SPARKILL, N.Y. - It was a day of firsts for the Daemen College women's soccer team.

The Wildcats won on the road at Spartan Field over host St. Thomas Aquinas College, 4-1, to secure the program's first win as a member of the East Coast Conference.  The win - also Daemen's first road win of the season - moves the Wildcats to 5-5-0 overall and 1-4-0 in conference play.  The Spartans, meanwhile, remained winless on the season (0-7-0, 0-4-0 ECC).

Junior Rachael Banasik (Depew, N.Y./Depew) scored two goals for Daemen - her first tallies since scoring the game-winner vs. Walsh University back on Oct. 16, 2010. Banasik notched the Wildcats' first two goals of the game, erasing a 1-0 deficit after STAC's Nisha Flinn had put the Spartans on the board first in the sixth minute of the contest.

Banasik's first marker came on a shot from the top of the box after taking a feed from senior forward Kacey Bougard (East Aurora, N.Y./Sacred Heart) in the 44th minute, knotting the score at 1-1 just before halftime.

It didn't take long for her to add another - the eventual game-winner - as freshman Cassidy Kozub (West Seneca, N.Y./Orchard Park) found Banasik in front of the goal in the 49th minute, putting the Wildcats in front for good.

Banasik added an assist later when she returned the favor with a pass to Bougard who went in alone and beat STAC goalkeeper Lauren Morales with a shot in the 53rd minute, putting away her team-leading eighth goal of the season.

Closing out the day of firsts was freshman Kelly DuVall (Addison, N.Y./Addison) who scored an insurance goal - the first tally of her career - in the 60th minute off another pass from Bougard.

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kathryn Haessner (Moravia, N.Y./Moravia) picked up her fifth win of the season, making five saves over the first 59:21 of the game.  She was relieved by senior Rachel Reichart (Marilla, N.Y./Marilla) who made three saves to preserve the victory.

"It feels good to get this first one out of the way.  We'll enjoy it for a few hours before we get back to work preparing for a tough game tomorrow," said Daemen head coach Dan Dolan.

The Spartans held the advantage in total shots 19-16, but placed just nine shots on frame.  Daemen had 10 shots on goal in the contest.

For Banasik, who redshirted last season with an injury, it was the fourth multi-goal game of her career.  She totaled eight goals during her freshman season in 2010.  She tied a career high with five points on the afternoon, a mark she had previously set against Carlow University on Sept. 14, 2010.

As Dolan alluded to, little time remains for the Wildcats to enjoy this one.  They'll be back in action tomorrow at Long Island University Post.  Game time is set for noon from Brookville, N.Y. as the Wildcats and Pioneers will meet for the first time.  LIU Post (6-2, 2-1 ECC) is the defending regular season conference champion and was picked first in the ECC Preseason Poll.