THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's soccer team closes its 2015 regular season by hosting Dowling College and University of Bridgeport in a pair of East Coast Conference matchups.
Friday, Oct. 30 (at Dimp Wagner Stadium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Dowling, 1 p.m.
DAEMEN ROSTER / DOWLING ROSTER / LIVE STATS / GAME PROGRAM
Sunday, Nov. 1 (at Dimp Wagner Stadium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Daemen vs. Bridgeport, 11 a.m.
DAEMEN ROSTER / BRIDGEPORT 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 (6-9-1; 3-4-0 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 6-5-0 over its last 11 games, and 3-1-0 in its last four…the Wildcats have 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 against Queens and Molloy…the Wildcats posted a 1-0 loss to Queens and defeated Molloy 1-0 (OT)…after posting a 6-0 non-league win over Alfred State on Oct. 13, DC went on to split a pair of ECC road games last weekend, winning 2-0 at NYIT on Oct. 23 before dropping a 3-0 decision at LIU Post two days later…Lipinoga scored the "golden goal" in the overtie win over Molloy…Juliano netted a "hat trick" in the win over Alfred State, while Zurales did the same in a 6-0 win over Washington Adventist…Zurales also had a goal and two assists in the win over Alfred State and ranks eighth among all ECC players in total points (6 gls, 5 asts, 17 pts)…junior Alexis Koral scored both goals in the 2-0 win over STAC and did the same in last week's win at NYIT, becoming the first Daemen player to record multiple multi-goal games in a season since Samantha Engel and Kacey Bougard both did so in 2013...Koral has 12 points so far this season (5 gls, 2 asts)…freshman Meaghan O'Leary (1.74 GAA, 3 SHO) has started all 16 games in net and is a two-time ECC Freshman of the Week selection…she ranks second among all ECC players in total saves (71) and is tied for second with four shutouts this season.
THE GOLDEN LIONS (6-7-2; 2-3-2 ECC): Dowling was picked fourth in the 2015 ECC preseason poll...the Golden Lions posted an 11-4-2 overall record and a 7-1-1 mark in the ECC last year…11th-year head coach Kerri Handras welcomes back 15 players from last season's team which earned the No. 3 seed to the ECC Tournament...gone from last year are a pair of first-team All-ECC performers in forward Lindsey Thompson (11 gls, 2 asts, 24 pts) and goalkeeper Melissa Guglielmo ...Guglielmo posted an .810 save percentage and a 0.90 goals against average en route to ECC Goalkeeper of the Year honors...Dowling has experienced an up-and-down campaign thus far in 2015...after opening the season with three-straight non-conference losses to Merrimack (3-2), Bentley (3-0) and New Haven (3-2), Dowling rattled off four wins over their next five games, including ECC victories over Saint Thomas Aquinas (5-0) and NYIT (3-0)...Dowling is 2-3-2 over its last seven games dating back to a 1-1 (2ot) tie versus LIU Post on Oct. 6...the Golden Lions have scored non-league victories over Assumption (2-1) and Felician (4-1) in recent weeks, and are coming off a 1-1 (2ot) tie at Queens earlier this week...senior Mariah Valva has stepped in to replace Guglielmo in goal and she's posted a 1.66 goals against average while starting all 15 games this season...offensively, Dowling has been led by senior Allie Merrill (6 gls, 1 ast, 13 pts)...senior Rebecca Raber (5 gls, 10 pts) and junior Taylor Davide (5 gls, 10 pts) have also produced for the Golden Lions.
THE PURPLE KNIGHTS (15-1-0; 7-0-0 ECC): Bridgeport was picked second in the 2015 ECC preseason poll...UB posted a 14-5-2 overall record in 2014, including a 5-3-1 mark in the ECC...the No. 4 seed in last season's ECC Tournament, UB advanced to the finals after knocking off top-seeded LIU Post in the semis, and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament...Sweden native and UB alum Magnus Nilerud is in his 18th season at the helm...Nilerud welcomes back 15 players from his 2014 roster, including a pair of first-team All-ECC performers in junior midfielder/forward Julia Weidenmark and junior midfielder Nicola Worthington...UB's 2015 roster features nine foreigners, but its been a freshman from Connecticut who has taken the Purple Knights to new heights...5-foot-9 forward Jess Laszlo has put home an ECC-best 16 goals this season (tied with LIU Post's Susanne Vistnes), and she ranks third in the league with 37 total points...five of Laszlo's goals have gone as game-winners to rank her ninth nationally in the category...newcomer Hanne Neby, a transfer from Texas-Brownsville has also produced offensively (5 gls, 8 asts, 18 pts)...freshman goalkeeper Jennifer Wendelius has been stellar, posting a 0.43 goals against average in 13 games this season...UB has rattled off 15 wins in 16 games this season, and has gone through ECC play unblemished thus far...the Purple Knights' lone setback came on Sept. 20 in a true game versus Saint Edwards in Austin, Texas...UB has outscored its opponents 38-6 this season, and 19-2 in ECC play, and they enter this weekend's games ranked No. 1 in the East Region and No. 4 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II national poll.
THE HISTORY: Daemen will be seeking its first-ever win in the all-time series against both opponents this weekend...Dowling scored a 2-0 win in its first trip to Dimp Wagner Stadium on Oct. 18, 2013, and followed that with another 2-0 win on Long Island last season...Bridgeport won 5-1 in the teams' first-ever meeting on Oct. 20, 2013 here in Amherst, before winning 3-0 in Connecticut last year.
PLAYOFF PICTURE: With nine points by virtue of their three league wins, Daemen remains in the hunt for an ECC Tournament bid heading into the final weekend of the regular season...currently tied for fifth place, Daemen would just miss out on a bid if the season ended today (top four teams qualify)...to earn a bid, Daemen needs wins in both its games this weekend, and they'll need help from other ECC competitors...specifically, the Wildcats need fourth-place LIU Post (14 points) to lose both its remaining games versus Molloy and Mercy...the teams currently in second through fourth (Roberts Wesleyan, Mercy and LIU Post) all hold the tie-breaker over Daemen due to head-to-head results.
SENIOR SALUTE: Sunday's game versus Bridgeport marks the final home contest in the careers of Daemen seniors Meghan Lipinoga and Ashley Griffin...both have been integral parts of the program over their four seasons, helping the Wildcats transition to NCAA Division II and the East Coast Conference, while also being a part of the Wildcats' back-to-back-to-back USCAA national tournament teams...Lipinoga has been a regular in the Daemen backfield, making 76 career appearances and 69 starts, producing 22 total points (9 gls, 4 asts)...likewise, Griffin has established herself as one of the team's most reliable midfielders in her career, making 61 appearances and 35 starts while totaling eight points (2 gls, 4 asts)...both players will be honored in a brief pre-game ceremony on Sunday.
WHAT'S NEXT: Should Daemen pick up two wins and receive the help they need this weekend to earn an ECC Tournament bid, tourney play gets underway on Thursday, Nov. 5 with games at the No. 1 and 2 seeds...the ECC Tournament concludes on Saturday, Nov. 7 with the finals held at the highest remaining seed.
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.
