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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
Fearless, Integrity, Effort, Respect, Commitment, Excitement
msoc at stac 9.16.17
2
Daemen DAEM (2-4-0, 0-1-0)
3
Winner St. Thomas Aquinas STACM (3-2-0, 1-0-0)
Daemen DAEM
(2-4-0, 0-1-0)
2
Final
3
St. Thomas Aquinas STACM
(3-2-0, 1-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Daemen DAEM 2 0 2
St. Thomas Aquinas STACM 0 3 3

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

Men's Soccer Suffers Gut-Wrenching Defeat At STAC

SPARKILL, N.Y. - An upset-minded Daemen College men's soccer team led for more than 78 minutes, but a trio of second-half goals, including one in the final minute of the contest, sparked St. Thomas Aquinas College to a 3-2 victory today in both teams' East Coast Conference season opener at Spartan Field.

Daemen's young team went toe-to-toe with STAC, a team picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll and coming off a conference tournament appearance last season. The Wildcats, who put nine freshmen in the starting lineup today, dropped their second-straight game to fall to 2-4 overall and 0-1 in league play. The seasoned Spartans picked up their second-straight victory, improving to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in league play. STAC's roster features 22 returners, the same number of freshmen on Daemen's roster.

Freshman forward Finn Krueger (Neuried, Germany) put Daemen on the board early with his third goal of the season. Krueger intercepted a pass from STAC goalkeeper Jack Nicholson (Totton Southampton, England) to one of his center backs and, with Nicholson out of position, struck the ball to the back of the net to put Daemen on top just 38 seconds into the contest.

Later in the half, redshirt senior forward Alex Reid (Lockport, N.Y.) picked up his first tally of the season, giving Daemen a 2-0 lead at the 41:07 mark. Reid went in alone on a breakaway after accepting a pass from Krueger, beating Nicholson with a low shot as the keeper came out to challenge. Krueger notched his third assist of the season on the play, pulling into a tie with fellow freshman Anthony Cupello (Rochester, N.Y.) for the team lead. For Reid, it was the 14th goal of his career, and his first since Oct. 30, 2015. The fifth-year senior sat out all of last season with an injury.

STAC climbed back into contention as play moved on in the second half. Freshman defender George Yusuf (Great Yarmouth, England) cut the deficit in half with his second career tally. Yusuf finished off the play from inside the box with a curling shot inside the left post after taking a touch pass from junior midfielder Luis Morales (Mendoza, Argentina) at the 70:48 mark.

Just over eight minutes later, Yusuf struck again. He used his head to net the equalizer at the 79:05 mark, finishing off a crossing feed from freshman defender Paul Prenaj (Suffern, N.Y.).

As the clock ticked down, it appeared that the game could be headed for overtime. But, a scramble situation in front of the Daemen goal led to a close shot for STAC's Stavros Strati (Hackensack, N.J.) who put in the game-winner with 55 seconds left on the second-half clock. Yusuf picked up an assist on the play, making it a five-point day for him.

Daemen managed one rush down the field as regulation time neared its completion, but a chip attempt into the box sailed out of bounds and the clock expired.

STAC held an 18-10 advantage in total shots, but just a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Nicholson made four saves to preserve the win for STAC. Lecceadone, who was making his first start since Daemen's 2-1 defeat of Walsh University on Sept. 9, made four saves in a losing effort for the Wildcats.

Daemen returns to action Tuesday, Sept. 19 with a non-conference road game at Gannon University of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

GAME NOTES: With two goals today, Daemen has scored multiple goals in five consecutive games for the first time in team history...the previous long of four-straight multiple goal games had only been accomplished twice (2003 and 2005)...Krueger's goal in the first half give him three tallies in the last four games...with three points today, he now has nine this season, tied for the team lead with fellow freshman Kristian Aadnoy...Reid's goal was Daemen's first this season by a non-freshman...Reid has totaled 14 goals, seven assists and 35 points in 53 games played in his career...Daemen has started at least nine freshmen in all six games this season...Daemen was seeking its first ECC victory since a 2-1 overtime defeat of Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 11, 2014, and its first-ever road ECC victory since joining the league in 2013...STAC picked up its third-straight win in the all-time series, which they lead 4-1.
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