GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #15
Daemen Wildcats (8-3-3, 2-2-2 ECC) vs. Clarion Golden Eagles (4-9-1, 3-9-1 PSAC)
Tuesday, Oct. 29 | 4 p.m.
Clarion, Pa. | Memorial Stadium
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via Stretch Internet)
FREE KICK
Daemen looks to snap a three-game winless drought (0-2-1) when visiting Clarion for a non-conference contest on Tuesday afternoon. To do so, they'll need to break through against a Clarion team that's been stingy defensively in two prior meetings dating back to 2017. Both games have gone to double overtime with the teams combining for one goal in over 213 total minutes of action. The lone goal scored in series was of the "golden goal" variety off the head of Jamie Boyar, delivering a Wildcat victory in 2017. Goals have been at a premium for the Wildcats of late. After scoring 24 goals in the first five games of the season, Daemen has been limited to one or fewer goals in seven of the last nine contests. Most recently, the Wildcats were forced into a 0-0 draw with rival Roberts Wesleyan, despite an 18-4 advantage in shot attempts. Clarion will come into the game on a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) that's included three consecutive shutouts.
HISTORIC START
Daemen got off to the best start in program history by going 8-1-2 over their first 11 contests. The Wildcats rattled off five straight wins at the season's outset, including 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 program history as they outscored those opponents 24-2. 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.
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 3-3-3 with five of the six non-ties all being decided by a single goal. Five straight games were decided by a single goal, marking the first such streak in the 20-year history of the program. Daemen has scored two or more goals just twice in the last nine games, and the aggregate scoring total in that stretch is 10-9 in favor of the opponents.
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 96-89-11 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 (14) and points (29) this season, placing herself among the conference and national leaders in each. She ranks third in the conference and ninth nationally in goals, and third in the conference and 18th 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 23-7-2 when Boyar scores at least one goal, and 13-0 when she scores multiple times. She has started all 64 games since the start of the 2016 season, and stands just three goals shy of Kim Walker's program record (54) established from 2003-06. Boyar is No. 4 in career goals (51) and No. 7 in career points (113) 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 12 starts so far this season, posting a 6-3-3 record with a career-high five shutouts. She presently ranks second in save percentage (.855) and total saves (65) and third in goals against average (0.87) 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 15-10-4 while making 30 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 14 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 seventh among the ECC leaders in goals and fifth in both assists 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 leads the team in assists (6), ranking fourth 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 14 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 43 games and made 26 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.
CLARION SCOUTING REPORT
Clarion's roster features 18 returning players from their 2018 team that went 3-14-1 overall and 2-14-0 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play. The Golden Eagles are led by interim head coach Afrim Latifi who was appointed to the position last spring. After opening the season with a 1-0 non-conference win over Ursuline, the Golden Eagles dropped nine consecutive games. They've bounced back to post a 3-0-1 record in their last four outings, allowing just one goal in that span. Recent wins have come over California (Pa.) (2-1), Pitt-Johnstown (2-0) and Seton Hill (1-0). Senior goalkeeper Brigid Stermel has seen the bulk of the action between the pipes, making 11 starts and posting four shutouts. She'll enter Tuesday's contest having not allowed a goal in the last 341:09. Senior Andie Hill has paced the Golden Eagles offensively with five goals and 10 points this season, accounting for half of the team's total goals. She netted the lone tally in Clarion's win over Seton Hill last weekend. Additional offensive production has come from sophomore Madison Spitko (3 gls, 1 ast, 7 pts).
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. CLARION
Series Record: 1-0-1
Streak: Tied 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 0, Clarion 0 (2OT) | Oct. 14, 2018 | at Amherst, N.Y.
UP NEXT
Daemen closes out the home portion of its 2019 schedule this weekend (Saturday, Nov. 2) when they return to ECC play by hosting Lincoln.
