BROOKVILLE, N.Y. - Fresh off their first-ever East Coast Conference victory yesterday vs. St. Thomas Aquinas College, the Daemen College women's soccer team ran into a buzz saw today in the form of Long Island University Post.  The Pioneers, favorites to win the conference according to the ECC Preseason Poll, downed Daemen 3-0 this afternoon at Robert Blitz Field.  Daemen fell under .500 for the season (5-6 overall) and dropped to 1-5 in conference play with the loss, while LIU Post, the defending ECC regular season champions and the No. 7 ranked team in the NSCAA East Region Poll, improved to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

"I was pretty happy with our effort for the full 90 minutes.  They're just on a whole different level than us right now," said Daemen head coach Dan Dolan.  "Hopefully, as we continue to move through this process, we can find a way to close the gap that exists now."

Alexa Niciforo scored the first of her two goals in the game in the seventh minute to put LIU Post in front.  A Pioneer corner kick was played short to Susan Vistnes who crossed the ball into the box where Niciforo tapped it into the goal.  

The early goal marked the sixth time in the last nine outings that Daemen has surrendered a goal in the opening 8:30 of the game.

Despite a heavy onslaught that included 17 total shots, Daemen went into halftime trailing by just one.

Niciforo added her second tally of the game early in the second half (51:27) - her fifth goal of the season.  A header won by Julia Beckman found its way to Niciforo who was left all alone in front of the net, giving the Pioneers a two-goal advantage.

Beckman added a third goal, putting in a rebound of a shot by Niciforo in the 62nd minute, completing a five-point game for Niciforo.

LIU Post launched 36 total shots in the game, compared to just two for the Wildcats.

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kathryn Haessner (Moravia, N.Y./Moravia) made a career-high 13 saves to keep it close for the Wildcats.

Her counterpart, Felicia Orderud made a single save in a little more than 69 minutes of action to earn her first win of the season.  She was relieved by Hreffie Agnarsdottir who made one save in the final 20:59 to preserve the shutout.

The Wildcats return to action next weekend with a road trip to Michigan.  While there, Dolan's squad will face United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) foes Rochester College (Saturday, Oct. 12) and Cleary University (Sunday, Oct. 13).