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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
ringdahl bohlin msoc at molloy 10.28.17
3
Winner Daemen DAEM (7-11, 3-6 ECC)
2
Molloy MOLM (5-12, 3-6 ECC)
Winner
Daemen DAEM
(7-11, 3-6 ECC)
3
Final
2
Molloy MOLM
(5-12, 3-6 ECC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 1 2 3
Molloy MOLM 2 0 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

Men's Soccer Matches Program Wins Record With Dramatic Comeback At Molloy

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. - Freshmen Noah Keem (Amherst, N.Y.) and Niklas Ringdahl Bohlin (Fjaras, Sweden) accounted for three unanswered goals to lead the Daemen College men's soccer team to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Molloy College in an East Coast Conference game this afternoon at the RVC Sports Complex.
 
With the win, Daemen closes the 2017 season with an overall record of 7-11, matching the program record for wins in a season established in 2005 and 2006. The win also pushed Daemen's league record to 3-6, marking the most league wins in a season in team history.
 
Molloy, which was picked third in the ECC preseason poll, was officially eliminated from conference tournament contention with today's loss, dropping to 5-12 overall and 3-6 in league play. The Lions' roster boasts 15 returners, including three all-conference players, from their 2016 team that went 11-5-1 overall and advanced to the ECC Championship Tournament finals.
 
It looked as if the hosts were going to make it a long afternoon for the Wildcats. The Lions took a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the game with goals by Dan Massey and Jason Alvarez. Massey's tally, his 16th of the season, came at the 2:39 mark with assists credited to Michael Jimenez and Angelo Bordenca. Less than two minutes later (4:32 mark), Alvarez struck from 20 yards out after taking a pass from Anthony Cestaro.
 
But, Daemen battled back and cut the deficit in half with Keem's goal at the 24:14 mark. He cleaned up the rebound after Ringdahl Bohlin's shot on a free kick was saved but uncontrolled by Molloy net-minder Raul Bonilla. Ringdahl Bohlin earned an assist on the play.
 
After trailing by one at the half, Keem got the equalizer - his team-leading ninth of the season - at the 51:10 mark on corner kick opportunity, heading in the crossing feed from fellow freshman Anthony Cupello (Rochester, N.Y.). Cupello earned his team-leading eighth assist of the season on the play.
 
The score remained 2-2 for more than 30 minutes and the game appeared to be headed for overtime, but Ringdahl Bohlin had other ideas. He created some space near the top of box and rocketed a shot that hit off the crossbar and caromed straight down and over the goal line at the 84:13 mark to give Daemen its first lead of the game.
 
Molloy generated a corner kick opportunity, one of its 15 in the game, in the final five minutes, and got a shot on goal by Bordenca but Daemen goalkeeper Mike D'Amato (Orchard Park, N.Y.) turned it aside to preserve the Wildcats' lead and seal the win.
 
D'Amato was made his 11th consecutive start between the pipes and was credited with three saves. He was relieved by freshman Jarrett Lecceadone (Randolph, N.Y.) to start the second half, but D'Amato came back on when Lecceadone left with an apparent injury. Lecceadone made four saves without allowing a goal in over 30 minutes of action. D'Amato picked up the win to improve his personal record to 5-6 this season, giving him the most wins for a Daemen goalkeeper since Matt Daddario had the same amount in 2014.
 
Molloy used two goalkeepers in the game as well. Bonilla, the 2016 ECC Goalkeeper of the Year, made two saves while playing in the first half only. He gave way to redshirt freshman John Rotchford who gave up both the game-tying and game-winning goals in his 45 minutes of action.
 
The Daemen win came despite being outshot 21-10, and a 15-3 Molloy advantage in corner kicks.
 
"It's great to end the season with a win," said Daemen head coach Bobby McColl. "Today's game kind of sums up this team. We are young and we sometimes make life difficult for ourselves. However, the character and fight these guys show is incredible. This season has been a great building block for the future of the program and I'm excited to see what this team can achieve. I'm also very proud of the seniors. They have taken this program through a difficult transition to NCAA Division II and they are leaving the program in a great place."
 
Daemen, which was picked 10th in the ECC preseason poll after going 0-18-1 in league play over the previous two seasons, finished in a three-way tie for seventh in the final league standings.

GAME NOTES: Today's win was Daemen's third-straight in an ECC road game...previous ECC road wins have come over Roberts Wesleyan (2-1 [OT] on Oct. 4) and Queens (3-2 [OT] on Oct. 18...prior to these three wins, Daemen was 0-20-1 all-time in ECC road games...the offensive production today marked Daemen's 11th multi-goal game of the season...the Wildcats finished the year with 39 total goals which ranks third among all ECC teams...it's the team's highest goal total since scoring 43 in 2011...of the team's 39 goals, 35 were scored by freshmen which is more goals than six entire teams in the league...Keem finished the season with team-highs of nine goals and 22 points...he's the first Daemen player with at least nine goals and 20 points since Kyle Clifford in 2013 (10 gls, 22 pts)...Keem leads all ECC freshmen in both goals and points, and ranks seventh and fifth overall in those respective categories...Ringdahl Bohlin finished the season with four goals, six assists and 14 points...he ranked second on the team in assists and points (tied with Finn Krueger)...Cupello's assist was his 10th point of the season, making him the sixth player (all freshmen) this season to reach double-figure points...McColl started eight freshmen today marking the first time this season that number has been less than nine.
 
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