Women's Soccer 8/25/2017 9:31:00 AM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Women's Soccer Picked Eighth In ECC Preseason Poll

2017 ECC WOMEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
Rank	School	Pts.	2016 Record
1	Bridgeport (6)	75	18-4, 8-0 ECC
2	LIU Post (2)	72	15-4-2, 6-1-1 ECC
3	Mercy (1)	63	12-5-1, 5-2-1 ECC
4	Roberts Wesleyan	51	10-5-2, 5-2-1 ECC
5	Molloy	47	7-8-2, 4-3-1 ECC
6	NYIT	29	4-12-1, 1-6-1 ECC
7	Queens	26	6-7, 3-5 ECC
8	DAEMEN	25	4-10-2, 1-6-1 ECC
9	St. Thomas Aquinas	17	3-13, 0-8 ECC
( ) - first place votes

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's soccer team has been picked to finish eighth in the East Coast Conference this season, according to the ECC preseason poll which was released today from conference headquarters in West Babylon, N.Y. following a vote of the league's nine head coaches.

Daemen, which garnered 25 points in the poll voting, sits in a three-team logjam where just four points separates eighth-place Daemen from sixth-place N.Y. Institute of Technology (29 points). Queens College, which Daemen played to a 1-1 tie last season, sits in seventh place with 26 points.

The Wildcats are coming off a 4-10-2 campaign in 2016, including a 1-6-1 mark in ECC play. The Wildcats' returners are led by sophomore striker Jamie Boyar (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) who registered six goals and 16 points last season, becoming the first freshman to lead the team in those statistical categories since 2008. Also back are incumbent starters Sarah Britton (Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse-Minoa), Alex Juliano (Hamburg, N.Y./Nardin), Lindsay Ciaramella (St. George, Ont./Paris District), Monique Green (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) and Alex Valenti (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence).

The big story as the Wildcats enter the 2017 season might be the team's youth. With a roster that features 21 newcomers, including 17 freshmen, veteran head coach Dan Dolan knows his team will be looking to establish itself in the league this season.

"We've got to go out there and kind of prove it to everyone," said Dolan who has guided the Wildcats to a 71-71-6 record since taking the reins of the program in 2009. "But, the big thing is just proving it to ourselves. That's the big thing coming from me and for the team. I don't care if we're young, I don't care what we're picked. We're trying to make the playoffs. The standard is there. That's my standard. We've talked about it as a team and that's what we're striving for. We're more talented than we've been the last couple of years. Just because we're young, I don't want to use that as an excuse."

Teams in the upper half of the poll have clearly distinguished themselves, at least in the eyes of the voters. It starts with defending league champion University of Bridgeport which earned six of the nine first-place votes and totaled 75 points to top the poll. The Purple Knights have won two-straight ECC and NCAA East Region championships, and they'll open the season ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II national poll.

Long Island University Post, which has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons, came in second in the poll voting with 72 points while earning two first-place votes. The Pioneers join UB in the preseason national poll, coming in at No. 18.

Mercy College (63 points), Roberts Wesleyan College (51 points) and Molloy College (47 points) round out the poll's top five teams. Mercy garnered the lone remaining first-place vote. With 17 points, St. Thomas Aquinas College came in ninth.

In addition to announcing the league's preseason poll, Mercy teammates Haley Noble and Ally Boots were named the league's preseason award winners. Noble, who talled 10 goals and 25 points last season, earned ECC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year honors. Boots started all 18 games on defense for the Mavericks last season, helping team allow just 1.10 goals per game. She was named the ECC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Daemen opens its 2017 season with four consecutive home games, beginning Friday, September 1 with a non-league clash against St. Michael's College. Conference play gets underway on Saturday, September 16 with the Wildcats visiting St. Thomas Aquinas. The ECC Tournament will feature the top four teams in the final regular season standings with the No. 1 and 2 seeds hosting semifinal games on October 31; the highest remaining seed hosts the tournament finals on November 3.

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

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#13 Lindsay Ciaramella: M; 5' 2"; Sophomore

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#13 Lindsay Ciaramella
: 5' 2"; Sophomore
: M

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

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

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