Women's Soccer Prepares for Weekend Matches Against Syracuse And UMass

Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics

Albany, N.Y.- UAlbany women's soccer will look to prepare for its season opener on Friday, August 24 against the Syracuse Orange then head to Amherst, Mass. to face the Minutewomen of UMass on Sunday, August 26. The Orange have begun the season 1-0 with a win over Colgate and the Minutewomen started the season 1-1 with a close loss to No. 6 UCLA and a win over Bryant.



Friday's match will be streamed live on Syracuse Athletic's Orange All-Access(www.suathletics.com/showcase). John Gerard Nolan III will be on the call for the match. To watch the match, the cost for a one-day subscription will be $5.

About the Great DanesUAlbany will look to carry its late-2011 success of finishing 7-1-1 after starting out the season 2-9-0. The Great Danes were able to play in the America East Conference Finals for the first time in its program history, but fell short to Boston University, 2-0.

 

A big part of the late-season success was the switch of goalkeepers, as then-freshman Jacky Ubert stepped into net and posted a 7-3-1 record with three shutouts, 83.9 percent save percentage and an eye-popping 1.13 goals against average.

Scouting the OrangeSyracuse, coming off a 7-8-3 2011 season, look ahead to the 2012 season bringing back solid experience in the net.

Junior goalkeeper Brittany Anghel has been an anchor in net the past two season, compiling a total of 13 shutouts which is fourth best in Orange history. Last season, Anghel played in all 18 of Syracuse's matches, tallying a 1.31 goals against average and a .722 saves percentage while shutting out seven opponents, including then-No. 12 Boston College.

Scouting the MinutewomenHaving come off a offensive battle against Bryant in which it resulted in a win, UMass has started out the season 1-1. The Minutewomen opened the season against No. 6 UCLA and fell just short of the upset in a 2-1 loss.

Sophomore midfielder Moa Mattsson has come out of the gates strong in the scoring so far in just two games. The Uppsala, Sweden native has already tripled her 2011 output in the goal column, having only scored one goal in 21 games played in 2011.

19th-Ranked UAlbany Field Hockey Hits the Road to Start the 2012 Season

19th-Ranked UAlbany Field Hockey Hits the Road to Start the 2012 Season

Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics Albany, N.Y. - The 19th-ranked UAlbany field hockey team will hit the road for the first two games of the 2012 season, visiting Rutgers and Delaware on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Great Danes, who were ranked for the entire 2011 season, continue to impress nationally, as they garnered a top-20 ranking on the Penn Monto/NFHCA Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced on Tuesday. UAlbany will face seven opponents, including three America East Conference foes, that were ranked in the preseason poll. "We are looking forward to our season," said UAlbany head coach Phil Sykes, now in his ninth season at the helm of the Great Dane program. "We have a good group of players who are already very close. We want to improve a little bit every day and see how far it takes us." The Great Danes will kick off 2012 at Rutgers, under first-year head coach Meredith Long. The Scarlet Knights went 5-13 a year ago, but return two players who competed for the USA Women's National Indoor Team. UAlbany will then visit Delaware, which posted a record of 9-11 and advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament a year ago. Head coach Rolf van de Kerkhof’s enters his second season to guide the Blue Hens, who were picked fifth in the CAA Preseason Coaches Poll announced last week. Follow the Great Danes this weekend:

SU MEN’S SOCCER OPENS 2012 SEASON TOMORROW AT HOME AGAINST ALBANY

SU MEN’S SOCCER OPENS 2012 SEASON TOMORROW AT HOME AGAINST ALBANY

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange men's soccer team (0-0-0) will host Albany (0-0-0) on Friday, August 24 at the SU Soccer Stadium. Start time for the match is 7 p.m. at the SU Soccer Stadium. The game is the season opener for both teams and admission is free.

Friday night's contest is the second half of a men's and women's soccer doubleheader. At 4 p.m., the SU women take on Albany in their home opener.

Live video for both games will be available via Orange All Access.

ORANGE IN OPENERS
Syracuse is 38-34-5 in season-opening games and has won its first game of the season in four of the past seven years. Head coach Ian McIntyre is 7-4-2 all-time in season openers during his head coaching career.

Friday's game marks the earliest start to a Syracuse soccer season, as the team's earliest previous opener was on Aug. 25, 2006 when the Orange defeated Niagara, 3-1, at the SU Soccer Stadium. SU has won six out of its last seven home openers, including a 2-1 victory versus Canisius to kick off the 2011 home schedule.

2011 REVIEW
Last season, the Orange finished the year with an overall record of 3-12-1 and a 1-7-1 mark in BIG EAST play. SU secured its first BIG EAST win since 2009 when it defeated Cincinnati, 4-2, on Oct. 22.

In his first season at Syracuse, Louis Clark (Brighton, England) led the Orange with 14 points on six goals and two assists. Current undergraduate assistant coach Phil Boerger started every game in goal and recorded 76 saves in his final collegiate season.

RETURNING EXPERIENCE
The Orange returns nine starters from last season's quad, including four of its five leading goal scorers. Clark notched six goals, while Lars Muller (Brandenburg, Germany), Skylar Thomas (Pickering, Ontario, Canada) and Grant Chong (Brighton, Mich.) each had two. Senior Ted Cribley (Sheffield, England), who paced the team with four helpers, returns as Syracuse's leading assist man. Last year's back four of Thomas, Jordan Murrell (Markham, Ontario, Canada), Ryan Tessler (Newtown, Pa.) and Chris Makowski (Quakertown, Pa.) also return. That quartet combined for 56 starts a year ago.

SCOUTING ALBANY
Albany returns eight of its 11 starters from a 2011 squad that finished with a 6-10-3 record, including a 1-3-3 mark in the America East Conference. The Great Danes advanced to the semifinals of the America East Tournament and finished sixth in the league during the regular season.

Quintel Gates and Brandon Wilson led the offensive charge, as the duo scored 10 of the team's 24 total goals last season.

Trevor Gorman enters his second season as head coach for Albany. Gorman previously served as an assistant coach at Wright State University for one season and at Dartmouth College for three seasons.

THE ALBANY SERIES
Friday's meeting will be the sixth between Syracuse and Albany. SU leads the overall series, 3-1-1, and the Orange and the Great Danes battled to a 1-1 draw in the most recent meeting in 2007.

UP NEXT …
The Orange goes on the road for the first time in 2012 when it visits Binghamton Tuesday, Aug. 28.

UAlbany Baseball Will Hold Walk-On Tryouts Sept. 10 and 11

UAlbany Baseball Will Hold Walk-On Tryouts Sept. 10 and 11

Courtesy: UAlbany Athletics Albany, N.Y. - If you are interested in attending the University at Albany baseball team's Walk-On Tryouts you must complete ALL necessary steps listed below, by 5pm on Thursday 9/6/2012. 1) Take and fill out the Walk-On Certification Form. Copies are hanging on the wall outside the baseball office at PE 123 and is also located online, labeled 'Walk-On Form' at: http://www.ualbanysports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15800&ATCLID=1255415 2) Read it clearly and complete all steps: have it signed by baseball coaching staff member, present your physical paperwork and other listed items to the athletic training staff and have them sign it (SEFCU bottom floor), have your sheet approved and signed by the compliance department (SEFCU 205). 3) Once you have been cleared by the compliance department and baseball staff has been notified, you must attend ALL 3 sessions of the Walk-On Tryout. 4) You must bring a glove, baseball pants, hat, cleats and turfs/tennis shoes to the tryouts. WALK-ON TRYOUT SCHEDULE SESSION I: Monday 9/10/2012 @ 5:30AM in PE Gym for check-in and conditioning. SESSION II: Monday 9/10/2012 @ 12PM on Varsity Baseball Field for practice. SESSION III: Tuesday 9/11/2012 @ 12:30PM on Varsity Baseball Field for practice/scrimmage.

Binghamton Mets Roster Update

Please note the following transaction involving the Binghamton Mets.

August 23:

• RHP Armando Rodriguez transferred from Binghamton (AA) to Buffalo (AAA)

Usain Bolt Nabs Olympic Record

Usain Bolt won the men's 100 in an Olympic record 9.63 seconds to take home the gold medal during the London games. The United States' Justin Gatlin earned the bronze medal in the event with a time of 9.79.

Kevin Kolb exits Hall of Fame Game with injury

Arizona Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb suffered a rib contusion midway through the first quarter and is doubtful to return against the Saints tonight.