AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's soccer team suffered a 3-0 defeat to visiting Mercy College in both teams' East Coast Conference season opener this afternoon at Park School Field.

Junior midfielder Heidi Serna (West Covina, Calif.) put the Mavericks on the board in the 12th minute, causing Daemen to play from behind for much of the day.  Serna's long shot from the far left wing went just over the outstretched arms of Wildcat goalkeeper Jackie Wescott (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard South).

The Wildcats employed an offsides trap for the majority of the game.  After surrendering the game's first goal, the Wildcat defense, led by Rose Carboni (Endicott, N.Y./Union Endicott), Alex Valenti (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) and Monique Green (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South), kept the Mavericks at bay for more than 50 minutes.  But, the tactic also resulted in Mercy controlling possession and dictating the tempo.

Sophomore forward Haley Noble (Torrance, Calif.) finally busted through the trap, taking a long pass out of the backfield from Samantha Longo (Oceanside, N.Y.) and finishing the play with a strike that deflected off Wescott's finger tips and over the goaline.  It was Noble's third tally of the season, and it came in the 68th minute.

Just moments later, following a Mercy corner kick, the ball bounced around the box as Daemen frantically tried to clear, but it wound up on the foot of freshman back Ally Boots (Yorba Linda, Calif.) who booted a shot through traffic to the back of the net, putting the Mavericks ahead by three at the 74:51 mark.

That was all the Mavericks would need as Ashley Price (Goodyear, Ariz.) and Kaylynn Sobczyk (Orlando Fla.) split the shutout between the pipes.

Wescott was credited with 10 saves for Daemen, just one game removed from making 14 stops in a 1-1 (2OT) tie with Mansfield University earlier this week.

Mercy placed 15 of its 30 shots on frame.  Daemen had four shots, including two shots on goal, both of which came off the foot of freshman forward Jamie Boyar (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South).

Daemen looks to break through in league play when they host St. Thomas Aquinas College this Sunday, Sept. 18.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's soccer team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenWSOC on Twitter.