THE LEAD: After playing five-straight road games the Daemen College women's soccer team kicks off the second half of the 2014 campaign this weekend by hosting nationally-ranked Mercy College Friday (Oct. 3) and St. Thomas Aquinas College Sunday (Oct. 5) in East Coast Conference tilts. The Wildcats will play four of their next five (and seven of their final 10) games at home.
Friday, Oct. 3
#25 Mercy at Daemen - 4:30 p.m. / LIVE STATS
Dimp Wagner Stadium - Amherst, N.Y.
Sunday, Oct. 5
St. Thomas Aquinas at Daemen - 11 a.m. / LIVE STATS
Dimp Wagner Stadium - Amherst, N.Y.
TGIF - WILDCAT FUTBOL FRENZY: The Daemen College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) along with the Department of Student Affairs is hosting a TGIF party for Daemen students from 4:30-6:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 at the Cyber Cafe inside the Charles J. Wick Campus Center. Food and refreshments will be served in a tailgate-style party with attendance at the men's and women's soccer games that day to follow.
HONORING TOM KACALSKI: A pre-game ceremony is planned for Sunday's men's soccer game to honor former assistant coach Tom Kacalski who passed away suddenly on July 31. Members of Kacalski's family will be on hand to take part. A voluntary admission fee of $2 will be charged at both the men's and women's games that day with proceeds being donated to the Kacalski family. There will also be Daemen Soccer shirts with a commemorative "TK" logo on sale for $17 where, again, the proceeds will be donated to the Kacalski family.
THE COACHES: Dan Dolan enters his sixth season as head coach at Daemen. The 2011 American Mideast Conference (AMC) Coach of the Year, Dolan has led the Wildcats to four consecutive non-losing seasons and owns a career record of 56-43-2 (.564). He guided Daemen to the 2012 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship and a runner-up showing at the USCAA Championship Tournament last year. Jonathan Feinstein is in his sixth season as head coach at Mercy and entered the 2014 season with a career record of 31-48-2 (382). He guided the Mavericks to a school-record 13 wins and a first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament last year. Graham Brown is in his third season as head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas. He also serves as head men's soccer coach at STAC.
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 SERIES vs. MERCY: Friday's game will mark just the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercy…the Mavericks posted a 6-1 victory over Daemen last year at Mercy…the game was tied 1-1 at halftime, before the Mavericks erupted for five goals in the first 25 minutes of the second half…Caitlin McKenna led the way with two goals and one assist.
THE SERIES vs. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS: Sunday's game will marked the third all-time meeting between Daemen and STAC…the teams met for the first time ever in 2012 and the Spartans posted a 3-1 victory at Dimp Wagner Stadium…Daemen answered with a 4-1 victory at STAC last year…it marked the first-ever ECC victory for the Wildcats…the Wildcats tied the game at 1-1 with just 1:04 left before half, and then took control with three goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half…Rachael Banasik led the Wildcats with two goals and an assist, while Kacey Bougard added a goal and two assists.
THE WILDCATS (2-6-0; 0-2-0 ECC): Daemen returns 14 players (8 starters) from last year's team that finished 10-10-0 overall and 1-8-0 in the competitive East Coast Conference…the Wildcats advanced to the championship game of the USCAA Tournament for the second-straight year, but a 3-2 OT loss to top-seeded Maine-Fort Kent denied Daemen its second-straight USCAA national championship…Daemen was voted ninth in the ECC preseason poll…graduation took its toll up front, with the loss of forwards Kacey Bougard (13 gls, 7 asts) and Samantha Engel (11 gls, 8 asts) who both collected first team USCAA All-America honors…USCAA All-American defenders Meghan Diehl and Meghan Lipinoga return, as does three-year starter Rachael Banasik…goaltender Kathryn Haessner, who started 13 games and posted a 1.56 GAA with two shutouts last year, also returns to the fold…newcomers Rose Carboni (back), Alex Juliano (forward), Alexis Ruggiero (midfield) and Stephanie Zurales (forward) have all made an immediate impact…click HERE for a complete season preview…the Wildcats opened the 2014 season with wins over Rio Grande (2-1 OT) and Maine-Fort Kent (2-0), but are winless in their last six games…the Wildcats opened ECC play with losses to Dowling (2-0) and nationally-ranked Bridgeport (3-0) two weeks ago, and are coming off a 3-2 non-league loss at Mercyhurst last weekend…Lindsay Stoddard and Emily Ward scored their first career goals in the win over Rio Grande, while Carboni and Juliano did the same in the win over UMFK…Stoddard and Banasik scored in the loss to Mercyhurst…Haessner has gone the distance in goal in all eight games (1.58 GAA)…she made a season-high seven saves in the loss to Bridgeport and equaled the mark in the loss to Mercyhurst.
THE MAVERICKS (7-1-0; 2-0-0 ECC): Mercy was picked third in the ECC preseason poll...the Mavericks return five starters from last year's team that posted a 13-5-1 record (7-2-0 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament…senior forward Jessica Carrillo returns after totaling a team-high 19 points last fall and collecting first-team All-ECC honors…the Mavericks enter Friday's game ranked #25 in the latest NSCAA Division II poll and riding a five-game winning streak…MC is coming off a huge 2-1 victory over Bridgeport last Saturday…Bridgeport, the defending ECC champion and preseason pick to repeat, entered the game ranked 18th nationally…MC's lone loss was a 2-1 (2OT) loss at No. 1 ranked Saint Rose back on Sept. 9…freshman Heidi Serna and senior Danielle Deeb have paced the offense…Serna, a two-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, had a hat trick in a 7-1 win over Holy Family and has totaled a team-high seven goals and 15 points…Deeb scored twice in a 5-0 win over Bloomfield last week and has totaled 12 points (6 gls)…additional production has come from junior college transfer Jessica DeLeon (1 gl, 6 asts) and Carrillo (2 gls, 2 asts)…Carrillo scored both goals in the win over Bridgeport…junior Nicole Augustine (0.65 GAA, 3 SO) has started all eight games in net and made a season-high eight saves in the loss to St. Rose.
THE SPARTANS (4-2-1; 1-2-0 ECC): St. Thomas Aquinas was picked ninth in the ECC preseason poll...the Spartans posted a 2-12-0 overall record and a 9-0-0 mark in the ECC last year…STAC went undefeated (4-0-1) over its first five games this year, but the Spartans are coming off back-to-back losses to LIU Post (6-1) and Dowling (2-0)…STAC's league win came against NYIT (2-1) back on Sept. 17…half of the team's 20 goals came during a 10-0 win over Washington Adventist…the Spartans play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday (Oct. 3) before facing Daemen Sunday…seniors Mae Comerford (5 gls, 1 ast) and Nisha Flinn (1 gl, 3 asts) and sophomore Megan Finnen (2 gls, 1 ast) have paced the offense…junior Amanda Volpe (1.79 GAA) has started all seven games between the pipes and made a season-high six saves in the win over NYIT.
DID YOU KNOW?: Last weekend's 3-2 loss at Mercyhurst marked just the fourth time since the start of the 2010 season that the Wildcats have lost a game when scoring two or more goals…Daemen is 41-4-1 since the start of the 2010 season when it scores two or more goals…the Wildcats had won 15-straight games in which they scored two or more goals before suffering a 3-2 OT loss to Maine-Fort Kent in last year's USCAA Tournament championship game.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats return to action Tuesday (Oct. 7) when they head across town to face Medaille College in a non-league match. Game time is 11 a.m. at Johnnie B. Wiley Stadium in Buffalo. Daemen returns to ECC action next weekend (Oct. 11) when it hosts rival Roberts Wesleyan College. Click HERE to view Daemen's complete 2014 schedule.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College women's soccer on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics or www.facebook.com/daemencollegewomenssoccer) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
