AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's soccer team will kickoff the 2013 season with three games in four days this weekend.
 
The Wildcats head up the New York State Thruway for road games at Roberts Wesleyan College and Le Moyne College Thursday and Saturday, before hosting the University of Maine-Fort Kent in their home opener Sunday. Thursday's season-opener at RWC is a 7:30 p.m. start, while Saturday's game at Le Moyne kicks off at noon. The home-opener vs. UMFK is a 12:30 p.m. start at Dimp Wagner Stadium in Amherst.
 
Live stats and video for Thursday's game at RWC can be accessed HERE.
 
Live stats for Saturday's game at Le Moyne can be accessed HERE.

Live stats for Sunday's home game vs. UMFK can be accessed HERE.
 
Daemen is entering its first season a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and will lean heavily on seven seniors who have been in the program since they were freshmen.  The group includes defenders Jared Contreras (Arcadia, Calif./Arcadia) and Sean Hellingman (Kamloops, B.C./Westsyde), midfielders Trevor Hill (Courtice, Ont./Holy Trinity Catholic), Zakariah Hall (Wells, England/The Blue School) and Devin Kinney  (Hinsdale, N.Y./Hinsdale Central) and strikers Kyle Clifford (West Seneca, N.Y./St. Francis) and Josh Radecki (South Wales, N.Y./Holland Central). Contreras has been a staple of the Daemen back line since arriving on campus in 2010. He has started 44 of the 45 games he has appeared in and last season was named the team's Most Valuable Player. Clifford is looking to regain the form he showed in 2011 when he bagged 16 goals and 34 points. He was limited to 11 games due to an injury last year, but still led the team in goals (2), assists (3) and points (7).
 
Daemen and RWC are former American Mideast Conference rivals, and both are currently transitioning from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Both are also members of the ECC, but Thursday's clash is a non-league contest. RWC has earned bragging rights between the two rivals in recent years, winning the last six contests. The Redhawks posted a 1-0 victory over the Wildcats last year in Rochester. Thursday's game is also the season-opener for RWC, which returns several key players from last year's squad that won nine of its final 12 games, posted a 12-9-1 record and advanced to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) tournament. Topping the list of returning players is junior forward Michael Cunningham (Derbyshire, England) and sophomore midfielder Brandon Bianchi (Spencerport, N.Y.). Cunningham totaled a team-high nine goals and 23 points last year, while Bianchi registered seven goals and a team-high six assists.
 
Daemen will be squaring off against the Dolphins of Le Moyne for the first time since 2004. One of the top NCAA Division II programs in the Northeast, LC is looking to rebound after suffering its first losing season since 2004 last fall. The Dolphins finished 7-9-1 overall and 6-6-1 in the competitive Northeast-10 Conference a year ago. Prior to last year Le Moyne averaged 13 wins from 2008 to 2011 and advanced to the national semifinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2009. National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) all-region selections Matthew Silva (Brampton, Ontario) and Casey Murphy (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) return for the Dolphins, who open the year Thursday against Nyack College. Silva played every minute between the pipes last year and posted a 1.80 goals against average and three shutouts. Murphy totaled a team-high 10 goals and 22 points.
 
UMFK opened the year with one-sided wins over Vermont Tech (10-0) and Holland College (8-0) last weekend, and is scheduled to play at Fisher College on Thursday. The Wildcats and Bengals met twice last year. UMFK posted a 1-0 win double overtime up in Maine and completed the sweep with a 4-2 win here. UMFK posted a 17-2-0 record last year and advanced to the semifinals of United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national tournament. The Bengals scored an impressive 68 goals last season, and two of the top three scorers return this fall. Junior forward Kennard Brown (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica) returns after totaling a team-high 16 goals and 39 points, while sophomore forward Ross Downie (Edinburgh, Scotland) ranked second in goals (10) and third in points (23).
 
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.