Albertus Magnus was picked first in the 2011 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men’s soccer Preseason Poll as announced Tuesday evening.

Suffolk University, the reigning GNAC Champion, and Lasell College round out the top-three programs in the preseason rankings, while Norwich University and Emerson College were picked fourth and fifth, respectively.

“We are honored to be selected first in the GNAC preseason poll,” said head coach Jim Bernardo. “But we realize we still have a lot of work to do. We need to improve as the season progresses in order to reach our ultimate goal of winning the GNAC Tournament title and receiving the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.”

Albertus Magnus earned numerous accolades in 2010, led by Bernardo being named GNAC Coach of the Year as he guided his program to a second-place finish in the GNAC regular-season standings as well as a 15-6-1 overall record. The 2010 Falcons also earned an ECAC Tournament bid as a fifth seed.

The 15-win season in 2010 marked the best in program history, while six student-athletes earned GNAC postseason honors. The Falcons’ 2011 roster returns five of those six athletes, including NSCAA/Performance Subaru Men’s NCAA DIII All-New England Region Second Team member Jamal Howard (West Haven, Conn.).

The Falcons are currently 1-1 on the year after a 4-1 dominating win at Mount Saint Mary College on Sept. 3 and a season-opening 2-1 heartbreaker at Western Connecticut State on Sept. 1.

Bernardo and his 2011 squad return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 7 as they travel to Westfield State to take on the Owls in a 4:00 p.m. non-conference match-up. Conference play for the Falcons begins Saturday, Sept. 10 at Suffolk in Boston, Mass.

On the pitch on Wednesday, freshman Dallas Aminzadeh (Silver Springs, Md.) tallied the game-winning goal with just 1:48 remaining in regulation to send the Southern Connecticut State University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory at Saint Rose on Wednesday evening. Aminzadeh's first collegiate goal came on a header off an assist from Francisco Lara (Laredo, Texas) and sent the Owls to their first win of the year.

Southern Connecticut is now 1-1, 1-0 in Northeast-10 Conference play. Saint Rose is 0-3, 0-1 in league action.

The Owls outshot the Golden Knights by a 14-4 margin for the game, including a 7-0 tally in the first half. However, the game seemed destined for extra time until some late heroics by the Owls.

SCSU was awarded a corner kick with just under two minutes left in regulation, and Aminzadeh cashed in on the play with the game-winner.

Keeper Andrew Esposito (East Haven, Conn.) stopped one shot to earn the shutout for the Owls.

Southern Connecticut is back in action on Saturday for a home game against Bloomfield.

SCSU men’s soccer tabbed third: The Southern Connecticut State men’s soccer team has been selected third in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason poll, as it was announced earlier today. Previously, the Owls were stationed at No. 12 in the NSCAA National Preseason poll.
Southern Connecticut received two first place votes in the poll.
The Owls are coming off another successful season (14-2-4) in which they reached the NCAA Tournament second round. The 2011 season opener will be Sept. 3 against Bridgeport.
New Haven was picked 10th.
Also, the SCSU women’s cross country team has been ranked No. 2 in the region in the preseason rankings released by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The men’s team was ranked third.
Yale field hockey gets votes: In each of the past two seasons, the Yale field hockey team has utilized a mid-season hot streak to earn a spot among the teams receiving votes in the national poll. In 2011, the Bulldogs are starting the year there. They earned four points in the 2011 Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll.
Yale returns 13 letterwinners for Pam Stuper’s seventh season as head coach. That includes the top seven scorers and nine players who started seven or more games. The 2010 squad went 11-6 overall (5-2 Ivy League, tied for second place).
AMC names captains: Albertus Magnus men’s soccer head coach Jim Bernardo has announced that Jamal Howard, Nick Hamasian and Stephen Zapata will serve as team captains for the 2011 season.
Howard, of West Haven, was a captain last year for the Falcons, earned NSCAA/Performance Subaru Men’s DIII All-New England Region Second Team honors in 2010. He led the Falcons in goals (12) last season.
Hamden’s Hamasian joined Howard on the GNAC First Team as he was tagged as the 2010 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. Zapata, also of Hamden, also earned First Team honors in 2010 as he led Albertus Magnus with 29 points and 13 assists. His 13 assists were good enough for second place in the conference rankings.
Gagne feted: University of New Haven graduate student-athlete Shannon Gagne has been selected as one of the top 30 honorees for the NCAA Woman of the Year. The association announced the top 30 women, 10 from each NCAA membership division, Tuesday.
After her record-setting season, Gagne continues to earn prestegious honors from the NCAA and the USTFCCCA.
The top 30 honorees were nominated by conference and independent members and represent multiple sports. Three finalists will be chosen from each division to form the nine finalists for the Woman of the Year award.

Guiford’s Mike Yates became the first player in Western Connecticut State University to ever win the national gold glove award when he was named the recipient on the 2011 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Gold Glove.
Yates, a junior outfielder, did not commit an error in 114 field chances for the 19-18 Colonials. He registered 111 putouts and had three assists.

SCSU women’s soccer team announces 2011 schedule
Southern Connecticut State University head women’s soccer coach Adam Cohen has announced the team’s 2011 schedule. The season will feature eight of 17 matches played at Jess Dow Field this fall, with the season opener on Sept. 2 against Queens at Franklin Pierce. The Owls are coming off a 2010 season in which they finished with eight wins and were regionally ranked for most of the campaign.

SCSU will start its season with two games at Franklin Pierce – against Queens (Sept. 2) and Mercy (Sept. 3). The Owls will host three games in September – against Southern New Hampshire (Sept. 9), St. Michael’s (Sept. 17) and New Haven (Sept. 20). The month will also consist of four road games – at Le Moyne (Sept. 6), Assumption (Sept. 14), Stonehill (Sept. 24) and Pace (Sept. 28).

During the month of October, the Owls have eight matches, five of which are at home. The home matches are against AIC (Oct. 1), Adelphi (Oct 4), Bentley (Oct. 8), Merrimack (Oct. 22) and St. Rose (Oct. 26). In their three road contests, the Owls will take on Franklin Pierce (Oct. 15), UMass-Lowell (Oct. 18) and Saint Anselm (Oct. 29) in the regular season finale.