth nationally as a conference in RPI behind the Pac-12, ACC, Sun Belt and Big Ten. The America East currently has three teams in the top-20, and four in the top-30. It is one of two conferences along with the ACC to claim that honor. New Hampshire is now up to 6th, Vermont is 13th, Bryant close behind at 18 and UMBC jumped up to 29th.
With just two games remaining in conference play the top five teams in the conference are separated by just three points in one of the closest playoff races in #AEMSOC history. UMBC is currently on top of the standings by one point with ten, and travels to face NJIT (7 pts) on Friday night. UNH hosts UMass Lowell on Thursday, while UVM welcomes UAlbany on Friday. Bryant and Binghamton are currently tied in the standings with eight points and play at Binghamton on Friday.
The preseason poll was announced on August 9
2023 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners – Oct. 23
Offensive Player of the Week
Eli Goldman, New Hampshire – Gr., Forward, Minneapolis, Minn.
- Registered two goals as UNH went 2-0 last week.
- Scored the opening goal in a 2-1 win over Hofstra, which is currently ranked 10th in RPI.
- Tallied the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory against NJIT.
- This is Goldman’s first #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week honor this year.
Defensive Player of the Week
Lassie Kelp, UMBC – So., Defense, Bonn, Germany.
- Scored game-winning goal on the road in 2-1 victory over #16 UVM
- Crushed a free kick from 25-yards out to give UMBC a 2-0 lead and helped hold off furious UVM rally in the last ten minutes to earn win and move into first place in the conference.
- This is Kelp’s first #AEMSOC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Rookie of the Week
Cailen Thomas, Binghamton – R-Fr., Defense, Ithaca, N.Y.
- Scored twice in a 1-1 week for Binghamton.
- Tallied the lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Cornell.
- Put home the game-winner in the 63rd minute against UMass Lowell on Saturday.
- This is Cailen’s first #AEMSOC Rookie of the Week honor.
2023 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 28 – Offensive Player of the Week: Taylor Calheira, UMBC; Defensive Player of the Week: Talabi Abdel, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Nick Lockermann, Vermont
Sept. 5 – Offensive Player of the Week: Goncalo Franco, NJIT; Defensive Player of the Week: Owen Jack, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Daniele Mastroianni, UMass Lowell
Sept. 11 – Offensive Player of the Week: Vicente Valor Martinez, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Tiago Dias, UAlbany; Rookie of the Week: Nick Lockermann, Vermont
Sept. 18– Offensive Player of the Week: Maximus Barboto, NJIT; Defensive Player of the Week: Javier Soler Gandia, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Austin Bush, New Hampshire
Sept. 25 – Offensive Player of the Week: Yaniv Bazini, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Jack Root, Binghamton; Rookie of the Week: Nick Lockermann, Vermont
Oct. 2 – Offensive Player of the Week: Vicente Valor Martinez, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Joseba Incera, New Hampshire; Co-Rookie of the Week: Sydney Wathuta, Vermont; Co-Rookie of the Week: Sebastian Sunol, NJIT
Oct. 9 - Offensive Player of the Week: Alek Wroblewski, UMBC; Defensive Player of the Week: Samuel Reisgys, NJIT; Rookie of the Week: Anthony Randazzo, Binghamton
Oct. 16 – Co-Offensive Player of the Week: Yaniv Bazini, Vermont; Co-Offensive Player of the Week: Taig Healy, New Hampshire; Defensive Player of the Week: Antreas Hadjigavriel, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Nick Lockermann, Vermont
Oct. 23 - Offensive Player of the Week: Eli Goldman, New Hampshire; Defensive Player of the Week: Lassie Kelp, UMBC; Rookie of the Week: Cailen Thomas, Binghamton
The America East is one of the best men’s soccer conferences in the country. The conference has received multiple bids to the NCAA tournament in four of the past eight seasons, with Vermont and New Hampshire reaching each of the past two years. Overall, four different teams have reached the third round of the NCAA tournament since 2014, highlighted by UMBC getting all the way to the College Cup in 2014.
Fans will once again be able to watch nearly every #AEMSOC contest this season. Select games will air on The AE on ESPN while others will air on AmericaEast.TV. Those games will be available on computers, OTT devices and the America East app, which is available on all IOS and Android devices and can be found by searching ‘America East Conference’ in app stores.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
- Building the Complete Student-Athlete –