Men's Soccer 10/22/2018 3:00:00 PM By Jake Carlson, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Daemen Hosts Mercyhurst Tuesday In Penultimate Game Of 2018 Season

GAME INFORMATION
Game #16
Daemen Wildcats (4-11, 2-6 ECC) vs. Mercyhurst Lakers (7-6-2, 4-4-2 ECC)
Tuesday, Oct. 23 | 5:30 p.m.
Williamsville, N.Y. | Williamsville South High School Stadium

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Daemen hosts the Mercyhurst Lakers from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in its final non-conference game of the 2018 season Tuesday. The Wildcats are looking to snap an eight-game slide with five of the losses coming against regionally-ranked opponents. They'll be facing their fourth PSAC opponent of the season, having previously dispatched of Gannon (3-2 on Sept. 10) while suffering defeats to Lock Haven (3-1 on Sept. 18) and Bloomsburg (2-1 on Sept. 26). Mercyhurst, which boasts nine straight postseason berths on its resume, comes in with a 7-6-2 record. It marks the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and Lakers.

BACK IN THE SADDLE
Head coach Bobby McColl returns for his third season on the Daemen sidelines in 2018, and his seventh overall as a collegiate head coach. McColl heads into the 2018 season with a career coaching record of 54-52-8 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). In 2017, he led Daemen to records of 7-11 (overall) and 3-6 (ECC). The team's overall win total matched the program record for wins in a season.

STIFF COMPETITION
Daemen has played one of the most difficult schedules in the East Region this season. The Wildcats' strength of schedule (.521) ranks 12 out of the 37 teams in the region.

CLOSE CALLS
Daemen's 4-3 loss to District of Columbia on Oct. 17 was their fifth by just a single goal this season. Two of those decisions have been overtime losses - a 3-2 loss at Le Moyne on Sept. 8 and a 3-2 loss at #25 Mercy on Oct. 3.

SUPER SWEDE
Sophomore midfielder Niklas Ringdahl Bohlin is once again producing offensively for the Wildcats. The Fjaras, Sweden native recorded the first multi-goal game of his career in Daemen's 3-2 win over Gannon on Sept. 10. He also registered an assist on Noah Keem's game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Molloy on Sept. 15. Ringdahl Bohlin, who earned team MVP honors as a freshman in 2017, has totaled eight goals, seven assists and 23 points in 33 career games. He's started 31 of the team's 33 contests since the start of the 2017 season, and he leads the team this season in both goals (4) and points (9) this season.

UP TOP
Sophomores Noah Keem and Finn Krueger have combined to give the Wildcats a scoring punch in the attacking third. Keem, who became Daemen's first-ever All-East Coast Conference honoree last season, scored both goals in the Wildcats' 2-1 victory over Molloy on Sept. 15. Two of the three multi-goal games in Keem's career have come against Molloy. After missing seven games with an injury, Keem returned to lineup Oct. 17 at District of Columbia and he wasted little time scoring his third goal of the season. Keem has totaled 12 goals, four assists and 28 points over the last two seasons. Krueger netted two goals during Daemen's 3-2 overtime loss at Le Moyne on Sept. 8, marking the first multi-goal game of his career. Krueger has totaled seven goals, five assists and 19 points in 31 career games played.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman defender Giacomo Bacigalupo has made an immediate impact in his first collegiate season. The Lavagna, Italy native is second on the team with seven points on two goals and three assists so far this season. He registered the first goal of his collegiate career during Daemen's 3-2 win over Gannon on Sept. 10. Bacigalupo went on to tally Daemen's lone goal in a 1-0 shutout victory over longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan on Sept. 22.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Freshman goalkeeper Phillip Schmidt has started 13 games for the Wildcats thus far, posting two shutouts and a .679 save percentage. Sophomore Jarrett Lecceadone and freshmen Eithan Hahn and Ryan Moretta have also seen action in goal this season. Lecceadone is the team's most experienced goalkeeper after appearing in nine games and making five starts in 2017. Moretta started the team's two most recent games, registering a combined 25 saves in losses at District of Columbia and LIU Post. He is the first Daemen goalkeeper to post 10 or more saves in back-to-back games since Matt Daddario in 2012, and his 15 saves against LIU Post are the most for a Daemen goalkeeper since Steve Geffert registered 12 in a loss to Gannon during the 2016 season.

MERCYHURST LAKERS SCOUTING REPORT
Mercyhurst is led by Nenad Vidakovic who has guided the Lakers to 43-25-4 record in his four-year tenure to date. The Lakers were picked fourth in the PSAC preseason poll, and they feature junior midfielder and forward Hady Sarr. Sarr is following up his nine-goal season in 2017 with seven goals this season, ranking sixth in the conference. Along with Sarr in the attacking position is Henri Tophoven who ranks sixth in the PSAC with five assists. Tophoven also ranks second in game-winning goals this season with four. Junior Martin Jarc has started every game in goal this season for the Lakers with 27 goals allowed, 47 saves and a 1.75 goals allowed average. The Lakers have eight seniors, with all of them being a defenders or midfielders, but also feature 10 freshmen on this year's squad. Mercyhurst went 1-2 against the other PSAC teams that the Wildcats have played this season; the Lakers beat Lock Haven and lost to Gannon and Bloomsburg.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MERCYHURST
Series Record: 0-0
Streak: N/A
Last Meeting: N/A

UP NEXT
Daemen hosts St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday, October 27 at 1 p.m. at Karrer Field in its final game of the season.

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Players Mentioned

#17 Steve Geffert: D/GK; 5' 9"; Freshman

#7 Noah Keem: F/D; 6' 0"; Freshman

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

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

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

#33 Ryan Moretta: GK; 6' 1"; Freshman

#22 Giacomo Bacigalupo: D; 5' 9"; Freshman

#35 Eithan Hahn: GK; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#17 Steve Geffert
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: D/GK

#7 Noah Keem
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: F/D

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

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

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

#33 Ryan Moretta
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: GK

#22 Giacomo Bacigalupo
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: D

#35 Eithan Hahn
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: GK