Going To The Show! Wildcats Punch First-Ever NCAA Tournament Ticket

Daemen Awarded At-Large Bid To NCAA East Regional; Will Play At No. 1 Seed St. Rose This Friday

11/18/2019 7:15:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

AMHERST, N.Y. - A blanket of snow may be covering the Western New York ground, but that's not going to stop the collegiate soccer season from continuing as Daemen College will play in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship for the first time in program history. The Wildcats, led by veteran head coach Dan Dolan, have earned an at-large bid and are one of eight teams that will compete in the East Regional. The full 56-team NCAA tournament field was announced tonight in a selection show broadcast on NCAA.com.

Daemen is the No. 8 seed in the East Regional, and the Wildcats will face top-seeded College of St. Rose at the Plumeri Sports Complex in Albany on Friday, November 22 with first kick slated for 6 p.m. Ticket and broadcast information will be announced later this week.

"I can't express the feeling right now," said Dolan, the program's longest tenured head coach who stands one win shy of 100 for his career. "I'm just extremely happy to see the pure joy and excitement on the faces of our players. I'm so proud of them. Much gratitude to the committee for seeing our body of work and choosing us an at-large team. Now we need to prepare for St. Rose."
The Wildcats will make their NCAA tournament debut after posting an 11-3-3 overall record during the regular season, recording the program's most wins since 2012. Daemen opened the year with five straight wins, and went unbeaten through their first eight contests (6-0-2) to match the longest unbeaten streak in program history (last achieved in 2011). They were dominant in that stretch of games, outscoring their opponents 28-5. The streak was snapped Oct. 5 with a 1-0 loss to eventual East Coast Conference regular season champion and defending national champion University of Bridgeport.

After posting just a 2-3-1 record from Oct. 5-26, the Wildcats rebounded with three straight wins to close the regular season, defeating Clarion University (2-0), Lincoln University (7-0) and St. Thomas Aquinas College (2-1). The latter two came in ECC play, helping Daemen close with a 4-2-2 conference mark. The Wildcats placed fifth in the ECC standings, missing a conference tournament berth by a single point.

The Wildcats have featured a high-powered offense as well as a stout defense through various stretches this season. Daemen has pitched eight shutouts and allowed just 13 goals this season - both program records. Offensively, they've scored 44 goals, good for a 2.59 goals-per-game average. Senior forward Jamie Boyar (Williamsville, N.Y.) - one of four all-conference honorees on the squad - posted 18 goals in the regular season and is the program's all-time leading goal scorer with 55 tallies in her career.

Daemen will be making their second trip to the Plumeri Sports Complex this season to face St. Rose. The Wildcats fell to the Golden Knights, then ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll, by a 3-1 final back on Oct. 19. The Golden Knights earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Northeast-10 Conference title. They netted three second-half goals, including the game-winner with just 10 seconds remaining, to knock off Southern Connecticut State University in Sunday's NE-10 tournament final. The Golden Knights will enter NCAA tournament play with a 17-2-1 record.

The winner of Friday's game will move on to Sunday's regional semifinal to face the winner of fourth-seeded Stonehill College (11-4-4) and fifth-seeded Jefferson University (15-5-0). The regional final will be played December 5 or 6 at a site to be determined, and the regional champion will move to the national quarterfinals to face the Atlantic Region champion on December 7 or 8. The national semifinals (Dec. 12) and finals (Dec. 14) will be played at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Daemen College features the only NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

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