THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's soccer team opens East Coast Conference play with games at Dowling College and the University of Bridgeport this weekend. The Wildcats will face Dowling Friday at 4 p.m. and then square off against nationally-ranked Bridgeport Sunday at noon.
Friday, Sept. 19
Daemen at Dowling, 4 p.m. / LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO
Sunday, Sept. 21
Daemen at #17 Bridgeport, 12 p.m. / 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 56-40-2 (.582). 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…Kerri McCabe is in her 10th season as head coach at Dowling...she has guided the Golden Lions to three (2007, 2011, 2012) NCAA Division II Tournament appearances...Magnus Nilerud is in his 16th season as head coach at Bridgeport...he has guided the Purple Knights to six (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013) NCAA Tournament appearances and was named the ECC Coach of the Year in 2007, 2009 and 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 SERIES vs. DOWLING: Friday's game will mark the just the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Dowling…the Golden Lions posted a 2-0 victory over the Wildcats last year at Dimp Wagner Stadium…Kim Spiciarich and Erika Krumholz scored for the visitors…Dowling recorded 13 shots on goal and DC net minder Kathryn Haessner made 11 saves.
THE SERIES vs. BRIDGEPORT: Sunday's game will mark just the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Bridgeport…the Purple Knights posted a 5-1 victory over the Wildcats last year at Dimp Wagner Stadium…Danielle Puddefoot led Bridgeport with two goals and an assist…Rachael Banasik netted DC's lone goal.
THE WILDCATS (2-3-0; 0-0-0 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…the Wildcats surrendered just 36 goals last fall and limited 11 of their 20 opponents to one goal or less…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) are all expected to make 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 three games…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…Haessner has gone the distance in goal in all five games (0.95 GAA) and made five saves in each of DC's losses to Lake Erie and Walsh last weekend.
THE GOLDEN LIONS (1-2-1; 0-0-0 ECC): Dowling was picked fifth in the ECC preseason poll...the Golden Lions posted a 12-3-2 overall record last year and finished 5-3-1 in the ECC…Dowling claimed the ECC Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and 2012...the Golden Lions opened the 2014 season with losses to Merrimack (3-2) and Bentley (1-0), before posting a 4-2 win over New Haven…Dowling is coming off a 2-2 OT tie at Philadelphia Monday night…senior Lindsey Thompson led the team in scoring (9 gls, 3 asts) and collected second team All-ECC honors last year…Thompson scored twice in the loss to Merrimack and has scored a team-high three goals…freshman Amber Pindulic earned ECC Rookie of the Week honors after scoring twice in the win over New Haven...senior Melissa Guglielmo returns between the pipes after starting 15 games and posting a 0.60 GAA with six shutouts last year…she has gone the distance in all four games and made six saves in the OT tie with Philadelphia.
THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (3-0-1; 0-0-0 ECC): Bridgeport is the defending ECC regular-season and tournament champion and was picked first in the ECC preseason poll...the Purple Knights posted an 18-3-0 overall record last year (8-1–0 ECC) and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time since 2007...Bridgeport made five-straight appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament from 2007 to 2011...Bridgeport is ranked third in the East and 17th nationally in the NSCAA Division II polls released Tuesday…Bridgeport returns six All-ECC performers and the ECC Defensive Player of the Year from last year…the Purple Knights opened the season with a 2-1 victory over nationally-ranked American International, and then posted a 1-0 victory over regionally-ranked Southern Connecticut…a 0-0 OT tie with regionally-ranked Southern New Hampshire was followed with a 1-0 victory over Georgian Court…the Purple Knights open ECC play Friday night against Roberts Wesleyan...senior Danielle Puddefoot, who totaled a team-high 13 goals and 30 points and collected first team All-ECC last year, tops the list of returning players…four different players have scored for the Purple Knights thus far…freshmen Kaitlin Occhipinti and Lina Domberg have shared the goaltending duties thus far…Occhipinti stopped two shots in the 1-0 win over Georgian Court.
DID YOU KNOW?: Daemen is 41-3-1 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 are idle until next weekend when they travel to Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa. for a non-league game Saturday (Sept. 27). 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.
