THE MATCHUPS: The Daemen College men's soccer team closes out the 2013 season this weekend when it  heads downstate for East Coast Conference games at Mercy College and St. Thomas Aquinas College…the Wildcats will face Mercy Friday at 2:30 p.m. and square off against STAC Sunday at 12:30 p.m…live stats for the STAC game can be accessed HERE.

THE COACHES: Mark Spacone is in his third season as head coach at Daemen...he brings a wealth of knowledge to the position with 16 prior years of experience at nearly every level of the game, including collegiate, high school, club and Olympic Development…Chris Smith is in his fourth season as head coach at Mercy...he previously served as head coach at St. Peter's College (2004-06) and Manhattanville College (2001-03) and entered the 2013 season with a career coaching record of 80-71-22 (.526)...Graham Brown is in his 13th season as head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas and entered the 2013 season with a 74-117-17 (.397) career record…he also serves as head women's soccer coach at STAC.

THE SERIES vs. MERCY: Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Mercy.

THE SERIES vs. STAC: Sunday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and St. Thomas Aquinas.

NCAA DIVISION II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Two of the NCAA Division II membership process...Daemen has been accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and will play full regular-season conference schedules beginning this fall...the College will also maintain its affiliation with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) for postseason opportunities, as it will not be eligible for the ECC or NCAA postseason during Candidacy Year Two.

THE WILDCATS (4-11-1; 0-7-1 ECC): Daemen returns 15 players and five starters from last year's team that posted a 4-9-0 record...the Wildcats were picked 11th in the ECC preseason poll...the Wildcats opened the 2013 season with a 3-2 (2 OT) win at conference rival Roberts Wesleyan on Sept. 5 and went 2-2 over the first four games...Daemen is 2-9-1 over its last 12 games and is coming off a 2-2 OT tie with the University of the District of Columbia this past weekend...ECC losses have come against Queens (5-2), Molloy (4-1), Roberts Wesleyan (2-1 OT), New York Tech (7-0), nationally-ranked LIU Post (9-1), Dowling (2-0) and Bridgeport (1-0 2OT)…senior Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) and freshman Alex Reid (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) have paced the offense...Clifford scored twice in the season-opening win over Roberts Wesleyan and netted both goals in a 2-1 OT win over Buffalo State...he scored all three goals in a 3-1 win over Cleary and has totaled a team-high 22 points (10 gls, 2 ast)...Reid (6 gls, 3 asts) scored the OT "golden goal" in the season-opening win over Roberts Wesleyan and assisted on the OT game-winner against Buffalo State...he also netted both goals in a 2-0 win over Pitt-Johnstown on Sept. 29...senior defender Jared Contreras (Arcadia, Calf./Arcadia) is the only player to start all 16 games and has started 60 of a possible 61 games during his career...junior Matt Daddario (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) has started 14 games between the pipes...he made two saves against Pitt-Johnstown en route to his first career shutout...he recorded a season-high 11 saves in a 3-0 loss to nationally-ranked Brockport and owns a 3.05 GAA with one shutout.

THE MAVERICKS (9-3-4; 3-2-3 ECC): Mercy was picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll...the Mavericks return 14 players from last year's squad that finished 10-5-3 overall (4-4-1 ECC) and advanced to the ECC Tournament…Mercy opened the year with four-straight shutout wins and has posted seven shutouts on the year…the Mavericks rank fourth in the ECC in fewest goals allowed (15)…Mercy had a 2-0 lead over 15th-ranked LIU Post this past weekend, but settled for a 2-2 OT tie…the Mavs own ECC wins over NYIT (3-0), STAC (3-1) and Queens (2-0), and have suffered league losses to Bridgeport (2-0) and Dowling (4-0)…ECC ties have come against Molloy (0-0), LIU Post (2-2) and UDC (0-0)…Christian Diaz, a transfer from Division I Vermont, has totaled a team-high 17 points (7 gls, 3 asts), while additional production has come from juniors Danny Leon, Jr. (4 gls, 2 asts) and Roberto Dashi (3 gls 4 ast)…senior GK Nick Papas (0.88 GAA, 7 SO), who collected second-team All-ECC honors last fall, has started all 16 games…he leads the ECC in both total saves (78) and save percentage (.839)…he made eight saves in the 2-2 OT tie with LIU Post.

THE SPARTANS (6-7-1; 3-5-0 ECC): St. Thomas Aquinas was picked fifth in the ECC preseason poll…the Spartans host Roberts Wesleyan Friday afternoon before playing Daemen Sunday…the Spartans return 12 players from last year's squad that finished 5-5-5 overall (2-3-4 ECC)…STAC went 4-2-1 over its first seven games, but is just 2-5-0 over the last seven…the Spartans own league wins over UDC (1-0), Dowling (1-0) and Molloy (6-5) and have suffered ECC losses to Mercy (3-1), Bridgeport (1-0), Queens (4-2), NYIT (3-0) and LIU Post (5-1)…sophomore Michael Corbi (8 gls, 2 ast), junior Jack Legg (2 gls, 10 asts) and freshman Julius Werner (3 gls, 4 asts) have paced the offense…Legg had three assists in the 6-5 win over Molloy and leads the ECC in helpers…junior Nathan Mangione (2.06 GAA, 3 SO) has started 10 games in net and made eight saves in the 1-0 win over Dowling.

DID YOU KNOW?: Kyle Clifford ranks second among the ECC leaders in goals (10), points (22) and shots (52)...he scored his 30th career goal during the OT tie with UDC this past weekend and has totaled 68 points (30 gls, 8 asts) in 56 career games...Matt Daddario ranks second among the ECC leaders in total saves (68).

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College men's soccer on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics or @DaemenSoccer) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics or www.facebook.com/daemenmenssoccer) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.