Wildcats Set For Tuesday Night Contest At Gannon

By: Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Men's Soccer | 9/18/2017 3:40:00 PM

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (2-4, 0-1 ECC) vs. Gannon Golden Knights (2-4, 2-0 PSAC)
Tuesday, Sept. 19 | 7:00 p.m.
Erie, Pa. | McConell Family Stadium

GAME LINKS
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BACK IN THE SADDLE
Head coach Bobby McColl returns for his second season on the Daemen sidelines in 2017, and his sixth overall as a collegiate head coach. McColl heads into the 2017 season with a career coaching record of 47-41-8 with previous stops as the head men's coach at Greenville College (2012) and the head women's coach at Roberts Wesleyan College (2013-15). McCoy recently sat down for a video interview to preview his team's 2017 season.

WILDCATS PICKED 10TH IN ECC PRESEASON POLL
Following a vote of the league's head coaches, Daemen has been picked to finish 10th in the East Coast Conference this season. The Wildcats went 2-15 overall and 0-9 in league play last season. LIU Post, which has won four of the last five ECC titles, was voted as the unanimous favorite this season, and the Pioneers open the year ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II preseason poll.

NEWCOMERS GALORE
The biggest storyline heading into the 2017 season for Daemen is the number of new players on the roster, 24 of them to be exact, including 22 freshmen. Freshman Niklas Ringdahl Bohlin, a 6-foot midfielder, has been impressive enough in preseason training camp to have earned co-captain honors. Graduate student Ross Stewart. who played in 32 of a possible 35 games over two seasons at Davis & Elkins College, brings experience at the Division II level to Daemen's defense. Up front, look for an immediate impact from freshman striker Kristian Aadnoy. And between the pipes, freshmen Jarrett Lecceadone and Mitchell Coll have split time through the Wildcats' first five games.

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
Daemen's roster features 11 international players - the most in team history. Of the team's 14 goals this season, 13 have been scored by European-born freshmen.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman forward Kristian Aadnoy has made an immediate impact on the Wildcats, leading the team in goals (4) and points (9) so far this season. All four of Aadnoy's tallies came when he helped the Wildcats to a 2-1 record in games between Sept. 4-10. He registered the first multi-goal game of his career with a pair of markers in Daemen's 3-2 road win at Stonehill, and added single tallies against Walsh and Bloomsburg. For his efforts, Aadnoy was named the East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week. He became just the third Daemen player since 2013 to earn any of league's three weekly awards (Offensive Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week, Rookie of the Week), and the first since Ali Shawish earned Rookie of the Week honors for Oct. 3-10, 2016.

STREAK STOPPERS
Daemen's 3-2 victory over Stonehill on Sept. 4 snapped a seven-game slide dating back to the last season, and a 31-game winless streak (0-30-1) against NCAA Division II opponents which dated back to the 2015 season. Daemen's 2-1 victory over Walsh on Sept. 9 snapped a 13-game slide in the all-time series with the Cavaliers. Daemen had been winless against their former NAIA and American Mideast Conference rivals in a series that dates back to Daemen's innaugural season of competition (2000).

STUNG AT STAC
Daemen is coming off a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss in their East Coast Conference opener Saturday at St. Thomas Aquinas. The Wildcats took a two-goal lead thanks to an early tally by freshman Finn Krueger (38 seconds into the game) and Alex Reid's goal just before halftime. But, STAC mounted a comeback with three second-half tallies including the game-winner in the final minute of regulation time.

REID RETURNS
The Daemen lineup got a boost at the start of the season with the return of redshirt senior forward Alex Reid who missed all of the 2016 season due to injury. Reid, who appeared in the 50th game of his career on Sept. 4 vs. Stonehill, has come off the bench in each game this season. He recorded a goal in Saturday's loss at St. Thomas Aquinas, his first since Oct. 30, 2015. For his career, Reid has totaled 14 goals, seven assists and 35 points in 53 games. Three of Reid's tallies have been of the game-winning variety, including two in wins over rival Roberts Wesleyan.

OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION
Daemen has scored at least two goals in five consecutive games for the first time in team history. The previous long of four-straight multi-goal games had only been accomplished twice since the inception of the program in 2000, and not since 2005. Daemen has also scored first in each of the last five games. The Wildcats rank second among all ECC teams in total goals (14) and goals per game (2.33).

GANNON SCOUTING REPORT
Gannon is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and the Golden Knights are led by head coach Dale White, now in his third season at the helm, and his eighth overall as a collegiate head coach. The veteran mentor inherited a team that went 5-11-1 in 2014, and in just his second season led the Golden Knights to their first postseason appearance since 2012. The Golden Knights return 28 players, including seven who made at least 10 starts, from their 2016 team which achieved an overall record of 11-6-1, and a PSAC mark of 7-3-1. Leading the returners are redshirt senior defender George Stannard and senior midfielder Sergio Kobowane who each earned second-team All-PSAC honors in 2016. Also back is sophomore forward Mathias Krigbaum who finished second on the team in scoring with 17 points (6 gls, 5 asts) last season. Gannon, picked second in the PSAC preseason poll, dropped four consecutive contests to start the year, but have rebounded recently with league victories over Pitt-Johnstown (3-2) and Bloomsburg (3-0). Krigbaum (4 gls, 1 ast, 9 pts) has paced the offense thus far. In goal, senior Jorge Hernandez, who posted a 10-5-1 record last season, has seen the bulk of the action again; he holds a 1.80 goals-against average and a .654 save percentage.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. Gannon: 1-2
Streak: Lost 2
Last Meeting: Gannon 8, Daemen 1 | Sept. 13, 2016 | Amherst, N.Y.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to league play with nationally-ranked LIU Post coming to Karrer Field for a 1 p.m. first kick Saturday, Sept. 23.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Ali Shawish: F; 5' 7"; Freshman

#22 Alex Reid: M/F; 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior

#9 Kristian Aadnoy: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#11 Finn Krueger: M; 6' 1"; Freshman

#3 Victor Lanje: D; 6' 1"; Freshman

#15 Samuel Lockman: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#23 Niklas Ringdahl Bohlin: M; 6' 0"; Freshman

#1 Mitchell Coll: GK; 6' 0"; Freshman

#30 Jarrett Lecceadone: GK; 6' 3"; Freshman

#2 Ross Stewart: D; 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#13 Ali Shawish
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: F

#22 Alex Reid
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Senior
: M/F

#9 Kristian Aadnoy
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

#11 Finn Krueger
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: M

#3 Victor Lanje
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: D

#15 Samuel Lockman
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

#23 Niklas Ringdahl Bohlin
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: M

#1 Mitchell Coll
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: GK

#30 Jarrett Lecceadone
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: GK

#2 Ross Stewart
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student
: D