BOSTON – No. 13 Vermont secured a pair of victories in the opening week of the 2026 men’s soccer season while UMBC and Bryant are also unbeaten following their first action of the year.
The 13th ranked Catamounts opened their season with a 2-0 shutout of George Mason thanks to two David Ismail goals and then shot past Colgate 4-1 on Sunday afternoon. Over six different teams earned at least one point last week, including No. 10 Bryant which earned a 2-2 draw against UMass in its lone contest last week.
Need to Know:
- UMBC is 1-0 following a 3-2 victory over Loyola to capture the inaugural Blake Elliot Cup on Sunday evening in front of a raucous crowd. The Retrievers played UNC Wilmington on Thursday but the game was called a non-contest due to continued poor weather in the area.
- The Bulldogs trailed 1-0 at the half and 2-1 with ten minutes left but netted an equalizer on a Brady Geho goal. Bryant did outshoot UMass 18-7.
- New Hampshire recorded the most impressive victory of the week on Sunday, coming back from a 2-1 deficit at Syracuse with two goals in the final 11 minutes of regulation to secure a 3-2 victory over the Orange.
- Binghamton played to a 0-0 draw with Mount St. Mary’s on Thursday, while the River Hawks tied 1-1 with Incarnate Word.
2026 #AEMSOC Weekly Award Winners – Aug. 24
Offensive Player of the Week
David Ismail, Vermont – Gr., Forward, Bayreuth, Germany
- Scored both of Vermont’s goals in season-opening win over George Mason.
- Tallied one goal on five six shots in a 4-1 win over Colgate
- This is Ismail’s third career #AEMSOC Offensive Player of the Week honor.
Goalkeeper of the Week
Niklas Herceg, Vermont – Jr., Goalkeeper, Alsdorf, Germany
- Went 2-0 with a 0.50 GAA and .857 save percentage last week
- Notched a two-save shutout against George Mason and then had four saves in a 4-1 win over Colgate
- This is Herceg’s first #AEMSOC Goalkeeper of the Week honor this year.
Defensive Player of the Week
Islam Houssni, Vermont – Jr., Defender, Rabat, Morocco
- Finished with one goal and three assists while anchoring a defense to two victories.
- Helped Vermont start 2-0 and allow just one goal.
- Recorded at least two points in each game, including 1G, 1A in a 4-1 victory over Colgate.
Rookie of the Week
Flynn Holdem, UMBC – Fr., Forward, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Scored in the 56th minute to give UMBC a 2-1 lead
- Helped UMBC start the season 1-0 with a 3-2 victory while totaling three shots.
- This is Holdem’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 024 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
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 -