BOSTON – NJIT moved into sole possession of first place with a crucial victory, while UAlbany took down No. 12 Vermont to keep its hopes of a regular season title alive with two game dates remaining in the regular season.
Four teams still have a chance at the 2026 #AEMSOC Regular Season Title, though NJIT is three points ahead of both Vermont and Bryant going into Friday’s contest against the Bulldogs. The Highlanders and Catamounts played to a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
Despite Vermont’s loss they are 19th in RPI, while NJIT is now 63rd. UAlbany ones an RPI of 24, while Bryant is close behind at 27. As a league, the America East ranks eighth in the nation, ahead of the CAA, Summit League and A-10.
On Friday, Vermont hosts Binghamton at 4 p.m. to open league action, while the Bulldogs travel to NJIT for a 6 p.m. matchup. New Hampshire welcomes UMass Lowell at 6 p.m., with UAlbany facing UMBC on the road at 7 p.m.
The regular season concludes with four games on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and quarterfinal action takes place on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Need to Know:
- UAlbany broke a 0-0 tie in the 65th minute on a Kyle Bernardo goal and the Great Danes held off No. 12 Vermont 1-0 for the shutout win, clinching a playoff berth in the process.
- NJIT scored just 7:06 into its contest against UMass Lowell and outshot the River Hawks 18-13 to secure the shutout victory.
- New Hampshire exploded for 5 goals, including four in the second half, against UMBC to keep its playoff hopes alive with two games left.
- Bryant outshot Binghamton 19-5 on the way to a 1-0 victory to keep its regular season championship hopes alive.
- Diogo Robelo of NJIT leads the league in both goals (7) and points (19), while Luis Fischer from Vermont has a league-best seven assists.
- Vermont’s Niklas Herceg leads the conference in GAA (0.71), Save percentage (.828) and shutouts (8).
2026 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners – Oct. 26
Offensive Player of the Week
David Davila, New Hampshire – Jr., Forward, Elkhart, Ind.
- Scored twice in a 5-1 victory over UMBC on Saturday.
- This is Davila’s first career #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week.
Goalkeeper of the Week
Andre Faerman, NJIT – Fr., Goalkeeper, Cooper City, Fla.
- Recorded a four-save shutout against UMass Lowell in 1-0 victory.
- The win helped NJIT take over sole possession of 1st place.
- This is Faerman’s first career #AEMSOC Goalkeeper of the Week honor.
Defensive Player of the Week
Eric Sadlocha, NJIT – Jr., Defense, Sayreville, N.J.
- Played all 90 minutes in a 1-0 shutout victory over UMass Lowell.
- Scored the game’s lone goal in the eighth minute to help NJIT take over sole possession of 1st place.
- This is Sadlocha’s first #AEMSOC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
Rookie of the Week
Pablo Maya, Bryant – Fr., Forward, Llanes, Spain
- Scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Hofstra.
- Tallied three shots in a 1-0 win against Binghamton.
- This is Maya’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: Luca Clausse, UAlbany
Oct. 19 – Offensive Player of the Week: David Ismail, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Sho Kinjo, UMass Lowell; Goalkeeper of the Week: Eijin Magota, UMass Lowell, Co-Rookies of the Week: Nico Banks, UMBC & Harusumi Takesada, NJIT
Oct. 19 – Offensive Player of the Week: David Davila, New Hampshire; Defensive Player of the Week: Eric Sadlocha, NJIT; Goalkeeper of the Week: Andre Faerman, NJIT, Co-Rookies of the Week: Pablo Maya, Bryant
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 -