AMHERST, N.Y. - Sophomore striker Alex Juliano (Hamburg, N.Y./Nardin) recorded a "hat trick" as part of a five-goal second half to lead the Daemen College women's soccer team to a 6-0 defeat of visiting Alfred State College on a brisk and breezy evening at Dimp Wagner Stadium tonight.

The non-conference win moves Daemen to 5-8-1 overall this season, as the Wildcats claim their second home shutout in as many games.  The Wildcats were coming off a 1-0 overtime win over Molloy College just two days earlier in East Coast Conference play.  Alfred State, a NCAA Division III candidacy member and affiliate of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association, falls to 7-4-1 after suffering its second-straight 6-0 defeat.

Daemen established control of the pace early on tonight, but saw just one goal get put on the board in the opening 45 minutes, despite outshooting the Pioneers 10-1 in the period.  Newcomer Ellen Merchant (Jamestown, N.Y./Jamestown CC) came off the bench at the 37:48 mark and less than a minute later she put the hosts on top.  Merchant took a pass from the midfield that resulted in a mini-breakaway.  Her initial shot was deflected by ASC goalkeeper Allison Danielak who came rushing out of the net, but the ball caromed to the middle of the box where Merchant chased it down and tapped it into a wide-open net for her second marker of the season.

ASC did not record its first shot attempt until the 44:56 mark of the opening period, and they got their first shot on goal at the 50:20 mark once the second half got underway, but that was turned aside by freshman goalkeeper Meaghan O'Leary (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) for the Wildcats.

Shortly thereafter, Stephanie Zurales (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South) got the party started for the Wildcats, netting her team-leading sixth tally of the season.  Zurales broke loose after O'Leary's punt was headed to her from Kelly DuVall (Addison, N.Y./Addison), resulting in a breakaway up the middle of the field where Zurales beat Danielak with a shot inside the right post at the 50:42 mark.  Both DuVall and O'Leary were credited with assists on the play.

Juliano, who entered tonight's game with one goal in 26 career appearances, would get herself going at the 60:39 mark, netting her first of the night on a one-touch shot after a Zurales crossing feed to the middle of the box.  She would add a second moments later, taking a feed from classmate Alexis Ruggiero (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) and breaking free into the left side of the box where she beat Danielak with a shot inside the far post, putting Daemen ahead 4-0 at the 64:11 mark.

Less than four minutes later, it was another Zurales crossing feed which found Juliano in the center of the box, this time touching it on to the far post where a streaking Sarah Britton (Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse) one-timed a shot to the back of the net for her first career marker.
 

Then, at the 77:41 mark, Juliano closed out the scoring on another one-timer, this time off a feed from Merchant in the deep left corner.  With three goals and an assist tonight, Juliano becomes the first Daemen player to log a seven-point game since Kacey Bougard (East Aurora, N.Y./Sacred Heart) pulled it off in Daemen's 2013 season opener, a 4-0 defeat of Alderson-Broaddus College. 

Zurales' multi-point game (one goal, two assists) gives her a team-leading 17 points this season which ranks fifth currently among all ECC players.

O'Leary was tested with just the one shot on goal in her 64:11 of work between the pipes.  She was relieved by fellow freshman Jackie Wescott (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South) for the final 25:49 of the game.  Wescott stopped the one ASC shot on goal in her time to secure the Wildcats' fifth shutout of the season.

Danielak made 10 saves for ASC in defeat as she was tested early and often.  Daemen placed 17 of its 24 shot attempts on frame tonight.

The six-goal game is Daemen's second of the season, coupled with an earlier 6-0 defeat of Washington Adventist University (September 19) as the Wildcats have now outscored the two non-Division II opponents on its schedule 12-0 this year.  The two six-goal games this season are the most for Daemen since posting four such games during its 15-4 campaign in 2011.

Also, the five-goal second-half outburst marked the first time Daemen has scored five times in a single period since the first half of a 9-0 victory over Fisher College on October 28, 2012.

Prior to tonight's contest, a brief ceremony was held to recognize the late Hector Vasquez, Daemen's former head coach.  Vasquez, who coached the Daemen women's soccer team from 2004-08, led the program to 36 victories in his five seasons at the helm.  He passed away last month at the age of 66 after battling cancer.  Vasquez's family, including his wife Liz, son Joe, and sister Ruth Meyers, were on hand at midfield when a moment of silence in his honor was observed.

Daemen (2-3-0 ECC record) is idle until Friday, October 23 when they'll attempt to move back to .500 in ECC play when they visit N.Y. Institute of Technology to start a two-game conference road trip.