BOSTON – Bryant, UMBC and UMass Lowell all earned victories in their #AEMSOC openers to sit tied atop the standings, while perennial favorites Vermont and New Hampshire player to a 1-1 draw.
Need to Know:
- The River Hawks are in the midst of their best season in over half a decade and started league play with an impressive 2-0 victory over UAlbany at home to improve to 6-1-3 overall.
- The Bulldogs came through with a 3-0 road victory over NJIT, pushing their record to 6-2-1 and 1-0 in league play.
- UMBC secured the final league win, 2-0 at Binghamton on Saturday night for their fourth win of the year.
- Vermont was leading 1-0 later, however, UNH’s Matthew Goncalves scored in the 84th minute to draw even as the two programs finished with the 1-1 tie.
- Seven #AEMSOC teams are ranked in the NCAA D1 Men's Northeast Region rankings. Vermont leads the way at No. 3, while Bryant is No. 4, New Hampshire is No. 5, UMass Lowell comes in at No. 6, UMBC is No. 9 and Binghamton is No. 10. Link
- Seven of eight #AEMSOC programs play this Tuesday in non-conference action, highlighted by Vermont hosting UMass, which is currently ranked #10 in RPI nationally and Binghamton traveling to Cornell who is receiving votes nationally. UAlbany will host Syracuse, while Bryant faces URI in a battle for Rhode Island and UNH is home against Northeastern.
- On Saturday, The Wildcats to Bryant for a 12 p.m. matchup with playoff implications. UMass Lowell and UMBC battle in Baltimore, with each seeking a crucial three points. Elsewhere, Binghamton travels to NJIT and UAlbany hosts Vermont.
2024 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners – Sept. 30
Offensive Player of the Week
Cristian Guirado, Bryant – So., Forward, Valencia, Spain
- Scored twice in a 3-0 shutout of NJIT to open conference play.
- Registered three shots in a 1-0 victory over Holy Cross
- This is Guirado’s first career #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Defensive Player of the Week
JR Gawel, UMass Lowell – Jr., Goalkeeper, Leonardtown, Md.
- Went 1-0-1 while posting a 0.00 GAA with 11 saves last week.
- Finished the week with six saves in a conference shutout of UAlbany.
- This is Gawel’s second #AEMSOC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Rookie of the Week
Matteo Costa, UMass Lowell – Fr., Midfielder, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Started two games and played 149 minutes of action in the midfield as UML went 1-0-1.
- Part of a defense which didn’t allow any goals and scored twice in its season opener.
- This is Costa’s second #AEMSOC Rookie of the Week honor.
Links
2024 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 26 – Co-Offensive Player of the Week: Sergio Martinez Cubel, NJIT; Co-Offensive Player of the Week: Joseph Picotto, UMBC; Defensive Player of the Week: JR Gawel, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Matteo Costa, UMass Lowell
Sept. 3 - Offensive Player of the Week: Ibrahim Conde, New Hampshire; Defensive Player of the Week: Lou Liedtka, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Andrew Araya, NJIT
Sept. 9 – Offensive Player of the Week: Matthew Goncalves, New Hampshire; Defensive Player of the Week: Devin Armstrong, NJIT; Rookie of the Week: Andrew Araya, NJIT
Sept. 16 – Offensive Player of the Week: Maximilian Kissel, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Erik Lauta, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Samori Matteo, UMBC
Sept. 23 - Offensive Player of the Week: Marcell Papp, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Lou Liedtka, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Ryan Gillon, Binghamton
Sept. 30 - Offensive Player of the Week: Cristian Guirado, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: JR Gawel, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Matteo Costa, UMass Lowell
The America East is one of the best men’s soccer conferences in the country. In 2023 the league finished sixth in RPI among all conferences and three teams were selected to the NCAA Tournament. Overall 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 three years. 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
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -