THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's soccer team closes out the 2014 regular-season this weekend when it hosts New York Tech (Oct. 31) and LIU Post (Nov. 2) in East Coast Conference action.
Friday, Oct. 31, 2014
New York Tech at Daemen - 8:30 p.m.
Dimp Wagner Stadium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS
Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014
#16 LIU Post at Daemen - 11 a.m.
Dimp Wagner Stadium, Amherst, N.Y.
LIVE STATS
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 57-48-3 (.542). 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. Michael Caputo is in his third season as head coach at New York Tech...Mark Dawson is in his seventh year as head coach at LIU Post...he previously spent seven seasons as head coach at LIU Southampton and entered the 2014 season with a career coaching record of 160-75-16 (.669)...he has posted a 80-25-10 (.739) record in his previous five seasons at LIU Post and has guided the Pioneers to three (2008, 2010, 2012) NCAA Division II Tournament appearances...he is a three-time recipient (2008, 2010, 2012) of the ECC Coach of the Year award.
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 meet for the third time Friday night…the teams have split the previous two meetings…NYIT posted a 1-0 (OT) victory last year on Long Island…Sina Windmueller scored the game-winner just 1:42 into OT…Kathryn Haessner made nine saves for Daemen, while Victoria Barclay stopped three shots for NYIT…the teams met for the first time ever in 2012 at NYIT...the Wildcats rallied from a 2-0 deficit and posted a 3-2 victory over the Bears...Alexa Amato registered her first career "hat trick" to lead Daemen...her second goal at 60:36 tied the game at 2-2 and she scored just five seconds later to cap the scoring...Rachel Reichart went the distance in net for the Wildcats and stopped six shots.
THE SERIES vs. LIU-POST: Sunday's game will mark just the second meeting between Daemen and LIU-Post…the Pioneers posted a 3-0 victory last year on Long Island in the first-ever meeting…Alexa Niciforo led the way with two goals and one assist…LIU Post posted a 36-2 advantage in shots and Kathryn Haessner stopped a career-high 13 shots for Daemen.
THE WILDCATS (4-11-1; 0-6-1 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…the Wildcats opened the 2014 season with wins over Rio Grande (2-1 OT) and Maine-Fort Kent (2-0), before suffering through a seven-game losing streak…Daemen snapped the skid following a 1-1 (2 OT) tie with St. Thomas Aquinas on Oct. 5…Daemen rallied for a 3-2 non-league win over Medaille College on Oct. 7 and snapped a four-game losing streak following a 1-0 non-league win over Alfred University this past Wednesday…nine different players have scored at least one goal for Daemen this year...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 3-2 loss to Mercyhurst, while sophomore Cassidy Kozub netted DC's lone goal in the tie with STAC and netted the game-winner in the win over Medaille…Juli Prentice scored the lone goal in Wednesday's victory over Alfred...Haessner has started 12 games (1.43 GAA) in goal and recorded her second shutout of the year the other night against Alfred…she established a season-high for saves (9) in a loss to Mercy and equaled the mark in the tie with STAC…Juli Prentice has started four games in net and made seven saves in a 2-1 loss to Mansfield.
SALUTE TO THE SENIORS: Sunday's game will mark the final home game in the careers of seniors Rachael Banasik, Meghan Diehl, Juli Prentice, Lindsay Stoddard and Faye-Lyne Noel…all five players will be honored during a pre-game ceremony.
THE BEARS (3-9-3; 0-5-2 ECC): New York Tech was picked eighth in the ECC preseason poll...the Bears posted a 6-10-1 overall record and a 2-7-0 mark in the ECC last year…NYIT snapped a three-game losing streak following a 3-1 win at Dominican on Oct. 21 and is coming off a 0-0 (2 OT) tie with Bridgeport last weekend…sophomore Fran Glenny totaled a goal and an assist in the win over Dominican and has totaled a team-high 10 points (4 gls, 2 asts)…additional offense has come from sophomores Alexis Panariello (2 gls) and Alexandra Liddiard (1 gl, 1 ast)…freshman Vanessa Cordoba (7 GS, 0.99 GAA, 2 SO) and junior Brianna Bollettieri (8 GS, 2.83 GAA) have shared the goaltending duties…Cordoba was named ECC Rookie of the Week after making 18 saves in the OT tie with Bridgeport.
THE PIONEERS (12-1-1; 6-0-1 ECC): LIU Post was picked second in the ECC preseason poll...the Pioneers posted a 13-5-0 overall record and a 6-3-0 mark in the ECC last fall…junior forward Susanne Vistnes returns after totaling a league-high 14 goals and 34 points and collecting ECC Player of the Year honors last year…Vistenes collected ECC Rookie of the Year in 2012 after totaling a league-high 19 goals and 47 points…the Pioneers are ranked 16th in the NSCAA Division II national poll (2nd in the East Region) and bring a 13-game unbeaten streak (12-0-1) into this weekend's action...the Pioneers play at Roberts Wesleyan Friday before taking on Daemen Sunday...Vistnes has recorded three "hat tricks" on the year and once again leads the ECC in goals (15) and points (37)...additional production has come from senior Lauren Bellone (6 gls, 9 asts) and sophomore Julia Backman (4 gl 2 asts)…sophomore Hreffie Agnarsdottir (0.58 GAA) has started all 14 games in net and ranks second among the ECC leaders in shutouts (7)…she made five saves in a recent 2-1 win over Bridgeport.
DID YOU KNOW?: DC's recent 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 42-4-1 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: Daemen has been selected to participate in the 2014 USCAA championship tournament which will take place Nov. 5-8 in Charleston, W. Va...West Virginia University Institute of Technology is serving as the tournament host…Daemen is seeded third in the 10-team tournament and will face sixth-seeded Carlow University in the quarterfinals Nov. 6…the Wildcats claimed the USCAA national championship in 2012 and finished as the tournament runner-up last fall…complete tournament details can be found HERE.
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.
