GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #13
Daemen Wildcats (8-2-2, 2-2-1 ECC) vs. #10 St. Rose Golden Knights (9-1-1, 6-1-1 NE-10)
Saturday, Oct. 19 | 2 p.m.
Albany, N.Y. | Plumeri Sports Complex
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via Stretch Internet)

FREE KICK
After suffering just their second loss of the season earlier this week, Daemen looks to bounce back in a big way as they visit nationally-ranked St. Rose for a non-conference contest in the State Capital district. It marks the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and Golden Knights. Daemen is coming off a 2-1 loss at the hands of Molloy, their fifth straight game decided by a single goal. St. Rose comes in at 9-1-1 and ranked No. 10 in the latest national poll. They too are looking to rebound after suffering a 2-1 loss to Assumption last Saturday. 

HISTORIC START
With eight wins in their first 12 contests, Daemen is off to the best start in program history. The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 32-9 while recording five shutouts. They presently rank second in goal differential (+23), third in total goals and goals per game (2.67) and fourth in goals against average (0.72) among all East Coast Conference teams. The Wildcats' early season success included a shutout streak that reached 229 minutes to start the season before Le Moyne pushed one over the goal line on Sept. 11. It has also featured 7-0 wins over Urbana and Nyack, marking the first time since 2011 that they've scored at least seven goals twice in the same season. The Wildcats' five-game winning streak to start the season marked just the fourth streak of its length in the 20-year history of the program. Their 1-0 win over regionally-ranked Mercy on Sept. 28 extended their unbeaten streak to eight straight games, matching the longest such streak in program history which had been accomplished only once before, during the 2011 season. Daemen has won eight games for the third straight season. It marks the second time in program history they've achieved at least eight wins in three successive seasons.  

R-E-S-P-E-C-T FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO ME
For the third straight week the Wildcats are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll. After making their first-ever appearance in the poll at No. 10, the Wildcats have held steady No. 9 in each of the last two weeks.  

CLOSE CALLS
Close contests have been the norm over the last several weeks for the Wildcats. Since their 7-0 blowout of Nyack on Sept. 18, the Wildcats are 3-2-2 with the five non-ties all being decided by a single goal. It marks the first time in the 20-year history of the program that five straight games have been decided by a single goal. 

HIGH HOPES
Expectations are high for the Wildcats, as they return several key players from last year's team that posted an 8-8-1 overall record and made its first-ever appearance in the East Coast Conference Tournament after placing fourth in the final regular-season standings with a 5-4-0 league mark. The five league wins were the most for the Wildcats since joining the ECC in 2013. Daemen was picked third in the 2019 ECC preseason poll.

OH DANNY BOY
Head coach Dan Dolan returns to the Wildcats for his 11th season in 2019. Since taking over the program in 2009, Dolan has led Daemen to a 96-88-10 record, establishing himself as the program's all-time winningest coach. Last fall Dolan led the Wildcats to their first-ever appearance in the ECC Championship Tournament. He also led 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.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2019
Daemen returns 13 players from its 2018 roster, eight of whom started at least 10 games. That group is undoubtedly headlined by senior forward Jamie Boyar, a first-team All-ECC and second-team All-East Region selection last season when she tallied 43 points and a program-record 20 goals. Boyar figures to have plenty of help from fellow senior captains Lindsay Ciaramella and Sarah Kenny both of whom play integral roles in the midfield. Junior Katja Meyer also returns after posting four goals and 11 points a season ago. The Wildcats will be tasked early on with replacing the production of departed midfielder Celia de Pablo Esteban who led the ECC in assists (14) last season. Junior Sam D'Agostino will head up the backline following the graduation of defenders Monique Green and Alex Valenti. D'Agostino has started 31 of a possible 34 games over her first two seasons and earned third-team All-ECC honors last fall. Redshirt senior Erin Egan joins the team after spending the last four years as a member of the women's basketball team. Junior Maddie Flores returns after starting 12 games in goal last year and posting a 2.00 goals against average and two shutouts.

BEND IT LIKE BOYAR
After setting the program record with 20 goals in 2018, Jamie Boyar has picked up right where she left off. The senior forward leads Daemen in goals (13) and points (27) this season, placing herself among the conference and national leaders in each. She ranks third in the conference and fifth nationally in goals, and third in the conference and 12th nationally in points. She scored goals in all five games of Daemen's season-opening winning streak, the longest consecutive scoring streak of her career. It included four multi-goal games leading to a pair of selections as the ECC Offensive Player of the Week. She's reached several milestones along the way, including her 40th and 50th career goals and 100th career point. She reached the century mark for points as part of a three-goal performance vs. Nyack on Sept. 18, becoming just the third player in program history to do so. Her goal on Sept. 25 vs. Davis & Elkins pushed her career point total to 107, surpassing Samantha Engel for second in team history. She became just the second player in program history to reach the 50-goal plateau with her tally Oct. 14 at Molloy. Daemen is now 23-6-2 when Boyar scores at least one goal, and 13-0 when she scores multiple times. She has started all 62 games since the start of the 2016 season, and stands just four goals shy of Kim Walker's program record (54) established from 2003-06. Boyar is No. 3 in career goals (50) and No. 7 in career points (111) among active Division II players.  

HEY ROOKIE
Alyssa Mercado has twice been named the ECC Rookie of the Week this season as the freshman forward from California has made an immediate impact for the Wildcats. Mercado totaled two goals and two assists during the opening week of the season, helping Daemen to decisive wins over Urbana and Mansfield. She became the first Daemen freshman to score in consecutive games since Jamie Boyar did so in 2016. Mercado went on to notch the lone goal in Daemen's 1-0 win over regionally-ranked Mercy on Sept. 28. She's just the third freshman in Daemen's ECC era (2013-present) to score at least three goals in a season. 

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Junior Maddie Flores has made 10 starts so far this season, posting a 6-2-2 record with a career-high four shutouts. She presently ranks second in save percentage (.864), third in saves (51) and fourth in goals against average (0.77) among the ECC leaders. She was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 16-22 after making a combined 13 saves in games against Nyack and New York Tech. Flores is 15-9-3 while making 29 appearances in her career, and she has matched her career-high for wins in a single season this year. 

SAYING GRACE
Sophomore midfielder Grace Stranahan has registered five goals, five assists and 15 points through the first 12 games this season, already eclipsing her goal and point totals from her freshman season when she made 14 appearances and five starts. With goals against Urbana, Mansfield and Le Moyne, she became the first Daemen player other than Jamie Boyar to score in three successive games since both Meghan Lipinoga and Kacey Bougard did so late in the 2013 season. She scored a goal and added an assist in a 2-1 win over Shepherd on Oct. 9, marking her third game this season with at least three points. She currently ranks fifth among the ECC leaders in goals and points.

FOREIGN SUBSTANCE
The Wildcats have gotten strong play in the midfield from the likes of seniors Lindsay Ciaramella and Sarah Kenny. The Canadian-born Ciaramella shares the team lead in assists (5), ranking fifth among all ECC players. She's the first Daemen player in recent memory to record an assist in five straight games, and scored the game-tying goal in a 1-1 tie at New York Tech on Sept. 21. Kenny, an Australian native, has already set career-highs for assists (4) and points (6) while starting all 12 contests this season. 

KAT'S MEOW
Junior defender Katja Meyer has netted three goals for the Wildcats this season, including the game-winning goal in the Wildcats' 3-1 defeat of Le Moyne on Sept. 11. It marked the second game-winning goal for Meyer who has proven to be a clutch player for the Wildcats over the last two seasons. Meyer's previous game-winning goal came Sept. 29, 2018 when she scored in the final minute of regulation to lift Daemen to a 2-1 defeat of New York Tech. Meyer has appeared in 41 games and made 24 starts over her three-year career, totaling seven goals, five assists and 19 points. She posted the first multi-goal game of her career with a pair of tallies in Daemen's 7-0 win over Nyack on Sept. 18. 

FROM THE HARDWOOD TO THE PITCH
Erin Egan is the latest player to successfully transition to soccer after completing a four-year career with the Daemen women's basketball team. She is the third player to crossover during the 11-year tenure of head coach Dan Dolan, joining former Wildcats Lindsay Stoddard and Leah McDonell. The early returns have all been positive as Egan has made an immediate impact with two goals, four assists and eight points thus far. She scored her first career goal during Daemen's 7-0 win over Nyack on Sept. 18, and found the back of the net again a week later vs. Davis & Elkins. Her journey from All-ECC basketball player to starting forward on the pitch was recently documented in a feature story for WKBW-Channel 7. 

ST. ROSE SCOUTING REPORT
St. Rose is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, and the Golden Knights are led by one of the best head coaches in the business. Laurie Darling Gutheil has guided the program to a 358-104-36 record and 14 NCAA tournament appearances since taking the reins in 1996. She ranks 29th in wins among active head coaches across all NCAA divisions, and fourth among active Division II coaches. The 2019 season has seen more of the same as the Golden Knights enter Saturday's contest one win shy of their 20th consecutive season with at least 10 wins. The Golden Knights boast a veteran roster; out of their 32 players, 23 are returners. That group is headlined by senior forward/midfielder Nina Predanic who leads the Golden Knights in goals (11), assists (5) and points (27) this season. Her point total leads the NE-10 and also ranks 12th among the national leaders. As a team, St. Rose ranks 19th nationally in scoring offense, producing 2.82 goals per game, and they've outscored opponents 31-7 on the season. They're also stopping nearly 87 percent of shots on goal, ranking 26th nationally in save percentage (.868). Junior Marika Laurendeau has seen the bulk of goalkeeping duties, playing all but 34 minutes and 50 seconds this season. St. Rose is ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II national poll, and No. 1 in the East Region poll by the same organization. 

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

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to East Coast Conference action next Saturday, Oct. 26 when the play host to longtime rival Roberts Wesleyan.