UAlbany to Finish Season With Two Conference Matches; Senior Day Sunday
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ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany women's soccer team will look to improve their playoff positioning as they finish the regular season against two America East Conference opponents this week. On Thursday, Oct. 18, UAlbany will travel to Maine for a 3 p.m. match against the Black Bears and then return home for a noon contest versus UMBC on Sunday.
UAlbany's offense has been a strong point this season. Shayla Bergeron is currently second in the conference with seven goals scored. She's also second in total points with 19. Depina Psomopoulos is third in the conference with five assists, one behind the league leaders. Maggie DeVerna is tied for third in conference with two game-winning goals.
LAST MATCH
UAlbany was narrowly defeated by Vermont 2-1, on Sunday Oct. 14 at the Turf at College Park. A 62nd minute game-winning goal by Vermont's Alexandra Dezenzo erased senior midfielder Maggie DeVerna's equalizer just three minutes earlier.
UAlbany goalkeeper Alana Brennan recorded three saves on five chances. UVM goalkeeper Ally Ramos tallied nine saves on ten chances for her third victory of the season.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
Maine comes into this match winning two of their last three conference matches. They are looking to overtake New Hampshire for the No. 3 position in the America East standings. The Black Bears defeated UNH at home on Oct. 14, 2-1.
Maine has tallied 21 goals on the season led by junior midfielder Nikki Misener's four goals and freshman midfielder Charlene Achille's three assists. Between the pipes, freshman Lauren Swant has recorded three shutouts.
SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS
UMBC has tied three of their last four matches against conference opponents, but have yet to record a win against an American East team. The Retrievers have had trouble finding the back of the net. They've recorded one goal or less in every game this season with the exception of a 5-0 win against St. Peters.
UMBC is last in the conference in shots (130), points (26) and goals (11). However, they are first in saves with 106. Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Kadet has allowed UMBC to stay in tight matches despite their lack of scoring. She is currently second in save percentage (.841) and first in saves-per-game (6.79) within the America East Conference.
SENIOR DAY SUNDAY
Sunday's match at the Christian Plumeri Sports Complex will be UAlbany's Senior Day. Eight Great Danes will be featured including forward Shayla Bergeron, twin midfielders Chelsea and Maggie DeVerna, midfielder/back Lily Honor, forward Regina Nowicki, forwards Casey Marks and Despina Psomopoulos, and defender Jess Baccaglini.
PLAYOFF POSITIOING AT STAKE
UAlbany has an opportunity to make a significant jump in the America East standings with wins in their final two conference matches this week. Currently, just one game separates UAlbany (5-10-1, 2-4 AE) in the No. 7 spot and Maine (7-6-2, 3-3-1 AE) in the No. 4 spot.
FIRST TO A HAT TRICK
Shayla Bergeron went on to score the program's first single-game hat-trick against UNC-Asheville, in the 6-3 route on Sept. 2. Bergeron just needed six shots to accomplish the feat to help the Great Danes win their first game of the season on the road.
CONFERENCE ACCOLADE
Shayla Bergeron was honored as America East Conference Player of the Week on Monday, Sept.10. Bergeron helped lead the Great Danes to two victories including a 4-3 win over Canisius and a 5-2 victory over Cornell. She tallied four goals and two assists over the two-game span.
PRESEASON PICKED THIRD
UAlbany was chosen to finish third in the America East. Seventh year head coach Mary-Frances Monroe and the Great Danes had a great run in the second half the season, finishing with a 7-1-1 record and their first trip to the America East Conference Tournament finals in program history.
