AMHERST, NY - The Daemen College women's soccer team took a huge step towards winning the first American Mideast Conference Championship in program history today, wining a nip-and-tuck 1-0 affair vs. #15 Houghton College on a cold and windy day at Amherst's Dimp Wagner Stadium. With the win, Daemen (11-3, 7-1) hands the Highlanders (12-3, 7-2) their second loss in conference play this season.

"We played with a lot of heart today," said Daemen head coach Dan Dolan. "For most of the first half we controlled the play. The second half wasn't pretty but we got the job done. Houghton came at us hard and showed why they've been dominant for so many years. But, we buckled down and did what we needed to do to preserve the win."

The Wildcats jumped ahead on a pretty tic-tac-toe type goal as sophomore Sam Engel executed a give-and-go with junior Kelsey O'Leary. O'Leary fed Engel with a through ball up the left side and Engel carried the ball into the box and beat the Houghton goalkeeper with a shot inside the far post.

The Wildcats were able to make the lone goal stand up as they held Houghton without a shot on goal in the second half. Freshman goalkeeper Kayla Hampton made four first half saves to earn the shutout.

The Wildcats have four conference games remaining, all against teams they've beaten already this season. With two road tilts and two home tilts it won't be easy, but should they run the table they'll clinch the program's first-ever conference championship. The quest logs on next week when they travel to Pennsylvania to take on Carlow (Fri. 10/21) and Point Park (Sat. 10/22).