Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook women's soccer team (3–6-2, 0-0 AE) opens conference play with two matches this week. The Seawolves will open at defending champion Albany on Thursday, Sep. 29 before hosting the Binghamton Bearcats on Sunday, Oct 2, at 1 pm.
Scouting Albany - Live Stats | Live Video
Albany (3-7, 0-1 AE) is searching for the consistency that led them to the America East title in 2015. The Great Danes returned their top five scorers from a season ago but have only managed to score 10 goals in 10 games and have been shutout four times, including a 1-0 loss to UMass Lowell in its conference opener on Sunday. Alexa Schneider leads the club with seven points on three goals and an assist. Kiana Rugar and Caitlyn Paltsios each have two goals and an assist. Stony Brook defeated the Great Danes 2-0 last season at LaValle Stadium.
Scouting Binghamton - Live Stats | Live Video
Binghamton (4-5-2, 0-1 AE) had a rough go of it in its conference opener, falling to Hartford 5-0. The Bearcats started the year 4-2-2, but have dropped their last three games and haven't scored a goal since Sep. 11, a span of 277 minutes. The Bearcats are stout defensively, allowing just 13 goals in 11 matches, but have only managed to score eight times on the season. Leighann Bennett and Jocelyn Acor lead the team with two goals, while Michele Galvin paces the club with three assists.
Balanced Scoring
Stony Brook's nine goals are divided between seven players with only senior Raven Edwards (West Orange, N.J.) and junior Manuela Corcho (Norwalk, Conn.) recording two. Additionally, Stony Brook has six players who have recorded an assist. Junior Christen Cahill (Pembroke, Mass.) and sophomore Julie Johnstonbaugh (Neshanic Station, N.J.) lead the way with two. Eight Stony Brook players have recorded a point and four of Stony Brook's nine goals have come off the bench.
A New Season
The Seawolves are the only team to not play a conference game with last weekend serving as their bye. Stony Brook went 3-4-1 in conference play in 2015, missing out on the America East playoffs by one point. The top six teams qualify for the playoffs. Eleven points were required to make the playoffs each of the last two seasons. The previous two seasons required 10 points to qualify for the postseason.
Playing on the Front Foot
Stony Brook has been the aggressor in most of its games and leads the conference in shots (163) and shots per game (14.82). Stony Brook has four players in the top 10 in the conference in shots: Raven Edwards (West Orange, N.J.), Lindsay Hutchinson (Millersville, Pa.), Priscilla Wiggins (Fresno, Calif.) and Christen Cahill (Pembroke, Mass.). Hartford is the only other team with multiple players in the category with two.
