BOSTON – On the final day of the regular season, Bryant, Maine and Vermont all secured clutch victories to earn top-four seeds while UAlbany captured the final spot in the field with its draw.
Binghamton fell to Vermont 1-0 but still earned its fourth regular season title in the past five seasons, while Bryant’s No. 2 Seed is the highest in program history. Three-time defending champion Maine is the No. 3 Seed while Vermont earned the No. 4 Seed.
The 2026 America East Women’s Soccer Championship begins with Quarterfinal action on Thursday as Vermont hosts No. 5 UMBC and Maine welcomes No. 6 UAlbany.
Need to Know
- Bryant posted the most impressive result of the weekend with a 5-0 road shutout of UMass Lowell to finish conference play 4-2-2.
- Maine also concluded #AEWSOC action with a 4-2-2 record following a 2-1 victory over UMBC.
- Vermont secured the final home quarterfinal contest with its1-0 victory over Binghamton, snapping the Bearcats’ 21-match conference regular season unbeaten streak in the process.
- Binghamton’s Jahkaya Davis leads the league with nine goals and 18 points, while Nora Belin is second in points with 17 on a league-best nine assists and four goals.
- Bryant’s Shannon Mejia finished first in the league in save percentage (.829) while ranking second in GAA (0.88) and shutouts (8).
- The #AEWSOC All-Conference teams will be released on Wednesday afternoon.
Weekly Award Winners – Nov. 2
Offensive Player of the Week
Caitlin Forshay, Bryant – Jr., Midfielder, Glen Rock, N.J.
- Had three assists in Bryant’s 5-0 win over UMass Lowell on Sunday.
- The win lifted the Bulldogs to the #2 seed for the America East Championship.
- Set up the Bulldogs first three tallies of the contest.
- It’s the first three assist game for an America East player since Bryant’s Catherine Bean accomplished the feat vs. NJIT on Sept. 22, 2024.
- This is Forshay’s first career #AEWSOC Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Defensive Player of the Week
Colleen Ardolino, Bryant – Sr., Defender, Milford, Conn.
- Played all 90 minutes and led defensive effort in a 5-0 win over UMass Lowell to help the Bulldogs lock up the #2 seed for the America East Championship.
- This is Ardolino’s first career #AEWSOC Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season.
Goalkeeper & Rookie of the Week
Sophia Kling, Vermont – So., Goalkeeper, Grafton, Mass.
- Stopped all seven shots she faced in a 1-0 shutout win over Binghamton on Sunday.
- Made seven stops in a 1-0 win over Maine on Thursday.
- Had three saves in a scoreless tie vs. UMBC on Sunday.
- This is Kling’s second #AEWSOC Goalkeeper of the Week honor of the season (9/28) and first rookie honor.
Rookie of the Week
Elsa Freeman, UMass Lowell – R-Fr., Midfielder, Portland, Maine
- Scored a pair of goals last week.
- Netted the game winner in a 2-0 victory over NJIT on Sunday.
- This is Freeman’s first career #AEWSOC Rookie of the Week honor.
2026 #AEWSOC Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 17 - Offensive Player & Rookie of the Week: Brooke Clagett, UMBC; Defensive Player of the Week: Sophia Garofalo, Binghamton; Goalkeeper of the Week: Amara Codd, UMBC
Aug. 24 - Offensive Player: Paige Luke, Binghamton; Defensive Player of the Week: Ale Victoriano, Binghamton; Goalkeeper of the Week: Sonja Zeepvat, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Taylor Stuart, NJIT
Aug. 31 - Offensive Player: Samantha Zaslaw, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Sophia Garofalo, Binghamton; Goalkeeper of the Week: Rebecca Kessler, Binghamton; Rookie of the Week: Oluchi Njoku, UAlbany
Sep. 8 - Offensive Player: Aja Turner, Maine; Defensive Player of the Week: Olivia Nardone, UMBC; Goalkeeper of the Week: Amara Codd, UMBC; Rookie of the Week: Eleni Stowell, Vermont
Sep. 14 - Offensive Player: Isabella Meadows, Maine; Defensive Player of the Week: Meghan Bernetti, Maine; Goalkeeper of the Week: Rachel Welch, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Paige Eckert, NJIT
Sep. 21 - Offensive Player: Aubrey Bough, Vermont; Defensive Player of the Week: Olivia Grisdale, Maine; Goalkeeper of the Week: Elena Barenberg, Maine; Rookie of the Week: Alyssa Reiter, NJIT
Sep. 28 - Offensive Player: Paige Luke, Binghamton; Defensive Player of the Week: Sophia Garofalo, Binghamton; Goalkeeper of the Week: Sophia Kling, Vermont; Co-Rookies of the Week: Brooke Clagett, UMBC & Chelsea Donaldson, Binghamton
Oct. 5 - Offensive Player: Jahkaya Davis, Binghamton; Defensive Player of the Week: Hailey Ahmed, UMBC; Goalkeeper of the Week: Shannon Mejia, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Brooke Clagett, UMBC
Oct. 12 - Offensive Player: Isabella Meadows, Maine; Defensive Player of the Week: Olivia Grisdale, Maine; Goalkeeper of the Week: Claudia Volino, UAlbany; Rookie of the Week: Lila Algarin, UAlbany
Oct. 19 – Co-Offensive Player: Isabella Meadows, Maine & Nora Belin, UMass Lowell; Defensive Player of the Week: Märta Sundberg, UMass Lowell; Goalkeeper & Rookie of the Week: Kaele Smith, NJIT
Oct. 26 – Offensive Player: Greta Caulton, New Hampshire; Defensive Player of the Week: Hailey Ahmed, UMBC; Goalkeeper of the Week: Shannon Mejia, Bryant; Rookie of the Week: Elsa Freeman, UMass Lowell
Nov. 1 - Offensive Player: Caitlin Forshay, Bryant; Defensive Player of the Week: Colleen Ardoino, Bryant; Goalkeeper & Rookie of the Week: Sophia Kling, Vermont
Links
Info
Fans will once again be able to watch nearly every #AEWSOC contest this season with the majority of games airing on ESPN+ and the ESPN app 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.
Follow the @AmericaEast channels on Instagram and X to stay up-to-date on America East women’s soccer news all season long and use #AEWSOC to join the conversation.
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 and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -