Box Score

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen Wildcats and the University of Maine at Fort Kent Bengals know each other quite well.  The two women's soccer programs have faced off in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association championship game in each of the past two seasons.  The Wildcats were victorious with a 1-0 overtime win in 2012.  The Bengals avenged that loss in the 2013 title game with a 3-2 victory, which too went to overtime.  

Daemen made sure it wouldn't be two in a row, besting the Bengals 2-0 in Amherst today thanks to two second half goals from a pair of freshmen, Rose Carboni (Endicott, N.Y.) and Alex Juliano (Hamburg, N.Y.).

"Any time Maine Fort Kent and us get together it's always an entertaining game," said Daemen head coach Dan Dolan.  "The ladies were up for the matchup right from the start.  I thought the second half we turned it up a gear and started playing the way we've been showing in practice."

After the referees wiped out a goal by the Wildcats due to a foul, Carboni opened the scoring at the 49:29 mark of the first half when he netted a ball off the free kick from about 30 yards out.  Juliano gave her team some breathing room and scored her first goal of the season when she put home a cross from fellow freshman Stephanie Zurales (Woodridge, Ill).  Zurales got behind the left back defender and picked her head up, delivering a perfect pass across the front of the net to Juliano, who left no doubt, pounding home her first collegiate goal.

"Our back line was consistent all game at keeping their forwards at bay and not giving up anything dangerous," Dolan said.

The Wildcats held the Bengals scoreless for the first time all season, and for the first time in exactly one calendar year when Daemen posted the same result to hand UMFK their only loss of the 2013 season.  Sophomore goalkeeper Kathryn Haessner (Moravia, N.Y.) had five saves for the Wildcats.

"Our back line was consistent all game at keeping their forwards at bay and not giving up anything dangerous," Dolan said.

Daemen improves to 2-0 on the season after opening the season on Friday, September 5th with a double-overtime 2-1 victory over the University of Rio Grande.  They will host Le Moyne College on Tuesday, September 9th at 7:30 pm, before hitting the road for nearly a month, playing five consecutive games, and two conference games away from home.