PAINESVILLE, Ohio — The Daemen College women's soccer team opened the 2016 season here this afternoon with a 2-1 loss to Lake Erie College. It also marked the season opener for LEC, a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The host Storm opened the scoring in the 31st minute when junior forward Ashley Pryce (Stow, Ohio) scored off a pass from sophomore Aleeya Clemons (Olean, N.Y.).
The Wildcats evened the score just 3:39 into the second half following an unassisted goal by junior forward Stephanie Zurales (Woodridge, IL/Downers Grove South). It marked the eighth career goal for Zurales, who led the team in goals (6), assists (5) and points (17) last fall.
The game remained knotted at 1-1 for the next 25 minutes until Pryce collected a rebound in the box and netted her second goal of the game. Classmate Alecia Dipre (Mentor, Ohio), who took the initial shot, registered the assist. Daemen managed three shots (two on goal) over the final 16 minutes, but was unable to net the equalizer.
Lake Erie posted a 17-14 edge in total shots, while the Wildcats finished with a 9-6 edge in shots on goal. Daemen also finished with a 4-1 edge in corner kicks. Redshirt freshman Lauren Testa (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) and redshirt senior Alexis Koral (Williamsville, N.Y./William Smith College) both posted a team-high four shots for Daemen.
Sophomore Jackie Wescott (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South) made her first career start between the pipes for Daemen and registered four saves. Sophomore Meaghan O'Leary (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island), who started all 18 games in net as a rookie last fall, missed the game due to injury. Sophomore Marissa Brannon (Concord, Ohio), who made seven saves in a 3-1 win over Daemen last year, stopped eight shots for LEC.
Daemen returns to action Monday (Sept. 5) when it travels to Le Moyne College for a non-conference game.
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