Women's Soccer 6/21/2017 2:20:00 PM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Dolan Announces 2017 Women's Soccer Schedule

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's soccer team will start its 2017 campaign with the longest season-opening home-stand in team history beginning on Friday, September 1 when St. Michael's College visits a newly-renovated Karrer Field. Veteran mentor Dan Dolan, back for his ninth season as the team's head coach, announced the Wildcats' 2017 schedule today.

The season-opening stretch is the first of a pair of four-game home-stands on the schedule which includes 10 total home contests and seven road games. On paper, the schedule shakes out favorably at the outset with the Wildcats' first six opponents combining to go just 28-73-4 in 2016. But, things will pick up in mid-September when Daemen begins a stretch that includes five games against teams who qualified for their respective conference tournaments last season, including two NCAA Tournament qualifiers. The regular season winds down with four-straight road games, two of which come in East Coast Conference play.

"I like our schedule. It is both competitive and spread out enough to balance games and rest," said Dolan, the all-time winningest coach in team history with a 71-71-6 career record. "We had only six home games last season so it will be nice to play the majority of our schedule on our new grass field."

An ongoing construction project to improve Karrer Field's drainage, widen it to NCAA specifications, and eliminate a 10-foot pitch covering its entire length is expected to be completed in time for the start of the season. The field, which is located on the campus of The Park School of Buffalo at 4625 Harlem Road, became Daemen's home venue in 2016.

The first opponent to try out the new grass surface at Karrier Field is St. Michael's, an affiliate of the Northeast-10 Conference. The Purple Knights went 4-13 last season, and downed Daemen 2-1 in the teams' first-ever meeting. The Wildcats will be seeking their first win against an NE-10 opponent since beginning to play a full Division II schedule in 2013.

The NE-10 member that Daemen has the most history with is Le Moyne College, albeit just three games. The Dolphins visit Karrer Field on Sunday, September 3 to mark the fourth-straight season that they've met the Wildcats. After playing Le Moyne to one-goal margins in 2014 and 2015, the Wildcats will surely be looking for redemption from a 7-0 loss in Syracuse last season which propelled the Dolphins to a 9-8-2 overall record, a 7-6-1 mark in NE-10 play and an appearance in the semifinal round of the NE-10 Tournament.

Another familiar foe is Lake Erie College which travels up Interstate-90 to visit Daemen on Friday, September 8. Like Le Moyne, the Wildcats and Storm will be clashing for the fourth-straight season. Lake Erie has won the previous three matchups, two of which were one-goal affairs including a 2-1 final in both teams' 2016 season-opener held in Ohio. Lake Erie, a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, went 7-10 overall last year.

The Wildcats' season-opening home-stand concludes when GLIAC member Tiffin University comes to Amherst on Sunday, September 10. After playing four times between 2001 and 2006, the Wildcats and Dragons locked up again last year with Daemen claiming its first win in the series thanks to Sarah Britton's (Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse-Minoa) goal in the 39th minute which stood up as the game's lone tally. Tiffin went on to finish 2016 with a 3-15 overall record.

The Wildcats finally hit the road as ECC play gets underway at St. Thomas Aquinas College on Saturday, September 16. Daemen owns a 3-1-1 lead in the all-time series with the Spartans after racing to a 3-1 win in the teams' 2016 meeting. All four goals came in the second half, including two from the Wildcats' Kalyn Compeau (Tonawanda, N.Y./Medaille College) which proved to be the difference. STAC ended up winless in conference play (0-8) and finished with a 3-13 overall record last season.

DAEMEN WOMEN'S SOCCER 2017 SCHEDULE BY THE NUMBERS
Total Games	17
Home Games	10
Road Games	7
East Coast Conference Games	8
Games vs. East Region Opponents	12
Games vs. Atlantic Region Opponents	3
Games vs. Midwest Region Opponents	2
Games vs. Northeast-10 Conference Opponents	2
Games vs. Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Opponents	2
Games vs. Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Opponents	2
Games vs. Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Opponents	2
Games vs. Mountain East Conference Opponents	1
Games vs. 2016 NCAA Tournament Qualifiers	2
Games vs. 2016 Conference Tournament Qualifiers	6
Games vs. 2016 10-Game Winners	5
Games vs. 2016 Regionally-Ranked Opponents	3
Games vs. 2016 Nationally-Ranked Opponents	2

Tuesday, September 19 has Daemen traveling to face Clarion University in non-league action. The Golden Eagles are the first of two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opponents that Daemen will face in 2017. It will be Daemen's first-ever meeting with Clarion which went 2-14-2 in 2016.

Long Island University Post, which finished the 2016 season at 15-4-2 overall and ranked No. 18 in the final National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NCAA Division II poll, makes its Karrer Field debut on Saturday, September 23. Daemen had perhaps one of its finest outings of 2016 against the high-powered Pioneers, holding them off the board until the 83rd minute in a 1-0 loss.

Goldey-Beacom College, a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament qualifier in 2016, visits Karrer Field on Tuesday, September 26. Remarkably, it'll be Daemen's first game against a CACC affiliate since defeating Nyack College 3-2 on September 5, 2003. The GBC Lightning figure to provide a stiff test after going 12-6-1 in 2016.

The Wildcats jump back into ECC play on Saturday, September 30 by visiting New York Institute of Technology. NYIT forged ahead 3-2 in the all-time series with a 1-0 win in Amherst last season, the third one-goal game of the series. Both of Daemen's wins in the series have come at President's Stadium on NYIT's campus, most recently winning 2-0 there in 2015. The Bears finished 6-7 overall last season, marking their most wins since going 6-10-1 in 2013.

The Thruway Rivalry resumes on Wednesday, October 4 with Roberts Wesleyan College visiting Daemen. The game starts the Wildcats' second four-game home-stand of the season with three of the contests being played against 2016 conference tourney qualifiers. That includes RWC which made its second-straight ECC Tournament appearance as part of its 10-5-2 campaign. The Wildcats will be looking to snap a four-game slide in the series.

Mercy College comes to Daemen later that week (Saturday, October 7). The Mavericks have been one of the most consistent teams in the league over the last four seasons, achieving a 50-20-6 record in that span while making four-straight ECC Tournament berths. The 2016 season ended with Mercy (12-5-1 overall) ranked No. 7 in the East Region.

The Wildcats take a brief respite from conference play to host Mercyhurst University on Tuesday, October 10. The Lakers, Daemen's second PSAC opponent of the season, are coming off an 8-8-2 campaign in 2016 which saw them just miss out on conference tournament action. It'll mark the third-straight season that the teams have met with Daemen looking to avenge a 2-0 loss in their 2016 season finale at the hands of the Lakers.

Perhaps the Wildcats' toughest test of the season comes just four days later (Saturday, October 14) when perennial powerhouse University of Bridgeport comes to town to close out the home-stand. The Purple Knights will likely be the odds-on favorite to capture what would be their third-straight ECC championship in 2017 as they bring a 20-game ECC unbeaten streak (18-0-2) in regular season action into this year's slate, a streak that dates back to the 2014 season. UB advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016, finishing with an 18-4 record and a No. 7 national ranking. Daemen played the Purple Knights to a 7-3 loss in Bridgeport last season, becoming one of only four teams to score more than one goal against a UB team that pitched 11 shutouts.

ECC play continues as Daemen visits Queens College on Wednesday, October 18. The Wildcats and Knights battled to a 1-1 draw in last season's matchup, and ended the year tied for seventh place in the ECC standings with identical 1-6-1 conference records. The tie, which was forged in the 60th minute of the contest with Monique Green's (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) first career goal, snapped a three-game losing streak in the series for Daemen.

After going 14 seasons between contests against CACC opponents, the Wildcats play their second in as many months when they visit Bloomfield College on Saturday, October 21. Bloomfield is looking to rebound from an 0-16-1 campaign in 2016.

The Wildcats' ECC slate concludes when they travel to Long Island to face Molloy College on Saturday, October 28. After Daemen downed the Lions in dramatic fashion in 2015 (1-0 in overtime), Molloy exacted some revenge with a 2-0 win last year as part of its 7-8-2 campaign. The Lions finished 4-3-1 in ECC play in 2016, placing them in fifth place and one spot back of conference tournament contention.

One final non-league game remains as Daemen closes the 2017 regular season at Shepherd University on Monday, October 30. The teams have not met since August 29, 2009 - the first game of the Dolan Era. Daemen won the neutral site contest held in Erie, Pennsylvania 1-0. The Rams, now a member of the Mountain East Conference are coming off a 7-9-1 campaign in 2016.

The Wildcats will be playing for one of four ECC Tournament berths at stake this season. The ECC Tournament, which determines the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament, gets underway on Wednesday, November 1 with the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds hosting semifinal games. The highest remaining seed will host the ECC Tournament finals on Friday, November 3.

Daemen is coming off a 2016 season in which they went 4-10-2 overall. They'll return 12 players from last season's roster, including the team's top five point producers. Among that group is sophomore striker Jamie Boyar (Williamsville, N.Y/Williamsville South) who became the first freshman to lead the team in goals and points since 2008 as she finished her rookie campaign with six goals, four assists and 16 points. Veterans Britton (3 gls, 1 ast, 7 pts), Compeau (3 gls, 6 pts) and Alex Juliano (Hamburg, N.Y./Nardin) (2 gls, 1 ast, 5 pts) also return, as does stalwart defenders Green and Alex Valenti (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence). The Wildcats also figure to receive a boost with the return of red-shirt sophomore goalkeeper Meaghan O'Leary (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) who missed all of last season with an injury. O'Leary logged nearly 1,500 minutes between the pipes as a freshman in 2015 when she posted seven wins and four shutouts.

In addition to the returners, Dolan and staff will enter preseason training camp on Monday, August 14 with nearly 20 newcomers on the roster, including 16 freshmen.

For continuing coverage and breaking news surrounding the Daemen women's soccer team follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenWSOC on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

#17 Meghan Lipinoga: D; 5' 4"; Senior

#10 Rose Carboni: D; 5' 5"; Junior

#18 Alexis Koral: M; 5' 5"; Redshirt Senior

#3 Stephanie Zurales: F; 5' 4"; Junior

#23 Jamie Boyar: F; 5' 2"; Sophomore

#9 Sarah Britton: M; 5' 6"; Redshirt Junior

#5 Kalyn Compeau: F/M; 5' 6"; Senior

#22 Monique Green: D; 5' 8"; Junior

#32 Alex Juliano: F; 5' 2"; Senior

#36 Meaghan O'Leary: GK; 5' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore

#7 Alex Valenti: D; 5' 4"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#17 Meghan Lipinoga
: 5' 4"; Senior
: D

#10 Rose Carboni
: 5' 5"; Junior
: D

#18 Alexis Koral
: 5' 5"; Redshirt Senior
: M

#3 Stephanie Zurales
: 5' 4"; Junior
: F

#23 Jamie Boyar
: 5' 2"; Sophomore
: F

#9 Sarah Britton
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Junior
: M

#5 Kalyn Compeau
: 5' 6"; Senior
: F/M

#22 Monique Green
: 5' 8"; Junior
: D

#32 Alex Juliano
: 5' 2"; Senior
: F

#36 Meaghan O'Leary
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Sophomore
: GK

#7 Alex Valenti
: 5' 4"; Junior
: D