THE LEAD: The Daemen College men's soccer team closes out the 2014 season by hosting New York Tech (Oct. 31) and LIU Post (Nov. 2) in East Coast Conference action this weekend.
Friday, Oct. 31, 2014
#20 New York Tech at Daemen - 6 p.m.
Dimp Wagner Stadium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS
Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014
LIU Post at Daemen - 1:30 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…Carlos DelCid is in his 14th year as head coach at New York Tech and entered the 2014 season with a 143-73-27 (.644) career record...he has led the Bears to five NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013) and one NCAA Regional (2005) championship...Andreas Lindberg is in his sixth season as head coach at LIU-Post...he previously served as head coach at LIU-Southampton (2002-05) and entered the 2014 season with a 102-34-14 (.727) career record...he has guided the Pioneers to three-straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and was named the ECC Coach of the Year each off he past three seasons.
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. NEW YORK TECH: Daemen and New York Tech will be meeting for just the third time ever…the Bears have prevailed in both of the previous two meetings…NYIT posted a 7-0 victory over Daemen last year on Long Island…Harvey Houpe led the way with two goals…the teams met for the first time ever during the 2012 season and the Bears posted a 3-0 victory at NYIT...the Bears scored two goals just 45 seconds apart early in the game to take control...Vinny Caccavale (9:10), Herve Valcourt (9:55) and Matt DiDonna (58:08) scored for the Bears...Matt Daddario made nine saves for the Wildcats.
THE SERIES vs. LIU POST: Daemen and LIU Post met for the first time ever last year and the Pioneers posted a 9-1 victory over the Wildcats on Long Island…Kyle Clifford actually gave Daemen a 1-0 lead just 3:45 into the game, but the Pioneers scored five times over the final 21:17 of the first half to take control.
THE WILDCATS (5-8-0; 2-6-0 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 then won three of their next four games and recorded their first-ever ECC win following a 2-1 (2 OT) victory over St. Thomas Aquinas on Oct. 5…Cole Beale scored 2:56 into the second overtime to seal the historic win…the Wildcats made it two-straight ECC wins following a 2-1 (2 OT) victory over rival Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 11…Reid scored the game winner with 4:26 left in the second OT…Daemen is coming off road losses to Queens (2-0), Molloy (1-0) and District of Columbia (3-0)…Beale scored twice in a 3-1 win over Gannon and has netted five of Daemen's 12 goals…additional offense has come from Caleb Holmes (2 gls, 2 asts) and Reid (2 gls, 2 asts)…Daddario has played every minute in net and owns a 1.79 GAA…he made a season-high 10 saves in the win over Gannon and made six saves in the win over RWC.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Wildcats have showed marked improvement in the defensive end this season after ranking last among ECC teams in goals allowed (56) and goals against average (3.00) last year…Daemen currently ranks fifth in fewest goals allowed (24) and seventh in goals against average (1.79)…the Wildcats allowed 10 shots on goal a game last year, but are limiting opponents to an average of 6.9 shots on goal this season…Daemen allowed three or more goals nine times last year, but only four teams have scored three of more goals on the Wildcats this season.
THE BEARS (11-1-1; 7-0-1 ECC): New York Tech was picked second in the ECC preseason poll...the Bears posted a 13-5-0 record (6-4-0 ECC) last fall and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament…junior M/F Alberto Ruiz returns after totaling a team-high nine goals last year…midfielder Javier Gallardo and defenders Gonzalo Barroso and Guillermo Fuentes also return after collecting All-ECC honors last year...the Bears are ranked 20th in the NSCAA Division II national poll (3rd in the East Region) and bring a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1) into Friday's game…NYIT is coming off a 4-1 win over Bridgeport last weekend…junior Alex Barbosa (9 gls), senior Ivan Rico (5 gls, 1 ast), freshman John Camponeschi (3 gls, 3 asts) and Ruiz (3 gls, 3 asts) have paced an offense that ranks third among ECC schools in goals scored (30)…Barbosa netted two goals in a recent 3-1 win over Lock Haven…freshman Jonathan Rico has started 11 games in net and ranks second among the ECC leaders in both GAA (0.86) and shutouts (4)…a four-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection, he made five saves in a 1-1 OT tie with LIU Post.
THE PIONEERS (11-3-1; 6-1-1 ECC): LIU-Post is the two-time defending ECC Tournament champion and was picked first in the ECC preseason poll...the Pioneers posted an 18-2-2 overall record (8-0-2 ECC) and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division II Tournament last year…senior forward Eivind Austboe, junior Per Forgaard and sophomore Johann Kristjansson top the list of returning players…Austboe earned ECC Player of the Year honors last year after totaling a league-high 58 points (24 gls, 10 asts)…Forgaard is a two-time All-ECC selection and was named ECC Rookie of the Year in 2012…Kristjansson was named ECC Rookie of the Year last fall after ranking second on the team in scoring (11 gls, 3 asts)…the Pioneers are ranked fifth in the NSCAA Division II East Region poll and bring an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) into this weekend's action…LIU Post plays at Roberts Wesleyan Friday (Oct. 31) before taking on Daemen Sunday…the Pioneers are coming off a 4-3 victory over Mercy last weekend…Austboe has paced an offense that ranks first among ECC teams in goals scored (35)…Austboe scored four times in an early-season win over Adelphi and has totaled a league-high 13 goals and 28 points…additional offense has come from Forgaard (4 gls, 6 asts), freshman Jason Lampkin (4 gls, 4 asts) and senior Dale McDonald (4 gls, 1 ast)…junior Jesper Maelstrom (0.97 GAA) has started 11 games in net and has posted a league high six shutouts…he made a season-high six saves in last weekend's 4-3 win over Mercy.
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.
