Men's Soccer

#AEMSOC Week 3: UNH, Vermont & Bryant Impress

BOSTON – Bryant remained perfect on the season with one win last week, while #12 Vermont won its third straight to improve to 4-1 overall and New Hampshire downed #11 Florida International 2-1 on the road in another strong #AEMSOC week.
 
Overall, all seven teams which had games last week secured at least one point, highlighted by UNH’s impressive win at FIU, the location their season ended in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Wildcats scored twice in the opening 15 minutes and never looked back on the road to victory. Bryant, meanwhile, notched its fourth consecutive shutout to start the season and is one of two teams in the entire nation that have yet to concede a goal after shutting out Holy Cross 4-0.
 
Five teams are in action this Tuesday, including 3-0-1 UMBC who travels to Hofstra after its game last Friday was called due to weather. The Bryant Bulldogs put their undefeated record on the line against Stonehill, while UAlbany travels to Army West Point. UNH battles Princeton on Friday, with UVM, UAlbany, Bryant and UMass Lowell are all on the road Saturday. NJIT and UMBC both are home on Saturday, hosting Sacred Heart and Cornell.
   
The preseason poll was announced on August 9

2023 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners – Sept. 11
Offensive Player of the Week
Vicente Valor Martinez, Bryant – Sr., Midfield, San Juan, Spain
  • Scored once and added a pair of assists in a 4-0 shutout of Holy Cross.
  • Had a hand in each of the team’s first three goals, highlighted by his first goal as a member of Bryant in 15th minute.
  • This is his first career #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Tiago Dias, UAlbany – Jr. Defense, Portimao, Portugal
  • Scored two goals, including the eventual game winner while anchoring the defense.
  • Part of a defense which gave up just three shots on goal in a 3-1 win over Marist.
  • This is Dias’ first career #AEMSOC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Rookie of the Week
Nick Lockermann, Vermont – Fr., Defense, Nuremberg, Germany
  • Key member of UVM back line which limited Lehigh to just three total shots in a win.
  • Recorded two shots and had an assist on the game-winning goals. Also added a free kick which went off a defender and resulted in an own-goal by Lehigh.
  • This is Lockermann’s second #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; Defensive Player of the Week: Tiago Dias, UAlbany; Rookie of the Week: Nick Lockermann, Vermont

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.

Follow the @AEGameday Twitter account to stay up-to-date on America East men’s soccer news all season long and use #AEMSOC to join the conversation.
 
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 –