THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's soccer team hosts rival Roberts Wesleyan College in an East Coast Conference game Saturday (Oct. 11)…game time is 3 p.m. at Dimp Wagner Stadium.
Saturday, Oct. 11
Roberts Wesleyan at Daemen - 3 p.m.
Dimp Wagner Stadium - Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS
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…Mark Fish is in his 10th season as head coach at RWC...he is a three-time American Mideast Conference Coach of the Year (2006, 2009, 2011) and led the Redhawks to the NAIA Tournament in 2011.
MOVE TO II: Daemen is in Candidacy Year Three of the NCAA Division II membership process. Daemen has been accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) and began playing full regular-season conference schedules last 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 Three.
THE HISTORY: Daemen and RWC are former American Mideast Conference rivals…the teams met twice last year, with both games taking place at Roberts Wesleyan…Daemen snapped a six-game losing streak to their Western New York rivals following a 3-2 (2 OT) win in the 2013 season-opener for both teams…Kyle Clifford scored two goals and assisted on the game-winner for Daemen, while Alex Reid netted the "golden goal" 3:22 into the second overtime...Johnny Lobene and Brandon Bianchi scored for RWC...Matt Daddario made six saves for DC, while Florian Witte stopped four shots for the Redhawks...RWC answered with a 2-1 (OT) win three weeks later…Alex Harling scored the game-winner just 4:06 into the first overtime…Caleb Holmes scored for Daemen…Saturday's game will mark the first time since the 2011 season the teams have met at Dimp Wagner Stadium.
THE WILDCATS (4-5-0; 1-3-0 ECC): Daemen returns 11 players and several starters from last year's team that posted a 4-13-1 record (0-9-1 ECC)…the Wildcats were picked 11th in the ECC preseason poll…senior goalkeeper Matt Daddario returns for his fourth year as the team's primary net-minder, while sophomore Alex Reid returns up front after ranking second on the team in goals (7) and points (17) as a rookie…Daemen rallied for a 2-1 victory at Saint Rose in its 2014 season opener, but went 1-4 over its next five games…the Wildcats have won two of their last three outings and recorded their first-ever ECC win following a 2-1 (2 OT) victory over St. Thomas Aquinas this past Sunday…Cole Beale scored 2:56 into the second overtime to seal the historic win, while senior back Sam Rugg netted his first career goal during the win…Beale scored twice in a 3-1 win over Gannon and has netted five of Daemen's 10 goals thus far…additional offense has come from Caleb Holmes (1 gl, 2 asts) and Reid (1 gl, 1 ast)…Daddario has played every minute in net and owns a 1.84 GAA…he made a season-high 10 saves in the win over Gannon.
THE REDHAWKS (7-2-2; 3-2-0 ECC): RWC was picked 10th in the ECC preseason poll...the Redhawks posted a 4-12-2 overall record last year and a 2-7-1 mark in the ECC..the Redhawks went unbeaten (4-0-2) over their first six games this year, including an impressive 3-0 win over ECC power Bridgeport…RWC has suffered ECC losses to Dowlng (1-0) and District of Columbia (2-1) and posted league wins over St. Thomas Aquinas (6-0) and Mercy (3-1) last weekend…the Redhawks are coming off a 2-1 victory at St. Rose Wednesday…senior Michael Cunningham scored twice in the win over Bridgeport and totaled a goal and an assist in Wednesday's win over Saint Rose…he has totaled a team-high 23 points (8 gls, 7 asts)…additional offense has come from senior Stephen Stewart (5 gls, 2 asts), junior Damien Pagano (3 gls, 1 ast) and sophomore Malcolm Shaw (1 gl, 5 asts)…junior Michael Scavone (0.64 GAA, 3 SO) has started all 11 games in net...he made a season-high six saves in a 1-1 (2 OT) tie with Stonehill and stopped five shots in the win over Saint Rose.
SENIOR DAY: Their will be a brief ceremony prior to Saturday's game to commemorate the careers of Daemen's two senior men's soccer players - Matt Daddario and Sam Rugg.
WEAR PINK: Saturday's game also represents Daemen's "Wear Pink" game to help raise awareness for breast cancer research in conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Voluntary donations for Roswell Park Cancer Institute will be accepted at the game.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until next weekend when they travel to Queens College (Oct. 17) and Molloy College (Oct. 19) for ECC games. Click HERE to view Daemen's complete 2014 schedule.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College men's soccer on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics or @DaemenSoccer) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
