Men's Soccer 10/26/2018 10:30:00 AM By Jake Carlson, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Men's Soccer Closes 2018 Campaign By Hosting Regionally-Ranked Spartans

GAME INFORMATION
Game #17
Daemen Wildcats (4-12, 2-6 ECC) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans (10-4-1, 6-2 ECC)
Saturday, Oct. 27 | 1:00 p.m.
Williamsville, N.Y. | Williamsville South HS Stadium

Live Stats

FREE KICK
Daemen hosts the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans in its final game of the season. The Spartans, a fellow member of the East Coast Conference, have stunned the conference this year after being picked to finish eighth in the conference at the beginning of the season. The Spartans have already clinched a conference tournament berth and currently sit in a three-way tie for second place in the league standings. The Spartans also come in ranked seventh in both the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll and the official NCAA Division II East Region rankings. Daemen will be looking to snap a nine-game slide.

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 12th out of the 37 teams in the region.

CLOSE CALLS
Daemen's 4-3 loss against UDC on Oct. 17 was the Wildcats' 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 nine goals, seven assists and 25 points in 34 career games. He's started 32 of the team's 34 contests since the start of the 2017 season, and he leads the team this season in both goals (5) and points (11).

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 32 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. He made his first start of this season on Oct. 20, making four saves in a non-conference loss to Mercyhurst. Moretta has started two recent games as well, 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.

SENIOR SALUTE
Saturday marks the final home game in the career of Daemen senior midfielder Zackery Elliott. The Bolton, Ontario native has been a fixture with the program since his arrival on campus in the fall of 2015. Over the past four seasons, Elliott has appeared in 60 of a possible 67 games while making 35 starts. He played an integral role last season when the Wildcats tied the program record for wins. Earlier this season, he scored the first goal of his career on September 29 against NYIT, and he went on to score again at Bridgeport on October 6. Elliott will be honored in an on-field ceremony prior to Saturday's game.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SPARTANS SCOUTING REPORT
St. Thomas Aquinas is led by Graham Brown who has guided the Spartans to a 10-4-1, 6-2 ECC record in his 17th year as head coach after going 88-88-28 in his tenure. The Spartans were picked eighth in the ECC preseason poll, and they feature senior goalkeeper Jack Nicholson. Nicholson is currently leading the ECC in goals-against average at 0.98 while also ranking fifth in the ECC in save percentage at .745. Along with Nicholson is Luis Morales who has five goals to lead the Spartans with two assists. Sophomore midfielder George Yusuff leads the team in assists with four assists and is tied with Morales for the team lead in points with 12. The Spartans have led a balanced attack this year featuring 10 different goal scorers. The Spartans feature eight seniors this season with eight freshmen as well. The ECC foe has won the past three meetings between the two teams and the Spartans also come in ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll and the official NCAA Division II East Region after being picked to finish eighth in the conference, just ahead of Daemen.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Series Record: 1-4
Streak: L-3
Last Meeting: St. Thomas Aquinas 3, Daemen 2 | Sept. 16, 2017 | Sparkill, N.Y.

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Players Mentioned

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

#18 Zackery Elliott: M; 5' 9"; Junior

#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

#18 Zackery Elliott
: 5' 9"; Junior
: M

#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