AMHERST, N.Y. - The first victory of the Dan Dolan era for the Daemen College men's soccer team was a dramatic one as a goal off the foot of junior midfielder Michael Gandt (Cheektowaga, N.Y./Maryvale) in the 109th minute delivered a hard-fought, 3-2, double-overtime victory for the Wildcats over visiting University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown at a sunny and sultry Dimp Wagner Stadium today.

Over 300 spectators turned out for the Wildcats' 2015 home opener, and the Wildcat faithful were treated to a spirited effort, resulting in Daemen's third-straight win in overtime games.  Daemen improved to 1-1 on the young season while UPJ dropped to 0-2.

Gandt's heroics came after a flurry of activity late in the game that resulted in several scoring chances for the Wildcats.  The Wildcats played a corner kick short to striker Cole Beale (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) who dribbled to the right wing and launched a shot which was turned away by UPJ goalkeeper Nate Kleya, prompting another corner kick.  The Wildcats regrouped quickly and appeared poised to play the same short ball to Beale, but it was redshirt-freshman Jeremy Nand (Toronto, Ont./University of Charleston) who took the short feed, driving along the endline until he looped a pass over the scrum in front of the net to an unmarked Gandt who calmly tapped the ball into a wide open net, seemingly before the UPJ players knew what had happened.  

For Gandt, it was the first goal of his career, and a game-winner to boot, setting off a raucous celebration where the hero was mobbed by his teammates in front of the corner flag.

Daemen appeared headed for the victory in regulation when junior back Austin Stephany (Watkins Glen, N.Y./University at Buffalo) snapped a 1-1 tie at the 88:21 mark.  Stephany came flying into the box and one-touched a crossing feed from Beale which was turned away by Kleya, but the rebound shot straight back towards Stephany who headed the ball over the goalline, giving Daemen a one-goal edge with just over 90 seconds remaining in regulation.

But, the Mountain Cats responded with a miraculous goal of their own moments later.  Just 25 seconds after Stephany put Daemen ahead, UPJ's John Lopez looped a high-arching shot from the far right wing which found its way to the back of the net, knotting the score and setting the stage for overtime.

It was UPJ that got on the board first, getting a tally from striker Matt Kinney in the 24th minute.

The Mountain Cats would take that 1-0 lead into halftime, but once play resumed it was short-lived.  Nand fed a streaking Alex Reid (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) up the right side who then carried the ball into the box before sending a perfectly-placed crossing feed on the foot of his brother Andy Reid (Lockport, N.Y./University of San Francisco) who hammered a shot to the back of the net to tie the score.

"It was really a back-and-forth game that could have gone either way," said Dolan afterwards.  "It was tough in this heat, but I thought our fitness gave us an advantage.  Overall, it was a well-deserved win."

Daemen has shown a flare for the dramatic in recent years.  Today's result gives Daemen five overtime wins since 2013, going 5-2-1 in games going to extra time in that span.

It was also Daemen's third-straight win over UPJ.  The teams have now met in each of the last three seasons with Daemen outscoring the Mountain Cats 7-2 in those outings.

The win today was Daemen's first in a home opener since 2012.  The Wildcats were 2-1 winners over SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry back on September 22 of that season.

The Wildcats will look to keep the home cooking warm when they play host to a pair of non-conference opponents later this week at Dimp Wagner Stadium.  Stonehill College and College of St. Rose, both Northeast-10 Conference affiliates, visit Amherst on Friday (September 11) and Saturday (September 12), respectively.  Look for a full weekend preview at daemenwildcats.com and for continuing coverage of the Daemen men's soccer team throughout the season, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenMSOC on Twitter.