Men's Soccer 9/22/2017 8:50:00 AM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Men's Soccer Welcomes Nationally-Ranked LIU Post To Karrer Field

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (2-5, 0-1 ECC) vs. #8 LIU Post Pioneers (4-0-1, 0-0-0 ECC)
Saturday, Sept. 23 | 1:00 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Karrer Field

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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.

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR
Daemen's roster features 11 international players - the most in team history. Of the team's 15 goals this season, 13 have been scored by European-born freshmen.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Daemen boasts one of the youngest rosters in the country in 2017 with 22 freshmen. That hasn't stopped head coach Bobby McColl from leaning on his first-year college players. The Daemen coach has put at least nine freshmen in his starting lineup in every game this season. Freshmen Kristian Aadnoy, Samuel Lockman and Brage Wiik have started all seven contests thus far, and 14 total freshmen have made at least one start.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
Freshmen forwards Kristian Aadnoy and Finn Krueger have made an immediate impact in their initial collegiate season. The pair shares the team lead in points with nine apiece. Aadnoy leads the team in goals, and all four of his tallies came while helping 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. Krueger, who shares the team lead in assists with fellow freshman Anthony Cupello, has scored three times. He netted the game-winner in spectacular fashion (a diving header in the 88th minute) to lift Daemen to a 3-2 victory over Stonehill on Sept. 4. He went on to post back-to-back three-point games in losses to Bloomsburg and St. Thomas Aquinas to establish a four-game point streak which was snapped earlier this week at Gannon.

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 suffered a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss in their East Coast Conference opener Sept. 16 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.

PSAC POWER
Daemen is coming off a 3-1 non-conference loss Sept. 19 at Gannon. The Golden Knights, winners of 11 games last season, scored their third consecutive victory on the strength of three first-half tallies. Redshirt senior Alex Reid scored in the final minute of the contest to help Daemen avoid what would have been their first shutout of the season.

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 last Saturday's loss at St. Thomas Aquinas, his first since Oct. 30, 2015, and he scored again in Tuesday's 3-1 loss at Gannon. It marked the third time in Reid's career that he's scored in back-to-back games, and the first time he's done so since Oct. 26 and Nov. 1 of 2013. For his career, Reid has totaled 15 goals, seven assists and 37 points in 54 games. Three of Reid's tallies have been of the game-winning variety, including two in wins over rival Roberts Wesleyan.

OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION
Daemen's string of consecutive multi-goal games was snapped at five with Tuesday's 3-1 loss at Gannon. The stretch marked the first time in team history that Daemen has recorded at least five-straight games with two or more goals. 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. The Wildcats rank third among all ECC teams in total goals (15) and fourth in goals per game (2.14).

LIU POST SCOUTING REPORT
LIU Post, the unanimous pick to win their third consecutive ECC crown, enters Saturday's contest ranked 8th in the latest United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II national poll. The Pioneers' roster features 15 international players and 16 returners from their 2016 team which went 18-1-1 overall (8-0-1 in ECC play). LIU Post made their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth last season, advancing to the third round where they fell 4-0 at home to Adelphi. The loss snapped a 43-game home winning streak that dated back to the 2011 season. The Pioneers' returners are undoubtedly headlined by junior midfielder Charlie Ledula; the reigning ECC Offensive Player of the Year led the league in goals (18) and points (42) in 2016 en route to second-team All-America recognition. The Pioneers also return senior midfielder Harry Pearse, a first-team All-ECC pick who led the league in assists (14) and shot attempts (97), while ranking second in points (32) and fifth in goals (9) last season. At 4-0-1, the Pioneers have yet to taste defeat in 2017. After opening the year with a 3-3 (2OT) tie in a rematch with Adelphi, LIU Post has rattled off four-straight victories, including a 3-2 road win at Post in their last outing (Sept. 16). Saturday's game marks LIU Post's 2017 ECC opener, and the Pioneers bring a nine-game regular-season unbeaten streak (8-0-1) in league play into the game. Ledula has been limited to just two goals and one assist thus far, but newcomer Lukas Ostermann has carried the load offensively with five goals, two assists and 12 points. In goal, it's been newcomer Oliver Hessner Hansen who's seen exclusive action; he's made 20 total saves and posted a 1.34 goals-against average through five games.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. LIU Post: 0-4
Streak: Lost 4
Last Meeting: #5 LIU Post 8, Daemen 1 | Oct. 16, 2016 | Amherst, N.Y.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats ship out to West Virginia for a non-league tilt with Shepherd University on Monday, Sept. 25 with first kick slated for 2:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#16 Anthony Cupello: M; 5' 8"; Freshman

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

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

#4 Brage Wiik: D; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

#16 Anthony Cupello
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: M

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

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

#4 Brage Wiik
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: D