GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #10
Daemen Wildcats (6-1-2, 1-1-1 ECC) vs. Shepherd Rams (0-7-2, 0-7-1 PSAC)
Wednesday, Oct. 9 | 1 p.m.
Shepherdstown, W.Va. | Shepherd Soccer Complex
Live Stats

FREE KICK
After suffering their first loss of the season at the hands of defending national champion Bridgeport this past weekend, Daemen looks to bounce back Wednesday when they visit Shepherd for a non-conference contest. It will mark the fourth all-time meeting between the Wildcats and Rams, and the third straight season they've met. The Wildcats have yet to allow a goal in the all-time series, outscoring the Rams 4-0 in the the three prior meetings. The game features teams at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of goal scoring; Daemen ranks in the top 15 nationally (3.11 goals per game) while Shepherd ranks in the bottom 15 (0.44 goals per game). 

HISTORIC START
At 6-1-2, Daemen is off to the best start in program history, and they've done so in dominating fashion. The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 28-6 while recording four shutouts. They presently rank first in goals against average (0.64) and goal differential (+22), and second in total goals and goals scored per game (3.11) 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. 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO ME
For the second straight week the Wildcats are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll. After making their first-ever appearance in the poll last week at No. 10, the Wildcats moved up one spot to No. 9 this week. 

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 94-87-10 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.

A SEASON TO REMEMBER
Jamie Boyar turned in a season to remember last fall. She scored 20 goals and registered 43 points, finishing the regular season as the ECC leader in both. She finished the year ranked eighth nationally in goals and 16th nationally in points. Her goal total established a new team record for a single season, surpassing Kim Walker's mark of 19 set in 2005. Boyar netted the game-winning goal in five of Daemen's eight wins last year. She scored five goals in a 9-1 win against Lincoln, the most tallies of any player in the country during a single game last season. Daemen was 8-2 last season when Boyar scored at least one goal. 

BEND IT LIKE BOYAR
Jamie Boyar has gotten off to a fast start in 2019, recording 11 goals and 23 total points over Daemen's first nine games. She scored 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 as she's placed herself among the ECC and national leaders in both goals and points, and twice been named the ECC Offensive Player of the Week. She's reached several milestones, including her 40th career goal and 100th career point, with still more on the horizon. 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 - the 48th of her career - pushed her career point total to 107, surpassing Samantha Engel for second in team history. Daemen is now 22-5-2 when Boyar scores at least one goal, and 13-0 when she scores multiple times. She has started all 59 games since the start of the 2016 season, and stands just six goals shy of Kim Walker's program record (54) established from 2003-06. 

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 eight starts so far this season, posting a 5-1-2 record with a career-high three shutouts. She presently ranks second in saves (43), save percentage (.878) and goals against average (0.71) 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 14-8-3 while making 27 appearances in her career. She's one win shy of matching her career-high for a single season which she set last year. 

SAYING GRACE
Sophomore midfielder Grace Stranahan has registered four goals, three assists and 11 points through the first nine 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 currently ranks fifth among the ECC leaders in 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 and ranks second in the ECC with five assists thus far. 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 nine 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 38 games and made 21 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. 

HANES HER WAY
It didn't take long for junior midfielder Sam Hanes to make an impact once she returned to the lineup. Hanes, who missed the first two games this season while recovering from an injury, recorded a goal and an assist in Daemen's win over Goldey-Beacom on Sept. 14. It marked Hanes' first goal since the 2018 regular season finale at Chestnut Hill, and she became the eighth Daemen player to find the back of the net in 2019. She also became the sixth Daemen player this season to have a goal and an assist in the same game. Hanes has appeared in and started 41 games in her career, totaling six goals, four assists and 16 points in those contests. 

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. 

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Daemen's fast start to the 2019 season has been fueled by several players who find themselves among the national statistic leaders. Senior forward Jamie Boyar heads into this week as the national leader in game-winning goals this season with four. She also ranks fourth in total goals (11), ninth in goals per game (1.38), 10th in total points (23) and 12th in points per game (2.88). Senior midfielder Lindsay Ciaramella ranks second in the ECC and 17th nationally with five assists so far this season. Erin Egan and Sarah Kenny are right behind as both have registered three assists, good for 35th in the country. The spotlight isn't exclusive to the offensive end as goalkeeper Maddie Flores ranks 37th in save percentage and 52nd in goals against average. 

SHEPHERD SCOUTING REPORT
After competing for several seasons in the Mountain East Conference, Shepherd is in its first season as a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The Rams are led by second-year head coach Emily Hester who guided the team to a 5-8-5 mark in 2018. Hester has a veteran group to work with in 2019 as the Rams return 18 players, including defender Katherine Eddy who earned second-team All-MEC honors last season when she scored four goals and totaled 10 points. The Rams were picked eighth (out of nine) in the PSAC East Division preseason poll, and have opened the season with an 0-7-2 record. They are coming off a 1-0 loss to No. 8 Millersville last weekend. Goals have been hard to come by for the Rams this season; averaging just 0.44 goals per game, they rank 246th nationally (out of 261) in scoring. Newcomer Sara Hohn has scored three of the Rams' four goals, and she leads the team in shots (36) and shots on goal (17). Sophomore goalkeepers Lulu Fricks and Meghan Byers have split time between the pipes. Fricks is allowing 1.50 goals per game with a team-best .814 save percentage. As a team, Shepherd ranks 27th nationally in saves per game (7.67). 

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. SHEPHERD
Series Record: 3-0
Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: Daemen 2, Shepherd 0 | Sept. 12, 2018 | at Amherst, N.Y.

UP NEXT
Daemen returns to East Coast Conference action with a two-match road trip to the NYC metro area where they'll face Queens (Saturday, Oct. 12) and Molloy (Monday, Oct. 14).