THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's soccer team travels to rival Roberts Wesleyan College for an East Coast Conference game Friday (Oct. 2).
Friday, Oct. 2 (at Rochester, N.Y.)
Daemen at Roberts Wesleyan, 5 p.m.
DC ROSTER / RWC ROSTER / LIVE STATS / VIDEO
DIVISION II DEBUT: Daemen successfully completed a three-year membership process and was approved for active membership status at the NCAA Division II level by the NCAA Membership Committee his past summer…Daemen was accepted as a member of the East Coast Conference (ECC) in July of 2012 and began playing full regular-season conference schedules in the fall of 2013…the 2015-16 academic year will mark the first year Daemen will be eligible for ECC and NCAA post-season play.
THE COACH: Dan Dolan enters his seventh season as head women's soccer coach at Daemen…the 2011 American Mideast Conference (AMC) Coach of the Year, Dolan enters the 2015 season with a career record of 60-51-3 (.539)…Dolan guided the Wildcats to the 2012 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship and a runner-up showing at the USCAA Championship Tournament in 2013 and 2014.
THE WILDCATS (3-6-1; 1-1-0 ECC): Daemen returns 11 players from last year's team that finished 6-14-1 overall and 0-8-1 in the East Coast Conference…the Wildcats advanced to the championship game of the USCAA Tournament for the third-straight year, but a 2-0 loss to top-seeded Maine-Fort Kent denied Daemen the USCAA national championship…Daemen was voted 10th in the 2015 ECC preseason poll…sophomore forwards Alex Juliano and Stephanie Zurales return up front, while sophomore Alexis Ruggiero returns in the midfield after earning honorable mention All-ECC honors as a rookie last year…senior Meghan Lipinoga and sophomore Rose Carboni will anchor the backline…Daemen has won three of its last five games and opened ECC play this past weekend with a 2-0 loss to Mercy and a 2-0 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas…the Wildcats suffered a 2-0 non-league loss to Mercyhurst Tuesday night…additional wins have come over Washington Adventist (6-0) and Lincoln (1-0 forfeit), while additional losses have come against Slippery Rock (7-1), Le Moyne (2-1), Lake Erie (3-1) and Mansfield (3-1)…the Wildcats battled Walsh University to a scoreless tie…Zurales netted DC's lone goal against Mansfield and scored her first career "hat trick" in the win over WAU…she ranks fourth among all ECC players in total points (5 gls, 3 asts, 13 pts)…junior Alexis Koral scored both goals in the 2-0 win over STAC this past weekend and has totaled seven points (3 gls, 1 ast)…Carboni, sophomore Ellen Merchant and senior Ashley Griffin have also scored this season…freshman Meaghan O'Leary (2.18 GAA) has started all 10 games in net…she stopped six shots en route to her first career shutout in the OT tie with Walsh and made five saves in the 2-0 win over STAC.
THE REDHAWKS (6-1-1; 2-0-0 ECC): Roberts Wesleyan was picked fifth in the 2015 ECC preseason poll...the Redhawks return the top three scorers from last year's team at posted a 12-10-0 overall record (3-6-0 ECC)...RWC is riding a four-game winning streak and is ranked fourth in the latest NSCAA East Region poll…RWC leads the ECC in goals per game (3.1)…the Redhawks opened conference play with wins over St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0) and Mercy (2-1) last weekend…RWC is coming off a 5-0 non-league win over Lock Haven this past Tuesday…the Redhawks also battled nationally-ranked Saint Rose to a 2-2 (2OT) tie earlier this year…junior midfielder Bella Mitrevski tops the list of returning players after ranking second in the ECC in points (38) and earning first-team All-ECC honors last year…she has recorded at least one point in seven of RWC's eight games this year and has totaled a league-high 22 points (8 gls, 6 asts)…a two-time ECC Player of the Week selection, she totaled two goals and two assists in a recent 4-3 win over Edinboro…additional production has come from senior Brittany Houghton (8 gls, 2 asts)…freshman goalkeeper Mary Kate Eckert (1.25 GAA, 3 SO) has started all eight games and made a season-high 10 saves in the 2-2 (2OT) tie with Saint Rose.
THE HISTORY: Daemen and RWC are former American Mideast Conference rivals…Friday's game will mark the 19th overall meeting between the two rivals…RWC owns a 6-9-3 advantage in the all-time series…RWC has prevailed in the last two meetings and posted 2-0 victory over the Wildcats last year at Dimp Wagner Stadium…Bella Mitrevski and Ellie Swan scored for the Redhawks…Daemen's last win over the Redhawks came during the 2012 season (1-0) at RWC...Alexa Amato scored the lone goal just 2:16 into the contest and Kayla Hampton stopped nine shots to earn the shutout.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until next weekend when they host Queens College (Oct. 10) and Molloy College (Oct. 11) in ECC games…click HERE for the complete 2015 schedule.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS: Follow Daemen College women's soccer on Twitter (@DaemenAthletics / @DaemenWSOC) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/daemencollegeathletics) to get live game updates and breaking news throughout the year.
