Men's Soccer

#AEMSOC Week 8: NJIT Wins Big

BOSTON – NJIT posted a dominant victory while Vermont, Bryant and Binghamton secured wins this past weekend.

Vermont is 20th in the latest RPI, while Bryant moved up to 32 and UAlbany is at 35. As a conference, the America East ranks eight in RPI this season.

Need to Know:
  • NJIT posted the most impressive win of the weekend, jumping out to a 4-0 lead at the half and leading 6-1 in the 78th minute. Diogo Rebelo tied an #AEMSOC conference record with four assists and also scored once for six points.
  • Bryant took down No. 24 UAlbany 2-1 on the road to improve to 8-2-2 overall and 2-1 in league play.
  • Vermont stayed unbeaten with a 1-0 victory over UMBC, scoring in the 87th minute on the road.
  • Binghamton earned its first conference win of the season with a 2-1 victory over UMass Lowell, with a game-winner in the 71st minute.
  • In mid-week action, NJIT travels to La Salle and UAlbany hosts Northeastern.
  • Vermont hosts UNH, Bryant welcomes UMass Lowell, UMBC plays at Binghamton and UAlbany travels to NJIT.
 

2026 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners – Oct. 12
Offensive Player of the Week
Diogo Rebelo, NJIT – So., Midfield, Newark, N.J.
  • Tied an #AEMSOC conference record with four assists in a 6-3 victory over UNH.
  • Also added a goal as NJIT beat UNH for the first time in program history.
  • This is Rebelo’s first career #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Goalkeeper of the Week
Niklas Herceg, Vermont – Jr., Goalkeeper, Alsdorf, Germany
  • Earned a two-save shutout at UMBC on Friday.
  • Kept the game scoreless until Vermont’s game-winner in the final five minutes of regulation.
  • This is Herceg’s seventh career #AEMSOC Goalkeeper of the Week honor.
 
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Nacho Garcia, Bryant – Gr., Defense, Zaragoza, Spain
  • Played all 90 minutes on the back line in a pair of wins.
  • Shut out UConn 1-0 and didn’t allow a goal in open play in a 2-1 victory at No. 24 UAlbany.
  • This is Garcia’s first #AEMSOC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Co-Rookie of the Week
Zain Thompson, NJIT – Fr., Forward, Cranberry Twp, Pa.
  • Scored once on two shots in a 6-3 victory over New Hampshire.
  • Helped secured NJIT’s first win over UNH and moved into a tie atop the #AEMSOC standings.
  • This is Thompson’s second #AEMSOC Rookie of the Week honor.

Co-Rookie of the Week
Jona Meiner, Binghamton - Fr. Defense, Munich, Germany
  • Scored the opening goal in Binghamton's 2-1 victory over UMass Lowell. 
  • Helped anchor a back line that kept the River Hawks from tying the game late.
  • This is Meiner's first #AEMSOC Rookie of the Week honor.

 
Links  
The America East is one of the best men’s soccer conferences in the country and home to the 2024 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 five of the past ten seasons. Five different teams have reached the third round of the NCAA tournament since 2014.
 
2026 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 26 – Offensive Player of the Week: David Ismail, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Islam Houssni, Vermont; Goalkeeper of the Week: Niklas Herceg, Vermont, Rookie of the Week: Flynn Holdem, UMBC
Aug. 31 - Offensive Player of the Week: Abdul Kamara, UMBC; Defensive Player of the Week: Santiago de Prado, Bryant; Goalkeeper of the Week: Ramon Camejo, Bryant, Rookie of the Week: Yuta Kimata, UAlbany
Sept. 8 - Offensive Player of the Week: Pieter Bultman, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Almoznino Saar, Binghamton; Goalkeeper of the Week: Ramon Camejo, Bryant, Rookie of the Week: Zain Thompson, NJIT
Sept. 14 – Offensive Player of the Week: Fermin Rodriguez, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Reed Cash, New Hampshire; Goalkeeper of the Week: Niklas Herceg, Vermont, Rookie of the Week: Flynn Holdem, UMBC
Sept. 21– Offensive Player of the Week: Justin Godbout-Garon, UMass Lowell; Defensive Player of the Week: Louis Dufraiche, UMass Lowell; Goalkeeper of the Week: Aimar Penalver, Bryant, Rookie of the Week: Yuta Kimata, UAlbany
Sept. 28 - Offensive Player of the Week: Luca Clausse, UAlbany; Defensive Player of the Week: Stepan Fiker, Vermont; Goalkeeper of the Week: Niklas Herceg, Vermont, Rookie of the Week: Luca Clausse, UAlbany
Oct. 5 – Co-Offensive Player of the Week: Yuta Kimata, UAlbany; Co-Offensive Player of the Week: Fermin Rodriguez, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Shawn Tanaka, UAlbany; Co-Goalkeeper of the Week: Ramon Camejo, Bryant; Co-Goalkeeper of the Week: Alexander Genz, UAlbany; Rookie of the Week: Yuta Kimata, UAlbany
Oct. 12 - Offensive Player of the Week: Diogo Rebelo, NJIT; Defensive Player of the Week: Nacho Garcia, Bryant; Goalkeeper of the Week: Niklas Herceg, Vermont, Rookie of the Week: Jona Meiner, Binghamton; Rookie of the Week: Zain Thompson, NJIT

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 -