THE LEAD: The Daemen College women's soccer team hosts Mercyhurst University in a non-conference match Tuesday (Sept. 29).
Tuesday, Sept. 29 (at Dimp Wagner Stadium, Amherst, N.Y.)
Mercyhurst at Daemen, 7:30 p.m.
DC ROSTER / MU ROSTER / LIVE STATS
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 (3-5-1; 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 four games and opened ECC play this past weekend with a 2-0 loss to Mercy and a 2-0 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas…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 (2.20 GAA) has started all nine 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 LAKERS (3-3-2; 3-3-2 PSAC): Mercyhurst is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference…the Lakers were ranked 13th the 2015 PSAC preseason poll…MU posted a 4-11-3 overall record and an 3-10-3 mark in the PSAC last fall…veteran head coach Keith Cammidge welcomes back senior forward Lauren Testa who collected All-PSAC honors for the second-straight year last fall after posting a team-high nine goals and 18 points…the Lakers went winless (0-2-1) over their first three games, but are 3-1-1 over their last five…MU is coming off a 3-1 victory over Seton Hill University this past weekend…Testa and fellow senior Kristina Roberti have paced the offense…Testa scored in a 2-1 (2OT) win over Bloomsburg and also scored in the win over Seton Hill…she has totaled seven points (2 gls, 3 asts)…Roberti has scored a team-high six goals…she netted the "golden goal" against Bloomsburg and netted two goals in the win over Seton Hill…junior Kristen Koch (1.22 GAA) started six games in net and made six saves in a season-opening 0-0 (2OT) tie with Indiana University Pa.
THE HISTORY: Tuesday's game will mark the third all-time meeting between Daemen and Mercyhurst…the Lakers held on a for a 3-2 victory over the Wildcats last year in Erie, Pa…the Lakers held a 3-0 lead with just over 20 minutes to play when the Wildcats rallied with goals by Lindsay Stoddard and Rachael Banasik…Mercyhurst posted a 2-0 victory over the Wildcats in the first-ever meeting during the 2007 season in Amherst, N.Y.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Wildcats return to conference play Friday (Oct. 2) when they travel to long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan College for an ECC match…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.
