UAlbany Men's Soccer Tied for First in America East Conference Following 2-1 Victory Over Hartford

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

West Hartford, Conn. – Claudio Dantas set the Division I program record for points in a single season and Don Johnson netted his second game-winning goal of the year to lead the University at Albany past Hartford, 2-1, in America East Conference men’s soccer action on Wednesday, Oct. 22. With the victory, UAlbany is tied for first place in the league with Boston University and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Terriers with two matches left on the conference schedule. In addition, the team’s 10 wins is the most victories through 14 matches in the program’s Division I era which began in 1999.

“This was a huge result for us,” said head coach Johan Aarnio, whose team moved into a tie for first in the conference after Boston University and Vermont played to a 1-1 draw earlier in the evening. “The players stuck to the game plan in the second half and a great result came out of it. All of the chips fell our way as well, so it feels great to be back in first place.”

After Ivan Guarin’s first goal of the season put Hartford (7-5-2, AE 3-2-0) on the scoreboard first in the eighth minute of action, the Great Danes wasted no time by scoring the equalizer just 23 seconds later. Fresh off of scoring the game-winning goal against UMBC on Saturday, Shaun Kane netted his eighth tally of the season after receiving a pass from Dantas. By accumulating his 23rd point on the play, Dantas surpassed Nick Southworth’s Division I record of 22 points set back in 2000.

Johnson broke a 1-1 deadlock in the second half with his sixth goal of the season in the 49th minute to give UAlbany (10-3-1, AE 4-1-1) a one-goal lead it would not relinquish. Bjorn Bekkers was credited with his first career assist on the play.

UAlbany’s Steward Ceus made seven saves on 15 chances to earn his eighth win of the season. With 23 career victories, Ceus passed Bouna Coundoul’s win total of 22 and now stands alone in second place on the all-time list in the program’s Division I era. The senior co-captain needs two more stops to establish the Division I record for career saves currently held Trevor Serraro. Hartford’s Luke Citriniti made three saves and faced eight shots.

Before wrapping up league action next week against Maine and Vermont, the Great Danes will play their final non-conference match of the regular season when they host Bryant on Saturday at 1 p.m. Even though they are not playing a league match, UAlbany will qualify for the six-team America East Tournament on Saturday if Maine or UMBC either tie or lose the same afternoon. The Black Bears travel to Vermont and the Retrievers will host Boston University.


UAlbany (10-3-1, AE 4-1-1) 1 1 - 2
Hartford (7-5-2, AE 3-2-0) 1 0 - 1

UAlbany: Scoring – Shaun Kane (1-0), Don Johnson (1-0), Claudio Dantas (0-1), Bjorn Bekkers (0-1). Goalkeeping – Steward Ceus (90:00, 1 GA, 7 saves).

Hartford: Scoring – Ivan Guarin (1-0), Patrick Boucher (0-1). Goalkeeping – Luke Citriniti (90:00, 2 GA, 3 saves).