BOSTON – On Friday, No. 17 UAlbany earned the first #AEFH victory over a top-10 team in over a year as they took down No. 8 Harvard 3-2 in overtime. The Great Danes added a home victory on Sunday, improving to a league-best 5-1.
Need to Know:
- UAlbany trailed Harvard 2-1 in the fourth quarter, but Alison Smisdom tied it late and then capped off the Great Dane win with her third goal of the game in overtime. They finished the weekend with a 3-1 over Drexel for the program’s fifth straight victory.
- Vermont earned its first home win, taking down Wagner 2-0 at home.
- UMass Lowell started the week with a 2-0 victory over Stonehill, but fell 4-3 in overtime to instate rival UMass on Sunday afternoon.
- UC Davis came up just short in a pair of contests with former #AEFH programs, falling 1-0 to Stanford and 2-0 to Cal over the weekend.
- New Hampshire lost 5-0 to No. 4 Iowa and then dropped a 4-2 contest to Delaware on Saturday.
- Ten matches are on tap this coming weekend, including the first two conference contests of the year. UC Davis travels east to Vermont on Friday and then UAlbany on Sunday.
- New Hampshire, meanwhile, hosts No. 16 Boston College on Sunday, while Vermont hosts No. 8 Harvard on Sunday.
- The #AEFH preseason poll and All-Conference teams were announced on August 14 - link.
2024 #AEFH Weekly Award Winners – Sept. 17
Offensive Player of the Week
Alison Smisdom, UAlbany – Sr., Midfield, Antwerp, Belgium
- Scored five of UAlbany’s six goals in a pair of victories.
- Tallied three goals, including the game-winner in overtime to take down Harvard 3-2 on the road. Then added two more in a win over Drexel.
- Currently leads the nation with 1.83 goals per game.
- This is Smisdom’s third #AEFH Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season.
Defensive Player of the Week
Ila Gunner, Vermont – Sr., Goalkeeper, Godalming, England
- Posted her second career shutout with three saves in a 2-0 victory over Wagner.
- This is Gunner’s first #AEFH Defensive Player or Rookie of the Week honor.
Rookie of the Week
Lotje Ligthart, UAlbany – Fr., Midfielder, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Scored the eventual game-winning goal in a 3-1 victory over Drexel.
- Helped UAlbany earn a 3-2 overtime victory over No. 7 Harvard on Friday.
- This is Ligthart’s first #AEFH Rookie of the Week honor.
Links
2024 #AEFH Weekly Award Winners
Sept. 4 - Offensive Player of the Week: Alison Smisdom, UAlbany; Defensive Player of the Week: Rozarie Mrazova, Maine; Rookie of the Week: Karlijn Kerkhof, UMass Lowell
Sept. 10 - Offensive Player of the Week: Alison Smisdom, UAlbany; Defensive Player of the Week: Abby Johnson, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Abby Johnson, New Hampshire
Sept. 17 - Offensive Player of the Week: Alison Smisdom, UAlbany; Defensive Player of the Week: Illa Gunner, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Lotje Ligthart, UAlbany
Fans will once again be able to watch nearly every #AEFH 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.
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