Women's Soccer Visits NYIT In Return To League Play

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

Women's Soccer | 9/28/2017 1:00:00 PM

GAME INFORMATION
Daemen Wildcats (5-2-1, 1-1-0 ECC) vs. N.Y. Inst. of Technology Bears (3-4-0, 0-1-0 ECC)
Saturday, Sept. 30 | 12:00 p.m.
Old Westbury, N.Y. | President's Stadium

GAME LINKS
Live Stats
Live Video on the ECC Network
Game Day

OH DANNY BOY
Head coach Dan Dolan returns for his ninth season on the Daemen sidelines in 2017. Since taking the reins of the program in 2009, Dolan has guided the Wildcats to a 76-73-7 record, and is the program's all-time leader in wins. The high water mark of Dolan's tenure came in 2011 when the Wildcats went 15-4 overall and 11-1 in their final season as an affiliate of the now-defunct American Mideast Conference (AMC), with Dolan earning AMC Coach of the Year honors. He went on to lead the program to three-straight appearances in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national championship game during the team's transition to NCAA Division II, winning the title in 2012.

WILDCATS PICKED 8TH IN ECC PRESEASON POLL
Following a vote of the league's head coaches, Daemen has been picked to finish eighth in the East Coast Conference this season. The Wildcats went 4-10-2 overall and 1-6-1 in league play last season. Bridgeport, which has won the last two ECC and East Region championships, was picked as the favorite to win the league again this year, and the Purple Knights open the season ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II preseason poll.

BEND IT LIKE BOYAR
Daemen returns its top five point producers from last season, headlined by sophomore striker Jamie Boyar who totaled six goals, four assists and 16 points as a true freshman in 2016. In doing so, she became the first Daemen freshman to lead the team in goals and points since Alicia Vasiloff in 2008, and her point total was the most for a Daemen freshman since Kim Obermeier posted 21 points in 2012. She also led the team in shots (38) and shots on goal (19), and was one of only three players to start all 16 games. The Wildcats posted a 2-2-1 record in games that she scored in.

VETERAN PRESENCE
Daemen's roster features five players who have played in more than 30 games in their respective careers. On defense, junior Alex Valenti has started 41 of the 42 games she's appeared in during her career. She's joined by classmate Monique Green who has been a constant in the Wildcats' starting lineup after doubling her starts, from seven as a freshman to 14 last season. In the midfield, redshirt junior Sarah Britton is coming off her finest season as she tallied three goals and seven points in 2016. Britton has made 21 starts and 41 appearances in her career. And up front, the Wildcats retain the services of seniors Alex Juliano and Kalyn Compeau. Juliano has six goals and 16 points in 54 career games, while Compeau has totaled 14 goals and 33 points over 47 career games, including the two seasons she played for Medaille.

FRESH FACES
The Wildcats welcome 21 newcomers to the roster in 2017, including 17 freshmen. Ten freshman have made at least one start through the Wildcats' first seven games this season. Midfielders Sam Hanes and Celia de Pablo Esteban, and defenders Kayla Goeddertz and Sam D'Agostino have started all eight games thus far. Hanes scored the lone goal in Daemen's 1-1 (2OT) tie with St. Michael's in the team's 2017 season opener on Sept. 1. Spanish native de Pablo Esteban ranks second on the team in both goals (3) and points (7), and she's registered points in four of the last six games. Goeddertz earned her first career assist in Daemen's 2-1 (OT) win at St. Thomas Aquinas on Sept. 16. Freshman goalkeepers Katelin White and Maddie Flores have also contributed, helping Daemen rank fourth in the league in goals-against average (1.06).

MAKING A MOVE
One of the new additions to the roster should be a familiar name for Daemen fans as Leah McDonell transitions to soccer from the women's basketball team. McDonell completed her four years of basketball eligibility last winter, finishing her career with 1,005 points, 511 rebounds, 258 assists and 150 steals. She was a second-team All-ECC performer last winter, and she joins a list that includes former hoopers Lindsay Stoddard and Joanna Daugenti as players who have competed in both soccer and basketball for the Wildcats. McDonell has appeared in four games off the bench this season. She tallied her first career goal in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Goldey-Beacom.

LIGHTNING GROUNDED
Daemen is coming off a 2-1 non-league win Tuesday over Goldey-Beacom. The Lightning, out of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, entered the game with an unblemished 6-0-1 record this season, and as winners of 18 contests since the start of the 2016 season. Maddie Flores made her second start of the season and registered 11 saves to help Daemen offset a 27-9 disparity in total shot attempts. Less than 30 seconds after entering the game as a sub, Leah McDonell scored off a feed from Celia de Pablo Esteban to put the Wildcats ahead in the 36th minute. GBC would get the equalizer with less than two minutes remaining in the opening half. The game remained tied until Sarah Britton found a streaking Jamie Boyar who sent a high, line drive shot from the far right wing to the back of the net in the 60th minute which proved to be the game-winner. It was Daemen's fifth win of the season, surpassing the team's total from all of 2016 with nine games left on the docket this season. It also moved Daemen to 4-0 this season in games decided by one goal.

DRAMA QUEENS
Daemen is a cool 3-0-1 in overtime games this season, and have posted three consecutive victories in such contests. Sophomore forward Jamie Boyar cashed in a penalty kick opportunity that was generated by freshman forward Kayla Neumann in the first overtime period of Daemen's 2-1 victory over Lake Erie on Sept. 8. Just eight days later, in the Wildcats' East Coast Conference opener, freshman forward Kaylyn Phillips entered the game at the 96:59 mark, and less than a minute later she delivered the "golden goal" in Daemen's 2-1 defeat of St. Thomas Aquinas. On Sept. 19, Boyar struck again with a header goal in the 104th minute to beat Clarion, becoming the first Daemen player with two overtime game-winners in the same season since Samantha Engel in 2011. Daemen holds a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2) in overtime games dating back to the 2015 season.

I CAN BE YOUR HERO
Sophomore forward Jamie Boyar was voted the Herosports.com Division II Hero of the Week after scoring three of the Wildcats' four goals in non-league wins over Lake Erie (2-1, OT, Sept. 8) and Tiffin (2-0, Sept. 10). She scored her first career "golden goal" against Lake Erie, burying a penalty kick opportunity in the first overtime period. She went on to register the second multi-goal game of her career in the win over Tiffin. Hero of the Week nominations were announced on Tuesday, Sept. 12 with an online voting platform which ran through Friday, Sept. 15. Boyar gathered 755 total votes, accounting for 54.99 percent of the total vote. It was the second weekly accolade for Boyar who also earned ECC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

DYNAMIC DUO
Freshman goalkeepers Katelin White and Maddie Flores have both been impressive thus far in their rookie seasons. White earned ECC Defensive Player of the Week honors for Sept. 4-10 after totaling 16 saves in wins over Lake Erie (2-1, OT, Sept. 8) and Tiffin (2-0, Sept. 10). White turned aside 11 Tiffin shot attempts en route to her first career shutout, the most saves by a Daemen goalkeeper in a shutout since Kathryn Haessner made nine in a 2-0 defeat of Maine-Fort Kent on Sept. 7, 2013. She went on to add ECC Rookie of the Week honors for Sept. 11-17 after making nine saves in Daemen's 2-1 (OT) victory at St. Thomas Aquinas on Sept. 16, helping Daemen to a 1-0 start in conference play for the first time since joining the ECC in 2013. Not the be outdone, Flores earned ECC Rookie of the Week honors for Sept. 18-24. In her first career start, Flores went the distance, playing over 103 minutes and making six saves in Daemen's 1-0 shutout of Clarion on Sept. 19. Together, White and Flores have a collective save percentage of .868 this season as they've combined to make 59 total saves. Daemen's 1.06 goals-against average presently ranks fourth in the ECC.

NYIT SCOUTING REPORT
NYIT returns 13 players from its 2016 roster, including five who made at least 10 starts. The Bears are led by first-year head coach Rachel Reeves who inherits a team that is coming off a 6-7 season in 2016, including a 3-5 mark in ECC play. Leading the team's returners is senior midfielder Dina Simonian who posted team-highs of eight goals and 19 points a season ago. Also back is junior goalkeeper Jessie Sabal who posted a pair of shutouts while starting all 13 contests in 2016. NYIT was picked seventh in the ECC preason poll, and the Bears have rebounded from an 0-3 start to win three of their last four outings. A 3-2 (2OT) home win over Georgian Court, the favorite to win the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, on Sept. 14 got the Bears off the proverbial schneid. Over the last four games, NYIT has outscored their opponents 12-5. The Bears are coming off a 3-0 shutout of Bloomfield earlier this week. Freshman forward Casey Luongo has made an immediate impact. She leads the team in goals with six, accounting for nearly half of the team's offensive production this season (13 goals). Luongo is in a three-way tie for second among the ECC leaders in goals, and has netted two goals in each of the Bears' three wins this season. She was the ECC Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 11-17. Junior defender Caitlin Appel is the only other NYIT player with multiple goals; she has two. Simonian has one goal and two assists; she has made 20 consecutive starts and owns 54 career games played. Sabal has been the lone net-minder to see action this season. She has posted a 1.96 goals-against average and a .611 save percentage so far this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Daemen vs. NYIT: 2-3
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: NYIT 1, Daemen 0 | October, 14, 2016 | Amherst, N.Y.

UP NEXT
Daemen starts a four-game homestand by hosting longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan in a mid-week ECC tussle Wednesday, Oct. 4.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#23 Jamie Boyar: F; 5' 2"; Sophomore

#9 Sarah Britton: M; 5' 6"; Redshirt Junior

#5 Kalyn Compeau: F/M; 5' 6"; Senior

#22 Monique Green: D; 5' 8"; Junior

#32 Alex Juliano: F; 5' 2"; Senior

#7 Alex Valenti: D; 5' 4"; Junior

#17 Celia de Pablo Esteban: M; 5' 6"; Freshman

#35 Maddie Flores: GK; 5' 8"; Freshman

#20 Sam Hanes: M/F; 5' 2"; Freshman

#16 Kayla Neumann: M/F; 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#23 Jamie Boyar
: 5' 2"; Sophomore
: F

#9 Sarah Britton
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Junior
: M

#5 Kalyn Compeau
: 5' 6"; Senior
: F/M

#22 Monique Green
: 5' 8"; Junior
: D

#32 Alex Juliano
: 5' 2"; Senior
: F

#7 Alex Valenti
: 5' 4"; Junior
: D

#17 Celia de Pablo Esteban
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: M

#35 Maddie Flores
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: GK

#20 Sam Hanes
: 5' 2"; Freshman
: M/F

#16 Kayla Neumann
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: M/F