Men's Soccer

#AEMSOC Week 7: Bryant & Vermont Move Into Top-Five Nationally

BOSTON – Vermont and Bryant each earned conference victories last Saturday and both are unbeaten as they are ranked No. 4 and No. 5 in the nation while sitting tied atop the league standings.
 
The Bulldogs have won a nation-leading 10 straight games, while Vermont’s 21-game unbeaten streak is the best in the nation. They’re also the first pair of America East teams in any sport to both be ranked in the top-five nationally. Bryant and Vermont rank in the top-five nationally in RPI as well, while the league is currently eighth in RPI.
 
Need to Know:
  • Vermont traveled down to face NJIT and came away with a 2-1 victory, surrendering a late goal to the Highlanders which cut the deficit.
  • Bryant grabbed a 2-0 lead at UMBC, but the Retrievers scored in the final two minutes and got off a couple other good shots as the Bulldogs escaped with the 2-1 win.
  • UAlbany improved to 1-0-1 in league play with a 3-1 win at New Hampshire. The Great Danes jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the way to their first win against UNH since 2019.
  • UMass Lowell secured a 1-0 victory over Binghamton as the River Hawks didn’t allow a shot on goal.
  • This week NJIT, Vermont and Binghamton are on the road Tuesday in non-conference play, facing Villanova, Harvard and Bucknell.
 
League play opens on Friday as UAlbany plays Bryant at 3 pm. on Saturday, Binghamton hosts NJIT while UMass Lowell is at Vermont and UMBC welcomes New Hampshire.
 
2025 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners – Oct. 6
Offensive Player of the Week
Ivar Gissurarson, UAlbany – Jr., Midfield, Reykjavik, Iceland
  • Scored twice in a 3-1 win at New Hampshire to help UAlbany remain unbeaten.
  • Scored the Great Danes’ first two goals as they built a 2-0 lead.
  • This is Gissurarson’s first #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Aamir Ketbache, UMass Lowell – So., Defense, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
  • Anchored a defense that shut out Binghamton 1-0, playing all 90 minutes.
  • Helped allowed just nine total shots and no shots on goal in the win.
  • This is Ketbache’s second #AEMSOC Defensive Player of the Week honor this season.
 
Rookie of the Week
Simon Vujinovic, UMBC – Fr., Midfield, Warwick, Stevensville, MD
  • Scored the lone UMBC goal in a 2-1 loss to No. 5 Bryant.
  • Made it a 2-1 contest with just 1:54 left and nearly tied the game 20 seconds later.
  • This is Vujinovic’s first #AEMSOC Rookie of the Week honor this season.
 
Links  
The America East is one of the best men’s soccer conferences in the country and home to the defending national champions from Vermont. In 2024, the Catamounts led the nation in RPI and the America East finish fifth as a conference. It marked the league’s second straight top-six finish in RPI. Overall The conference has received multiple bids to the NCAA tournament in four of the past nine seasons. Four different teams have reached the third round of the NCAA tournament since 2014.
 
2025 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 26 – Offensive Player of the Week: Maximillian Kissel, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Niklas Herceg, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Omar Robbana, Vermont
Sept. 2 – Offensive Player of the Week: Brady Geho, UMBC; Defensive Player of the Week: Alvaro Medrano, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Alvaro Medrano, UMass Lowell
Sept. 9 - Offensive Player of the Week: Anthony Randazzo, Binghamton; Defensive Player of the Week: Enzo Carvalho, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Tommy McFadden, UAlbany 
Sept. 15 - Offensive Player of the Week: David Ismail, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Scott Williams, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Philipp Kühn, Vermont
Sept. 22 - Offensive Player of the Week: Jaime Amaro, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Ramon Camejo, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Nicolas Loebus, Vermont
Sept. 29 - Offensive Player of the Week: Jaime Amaro, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Niklas Herceg, Vermont; Rookie of the Week: Xahvi DeRoza, New Hampshire
Oct. 6 - Offensive Player of the Week: Ivar Gissurarson, UAlbany; Defensive Player of the Week: Aamir Ketbache, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Simon Vujinovic, UMBC

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 -