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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
msoc vs le moyne 8.31.17
3
Winner Le Moyne LEM (1-0)
1
Daemen DAEM (0-1)
Winner
Le Moyne LEM
(1-0)
3
Final
1
Daemen DAEM
(0-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Le Moyne LEM 3 0 3
Daemen DAEM 0 1 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Men's Soccer Falls To Regional Powerhouse Le Moyne

AMHERST, N.Y. - Three goals in the first 13 minutes lifted Le Moyne College to a 3-1 victory over Daemen College in non-league men's soccer action this afternoon at Karrer Field. The game marked the season opener for both teams and Daemen's first at Karrer Field since a months long renovation project was completed on the natural grass playing surface.

Le Moyne (1-0), an affiliate of the Northeast-10 Conference, got on the board early and often before a young Daemen team shifted the momentum in the second half. Graduate student Marek Weber (Fulda, Germany), a 6-foot-3 forward, scored all three goals for the Dolphins. His first came during a scrum which resulted after a long throw-in to the box. The ball found its way to Weber's foot and he tapped it into an open portion of the net with Daemen defenders scrambling all around him. Just 1:32 into the contest, the visitors had established a 1-0 lead.

Weber would notch his second marker of the game at the 6:33 mark as sophomore midfielder Pablo Hernandez (Aviles, Spain) found him with a short crossing feed which Weber headed to the back of the net.

A short time later, Weber one-timed a crossing feed from red-shirt senior midfielder Marcello Palucci (Miami, Fla.) to put the Dolphins ahead 3-0 at the 12:52 mark. 

"It was a tough start, tough start to go 3-0 down in the first 15 minutes," said second-year Daemen head coach Bobby McColl after the game. "We just kind of shot ourselves in the foot, maybe showing a little bit of lack of experience, little bit of nerves with a young team out there, and that made it difficult."

Once the nerves got settled, the Wildcats looked like a different team, specifically in the second half. After being limited to just two shot attempts in the opening period, Daemen managed seven shot attempts and generated five corner kick opportunities in the second.

Daemen cut the deficit to two goals when freshman midfielder Niklas Ringdahl Bohlin (Fjaras, Sweden) scored on a penalty kick at the 81:19 mark. That set off a furious final eight-and-a-half minutes as the Wildcats tried to pull closer. They nearly did so just moments after Ringdahl Bohlin's tally when freshman forward Samuel Lockman (Luleaa, Sweden) got free as he dribbled up the right side, but his shot from inside the box sailed just wide.

"We put ourselves in a hole, but when we got to halftime, it was all about trying to forget about that and playing the second half like it was a new game," said McColl. "We kind of challenged the guys to go out there and try to match them and forget about what happened in the first half, and show everybody including the coaching staff and themselves that we [have] some character, and [that] we can respond. And, I thought we did that."

Le Moyne, which has developed into a regional powerhouse over the course of the last 17 seasons under head coach Tom Bonus, started seven returning players today. The Dolphins, winners of 14 contests last season, have had 13 seasons with at least 10 victories under Bonus' watch. They finished the 2016 season as the No. 4 ranked team in the East Region and they've been to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons.

Daemen, which boasts a roster that includes 24 newcomers (22 freshmen), started just one player - red-shirt junior midfielder Shaquille Corrica (New York City, N.Y.) - who was on the roster a year ago. Nine of the remaining 10 starters today were freshmen. A trio of veterans did come off the bench for the Wildcats today, including red-shirt senior forward Alex Reid (Lockport, N.Y.) who made his return to the lineup after missing all of the 2016 season with an injury. Red-shirt senior midfielder Logan Podrebarac (Burlington, Ont.), who was limited to eight games with an injury last season, also came off the bench as did junior midfielder Zackery Elliott (Bolton, Ont.).

The Dolphins held a 13-9 edge in total shot attempts in the game. Senior Ben Beaury (Cohoes, N.Y.), the 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, was credited with five saves while picking up the win between the pipes. Daemen had a pair of freshmen split time in goal; Mitchell Coll (Phoenixville, Pa.) got the start while Jarrett Lecceadone (Randolph, N.Y.) came on in relief to start the second half. Both Daemen net-minders made two saves in the game.

Daemen returns to non-league action this Saturday, September 2 on the road against Assumption College. Look for a full game preview at daemenwildcats.com on Friday, September 1.

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