GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #5
Daemen Wildcats (4-0-0, 0-0-0 ECC) vs. Nyack Warriors (0-2-0, 0-0-0 CACC)
Wednesday, Sept. 18 | 2 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Karrer Field
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via ECC Network)
FREE KICK
Daemen looks to run its season-opening winning streak to five games this Wednesday when they play host to Nyack. It will mark Daemen's second straight contest against a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference affiliate after scoring a 3-1 win over Goldey-Beacom last Saturday. The Wildcats have been downright dominant so far this season, outscoring their opponents 17-2. The Wildcats presently lead the East Coast Conference in total goals, goals per game (4.25), goals allowed per game (0.50) and goal differential (+15). Nyack comes into the contest searching for their first win of the season after being shutout both of their contests thus far. The Wildcats and Warriors will be meeting for just the second time in their history, and for the first time since 2003. A Daemen win would put the Wildcats on just the fourth five-game winning streak in the 20-year history of the program.
HISTORIC START
Daemen has gotten off to a 4-0 start for the first time in program history, scoring convincing wins over Urbana (7-0) and Mansfield (4-0), Le Moyne (3-1) and Goldey-Beacom (3-1). The Wildcats have outscored their first three opponents 17-2, and their +15 goal differential is the most through four games in team history. The season-opening success included a shutout streak that reached 229 minutes before Le Moyne pushed one over the goal line. The Sept. 8 win over Mansfield was their first in that series since 2002, and it snapped a six-game winless drought (0-4-2) against the Mounties. The Sept. 11 win over Le Moyne was Daemen's first-ever in that all-time series which dates back to the 2014 season and now features five meetings. Most recently, their win Sept. 14 came against a Goldey-Beacom team that has averaged 13 wins over the last three seasons.
PROTECT PARK
Wednesday's game comes at the friendly confines of Karrer Field on the campus of The Park School of Buffalo where Daemen is 12-5-2 since the start of the 2017 season. Daemen is unbeaten (6-0-1) in their last seven home games, a streak that dates back to September of 2018.
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 is ranked 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 92-86-8 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. Daemen is 17-5-1 over the last three seasons when Boyar records a goal, and she enters her senior season ranking second for career goals (37) and third for career points (84) among Daemen's all-time leaders. 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 during her career 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 seven goals and 15 total points over Daemen's first three games. She ranks among the ECC and national leaders in both goals and points. Boyar has been named the ECC Offensive Player of the Week in each of the first two weeks of the season. Her early season scoring has included the 40th goal of her career, becoming just the second player in team history to reach that total, and the 90th point of her career, becoming the just the third player in team history with at least that many. Daemen is now 21-5-1 when Boyar scores at least one goal, and 12-0 when she scores multiple times. She has started all 54 games since 2016 and has totaled 44 goals, 11 assists and 99 points. She ranks second in career goals and third in career points among Daemen's all-time leaders.
HEY ROOKIE
Alyssa Mercado was named the ECC Rookie of the Week for games played during the opening week of the 2019 season. Mercado totaled two goals and two assists in wins over Urbana and Mansfield. She is the first Daemen freshman to score in consecutive games since Jamie Boyar did so in 2016. She's also the first Daemen freshman with at least two goals in a season since 2017 when Celia de Pablo Esteban and Sam Hanes both did so.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Junior Maddie Flores has made three starts so far this season, including a nine-save performance against Urbana that resulted in her fifth career shutout. She led the team's goalkeepers in appearances (12), goals against average (2.00), saves (68) and save percentage (.756) while posting a 6-5-1 record last season. Freshman Tori DeLappi earned the start vs. Mansfield and registered four saves to complete the shutout.
SAYING GRACE
Sophomore midfielder Grace Stranahan has registered three goals, one assist and seven points through the first four games this season, already eclipsing her 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 fourth among the ECC leaders in points.
FOREIGN SUBSTANCE
With players like Jamie Boyar, Grace Stranahan and Alyssa Mercado converting their goal-scoring opportunities, 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 four assists thus far. She's the first Daemen player to record an assist in four straight games since Alicia Vasiloff did so in 2011. Kenny, an Australian native, has already set career-highs for assists (3) and points (5).
KAT'S MEOW
Junior defender Katja Meyer netted 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 33 games and made 16 starts over her three-year career, totaling five goals, three assists and 13 points.
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 36 games in her career, totaling six goals, three assists and 15 points in those contests.
NYACK SCOUTING REPORT
Nyack is a member of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the Warriors are led by first-year head coach Emma Webb, a 2016 graduate of Houghton College. The Warriors return 10 players from their 2018 team that went 5-10-1 overall and 5-6-1 in CACC play. Among the returners is senior midfielder Camila Parada who led the team with 10 points a season ago. Parada and fellow returner Shanice Rapp, a sophomore forward, each netted three goals in 2018. Senior goalkeeper Nicole Benesch also returns after making 15 starts last season with a 2.61 goals against average and 108 total saves. Nyack was picked 12th in the CACC preseason poll. They've opened the season with back-to-back losses to Franklin Pierce (5-0) and Maine-Fort Kent (4-0).
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. NYACK
Series Record: 1-0
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Sept. 5, 2003 | at Rochester, N.Y. | Daemen 3, Nyack 2
UP NEXT
Daemen plays its first East Coast Conference game of the 2019 season this Saturday, Sept. 21 at New York Tech.
