(#8 SEED) DAEMEN WILDCATS (11-3-3) vs. #11 (#1 SEED) ST. ROSE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (17-2-1)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2 | 6:00 PM
ALBANY, N.Y. | PLUMERI SPORTS COMPLEX

FREE KICK
A historic day is on the horizon for the Daemen women's soccer program as the Wildcats will make their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance Friday. The Wildcats are the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Division II East Regional, and will face top-seeded St. Rose under the lights of the Plumeri Sports Complex. It'll mark the second meeting ever between the Wildcats and Golden Knights, with both contests occurring this season. The Wildcats got a first-half goal from Jamie Boyar, but fell to St. Rose, then-ranked No. 10 in the national poll, back on Oct. 19 in a game also played in Albany. The NCAA tournament field includes 56 teams from across the country, all battling for the opportunity to advance to the national semifinals (Dec. 12) and finals (Dec. 14) at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa. 

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
It was a raucous scene inside The Den this past Monday night when the Daemen women's soccer team learned that they had indeed been awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The announcement was made during a live selection show broadcast on NCAA.com. It marks the program's first NCAA tournament bid, and it comes in their fifth season of postseason eligibility following a three-year transition from the NAIA. 

HOW THEY GOT HERE
Daemen posted an 11-3-3 overall record during the regular season, marking the sixth 10+ win season in program history, and the fifth under head coach Dan Dolan. The Wildcats rattled off five straight wins to start the year - just the fourth winning streak of five or more games in team history. They would go on to match the longest unbeaten streak in team history (8 games) by starting 6-0-2, outscoring those opponents 28-5. Their sixth win was a big one - a 1-0 shutout of perennial ECC power Mercy on Sept. 28. The unbeaten streak ended with a 1-0 loss to defending national champion Bridgeport on Oct. 5, and the Wildcats went on to go 2-3-1 over the first four weeks of October. Additional losses in that stretch came against Molloy and St. Rose, teams that both went on to win their respective conference tournaments. The Wildcats rebounded with three straight wins to close the regular season, outscoring their opponents 11-1 in those games. Despite the strong finish, Daemen missed out on a qualifying bid to the ECC Championships, finishing one point back of fourth-place Molloy College in the ECC standings. 

HIGH HOPES
Expectations were high for the Wildcats in 2019, as they returned 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 99-89-11 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.

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 (18) and points (37) this season, placing herself among the conference and national leaders in each. 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. In the Wildcats' regular-season finale, she notched both goals in a 2-1 win over St. Thomas Aquinas, surpassing Kim Walker to become the program's all-time leader in goals with 55. Daemen is now 26-7-2 when Boyar scores at least one goal, and 14-0 when she scores multiple times. She has started all 67 games since the start of the 2016 season and has totaled 121 points. Boyar has been named to the All-ECC First Team and D2CCA All-East Region Second Team for the second straight season. 

GET DEFENSIVE
The play of defenders Sam D'Agostino, Julia Eichel, Madeline Emmi and Katja Meyer, as well as goalkeeper Maddie Flores has propelled Daemen to record-setting performances in the defensive third this season. The Wildcats have pitched a team-record eight shutouts this season, and finished the regular season allowing just 13 goals all season, also a program best. D'Agostino was named to the All-ECC Third Team for the second straight season. Flores has shined between the pipes, making 15 starts and posting a 9-3-3 record with a career-high six solo shutouts. She has posted a new career-high for wins in a season and her six shutouts are the most by a Daemen net minder since Kayla Hampton posted six during the 2012 season. 

SAYING GRACE
Sophomore midfielder Grace Stranahan has registered six goals, five assists and 17 points 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 was named to the All-ECC Third Team. 

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 with eight. 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. She's been named to the All-ECC Second Team. Kenny, an Australian native, has already set career-highs for assists (4) and points (8) while starting all 17 contests this season.

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. Egan has made an immediate impact with four goals, five assists and 13 points. 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. She registered her first multi-goal game during a 7-0 win over Lincoln last weekend. 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 366-105-36 record and 15 NCAA tournament appearances since taking the reins in 1996. She ranks 26th in wins among active head coaches across all NCAA divisions. The 2019 season has seen more of the same as the Golden Knights enter Friday's NCAA tournament contest with a 17-2-1 record, and ranked No. 11 in the latest Division II national poll from the United Soccer Coaches. 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, the 2019 NE-10 and East Region Player of the Year, who leads the Golden Knights in goals (18), assists (13) and points (49). Olivia Boucher (11 gls, 6 asts), Caitlyn Dabagian (7 gls) and Morgan Burchhardt (11 asts) have also produced offensively for the high-powered Golden Knights. As a team, St. Rose ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense, producing 2.85 goals per game, and they've outscored opponents 57-19 on the season. They're also stopping nearly 80 percent of shots on goal with junior Marika Laurendeau getting the bulk of goalkeeping duties. She's played all but 34 minutes and 50 seconds this season, and holds a 0.94 goals against average.

BY THE NUMBERS

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. ST. ROSE
Series Record: 0-1
Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: #10 St. Rose 3, Daemen 1 | Oct. 19, 2019 | at Albany, N.Y.

MOVING ON
The Daemen-St. Rose winner will move on to the Sunday's regional semifinal to face the winner of fourth-seeded Stonehill (11-4-4) and fifth-seeded Jefferson (15-5-0).