Women's Soccer 10/26/2018 11:00:00 AM By Jake Carlson, Athletics Communications Graduate Assistant

Wildcats Tune Up For ECC Tournament Saturday At Chestnut Hill

GAME INFORMATION
Game #16
Daemen Wildcats (7-7-1, 5-4 ECC) vs. Chestnut Hill Griffins (3-12-1, 2-9-1 CACC)
Saturday, Oct. 27 | 12:00 p.m.
Lafayette Hill, Pa. | Victory Field #1 - Plymouth Whitemarsh

Live Stats

FREE KICK
Daemen closes out the 2018 regular season this Saturday when visiting Chestnut Hill for a non-conference game. The Wildcats will be looking for their eighth win of the season, and it would mark the first time they've won at least eight games in back-to-back seasons since doing so four straight times from 2010-13. Chestnut Hill, a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, is coming off a 3-0 loss to NYIT earlier this week. Daemen's season will continue next week with their first-ever appearance in the East Coast Conference Championships.

PLAYOFF PICTURE
Despite suffering a road loss at regionally-ranked LIU Post this past Saturday, the Wildcats clinched their first-ever ECC Championships berth after NYIT fell to Mercy, solidifying Daemen as the tournament's No. 4 seed. Daemen edged out NYIT by one point in the conference standings, and their five ECC wins are the most they've attained since joining the league in 2013. The Wildcats know they will travel Tuesday, Oct. 30 to face the tournament's top seed, but the opponent is yet to be determined. It will all be worked out by Saturday afternoon as both Bridgeport and Mercy have beats on capturing the No. 1 seed. Bridgeport, which presently sits in first place, travels to Roberts Wesleyan, and the Purple Knights can clinch the No. 1 seed with a victory there. A Bridgeport loss or tie will open the door for Mercy which hosts ECC newcomer Lincoln; Mercy can finish ahead of Bridgeport, or they also own the tie-breaker between the two teams.

OH DANNY BOY
Head coach Dan Dolan returns to the Wildcats for his tenth season in 2018. Since taking over the program in 2009, Dolan has led Daemen to an 87-85-8 record, establishing himself as the program's all-time winningest coach. After going 9-7-1 in 2017, Dolan looks to carry the momentum of that successful campaign into the 2018 season. Dolan's best season came back in 2011 when the Wildcats went 15-4 overall and 11-1 in their final season as a member of the now-defunct American Mideast Conference. 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.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Sophomores Maddie Flores and Katelin White have shared time between the pipes for Daemen, much the same as they did during the 2017 season. Both have experienced their share of success, combining for three ECC Rookie of the Week and two ECC Defensive Player of the Week selections last season. White has started five games, appearing in six, and Flores has started nine, and together they have posted a 1.95 goals against average and a .725 save percentage. White registered the team's first shutout this season, a 2-0 win over Shepherd on Sept. 12 which marked the fourth shutout of her career. Flores has started eight of the last nine games, and has posted two shutouts, helping the Wildcats defeat Queens (3-0 on Oct. 10) and draw with Clarion (0-0 on Oct. 14).

VETERAN PRESENCE
The Wildcats feature three players who have appeared in more than 60 games in their careers. Senior defenders Monique Green and Alex Valenti have been fixtures on the Daemen back line in each of their four seasons. In that time, they've played an integral role in helping Daemen pitch 15 shutouts. Green was a third team All-ECC selection last season, one of only three players to earn an all-conference nod since joining the ECC back in 2013. She's appeared in 63 games and made 52 starts in her career. Valenti has appeared in 65 of a possible 66 games in her career, starting in all but one. There's also redshirt senior midfielder Sarah Britton who has totaled four goals, seven assists and 15 points over 64 games in her career.

BEND IT LIKE BOYAR
Junior forward Jamie Boyar has placed herself squarely in the ECC Player of the Year conversation this season. The Williamsville native currently leads the ECC and ranks third in the country with 18 goals in goals, one shy of Daemen's single season record set by Kim Walker back in 2005. She also leads the league and ranks fourth nationally with 39 points. Boyar has netted the game-winning goal in five of Daemen's seven wins this season. Several of her game-winning tallies have been of the dramatic fashion. She scored 1:30 into the first overtime period to deliver a 3-2 win over Molloy on Sept. 15; Boyar netted all three goals in the game, marking her first career hat trick. One week later, she scored two goals including the game-winner in overtime to defeat Roberts Wesleyan 3-2. On October 10, Boyar netted all three goals in a 3-0 shutout of Queens, becoming the first Daemen player with multiple three-goal games in a season since Kacey Bougard in 2013. Boyar then scored five goals in a 9-1 win against Lincoln, the most tallies of any player in the country during a single game this season. Daemen is 7-2 this season, and 16-5-1 since 2016 when Boyar scores at least one goal. For her career, she's started all 48 games in the last three seasons, and has totaled 35 goals, 10 assists and 80 points. She ranks third in goals and in points among Daemen's all-time leaders.

PASE FELIZ
Celia de Pablo Esteban has been a leader at her central attacking midfield position for the Wildcats this season. Hailing from Burgos, Spain, de Pablo Esteban leads the ECC and is tied for first nationally with 13 assists this season. She's just the fourth player in team history to record at least 10 assists in a season, and the first since Janelle Masi and Lindsay Miller both did so during the 2011 season. Nine of de Pablo Esteban's assists have come on goals by Jamie Boyar, including all three of Boyar's goals in a recent 3-0 win over Queens. In her career, she's appeared in and started all 32 games that the team has played, and she's posted seven goals, 16 assists and 30 points.

KAT'S CALLING
Sophomore Katja Meyer has developed into another scoring option for the Wildcats this season. The Verona, N.Y. native has netted three goals while posting two assists this season. She scored the first goal and registered the first assist of her career in Daemen's season-opening 5-2 win over Bloomfield and Aug. 30. Meyer went on to score in back-to-back wins over Roberts Wesleyan and NYIT. Her goal against the regionally-ranked NYIT Bears came with just 39 seconds left of the clock, snapping a 1-1 tie to deliver Daemen's fourth win in the month of September.

OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
Daemen's nine-goal outburst against Lincoln marked the most goals they've scored since a 9-0 win over Fisher on Oct. 28, 2012.

CHESTNUT HILL SCOUTING REPORT
Chestnut Hill will host the Wildcats in its final game of the season. The Griffins are coached by Sandy Dickson in her eighth year at the helm after leaving Bloomsburg. The Griffins were picked 12th out of 13 in the CACC preseason poll as they return all but five players from the 2017 campaign. Freshman forward and midfielder Maddie Jimenez leads the team with five goals this season. The Griffins have started three different goalkeepers this season with junior Leah Peshkin starting 10 games this season. The Griffins are currently second in the CACC with 15 goals while giving up 47 this season. Chestnut Hill is the fourth CACC team the Wildcats have faced this year with a 1-2 record thus far. The Wildcats defeated Bloomfield 5-2 in the season opener and then lost to Goldey-Beacom 5-2 and Wilmington 2-1. The Griffins also beat Bloomfield 2-0 in its CACC opener. All of Chestnut Hill's nonconference games came against ECC members. The Wildcats will be the fifth ECC team the Griffins will face this season after playing Roberts Wesleyan, Lincoln, Queens and NYIT, only defeating Lincoln. The Wildcats defeated all of the Griffins ECC opponents. This is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

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

UP NEXT
Daemen will travel to either Bridgeport or Mercy the team's first-ever ECC Champinships game on Tuesday, October 30.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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

#31 Katja Meyer: M/F; 5' 10"; Freshman

#0 Katelin White: GK; 5' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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

#31 Katja Meyer
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: M/F

#0 Katelin White
: 5' 4"; Freshman
: GK