THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's soccer team takes a break from East Coast Conference play and will host Alfred State College in a non-league tilt Tuesday (Oct. 13) night at Dimp Wagner Stadium.
Tuesday, Oct. 13 (at Dimp Wagner Stadium - Amherst, N.Y.)
Alfred State at Daemen, 7:30 p.m.
DC ROSTER / ASC ROSTER / LIVE STATS
GAME PROGRAM
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 entered 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 (4-8-1; 2-3-0 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 is 4-4-0 over its last eight games and has already posted more league wins this season than in the previous two seasons combined…the Wildcats turned in a solid effort against regionally-ranked Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 2, before suffering a 2-1 loss in double OT…Daemen opened ECC play with a 2-0 loss to Mercy and a 2-0 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas, and also split its two league games again this past weekend with a 1-0 loss to Queens and a 1-0 (OT) win over Molloy…Lipinoga scored the "golden goal" in the win over Molloy…Zurales scored her first career "hat trick" in a 6-0 win over Washington Adventist and ranks seventh 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 and has totaled eight points (3 gls, 2 ast)…Carboni, sophomore Ellen Merchant, senior Ashley Griffin and freshman Andrea D'Sa have also scored this season…freshman Meaghan O'Leary (1.85 GAA, 3 SHO) has started all 13 games in net…she stopped seven shots in the 1-0 win over Molloy and made five saves in the 2-0 win over STAC.
THE PIONEERS (7-3-1): Alfred State is in year three of a four-year transitioning process from the National Junior College Athletic Association to NCAA Division III…similar to what Daemen did during its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II, Alfred State has gained membership in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association in an effort to provide its student athletes with the opportunity for postseason play and postseason honors during the college's provisional years…the Pioneers have won five of their last seven games and are ranked fifth in the most recent USCAA poll…ASC is coming off a 6-0 loss to NCAA Division III power William Smith last Thursday…sophomore Haley Russell scored twice in a recent 3-1 win over Carlow and has totaled a team-high 15 points (7 gls, 1 ast)…additional offense has come from sophomore Haley Vosburg (6 gls, 1 ast), senior Keri Teufel (2 gls, 5 asts) and sophomore Emily Wolf (2 gls, 3 asts)…sophomore Allison Danielak (1.62 GAA, 3 SHO) has started eight games in net and made a season-high 15 saves in the loss to William Smith.
THE HISTORY: Tuesday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Daemen and Alfred State.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats are idle until Oct. 23 when they return to East Coast Conference play at New York Institute of Technology…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.
