CANTON, NY - The Daemen Wildcats opened the 2011 regular season in style with a 3-2 victory over SUNY Canton. In a seesaw battle, the men never fell behind and scored a dramatic winner with 32 seconds left in the second half. Man of the match, Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, NY/St. Francis High School), scored the game-winner - his second of the match - with his head after a measured outlet pass from midfielder Nate Griffiths (South Wales, NY/Iroquois Central High School) and a quality aerial through ball by fullback David Morales (Caracas, Venezuela/Colegio Don Bosco de Altamira).

The tense affair with Canton was a fast-paced encounter punctuated by plenty of strong tackling, crisp passing, and exciting scoring chances. The Wildcats fought hard to control the midfield in the early minutes and were ultimately successful, forcing the Roos to alter their game plan. Clifford calmly slotted one of many early opportunities to put Daemen into the lead. Canton responded just a few moments later to level the contest at 1-1. Daemen would respond in the best way possible by stringing together a sequence of 10 consecutive passes that ended in a scrappy, close-range finish by Daemen's #9, Zakariah Hall (Wells, England/The Blue School).

Canton's Roos, led by Mark Howlett, wrestled back control of the ball and tied Daemen with their second goal. The game momentarily hung in the balance with Jared Contreras (Arcadia, CA/Arcadia High School), Brandon Hank (Greece, NY/Greece Athena High School), Joe Karikas (Curtice, OH/Genoa High School) and Morales making crucial defensive stops as the opponents surged ahead looking for their third. Nevertheless, the Wildcats dug deep, stayed positive, moved the ball well, and secured their first road win of the season.