GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #6
Daemen Wildcats (5-0-0, 0-0-0 ECC) vs. New York Tech Bears (0-2-1, 0-0-0 ECC)
Saturday, Sept. 21 | 12 p.m.
Old Westbury, N.Y. | President's Stadium
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via ECC Network)
FREE KICK
After winning five straight non-conference contests to open the 2019 season, Daemen turns its attention to their East Coast Conference season opener this Saturday against New York Tech. The game features teams that were picked to be among the conference tournament qualifiers come November, with Daemen ranked third and Nw York Tech ranked fourth in the ECC preseason coaches' poll. Daemen edged the Bears for the fourth and final conference tournament berth in 2018, finishing one point ahead in the conference standings, thanks in part to a dramatic 2-1 win in the teams' only head-to-head meeting of the season. Daemen's Katja Meyer snapped a 1-1 tie with her goal in the final minute of regulation. The Wildcats are coming off a 7-0 defeat of Nyack - their second seven-goal win of the season. A young New York Tech team has posted an 0-2-1 record thus far, and the Bears are coming off a 1-1 tie vs. Post last weekend.
HISTORIC START
At 5-0, Daemen is off to the best start in program history, and they've done so in dominating fashion. The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 24-2, and they presently lead the ECC in total goals, goals per game (4.80), goals allowed, goals allowed per game (0.40) and goal differential (+22). The success has included a shutout streak that reached 229 minutes before Le Moyne pushed one over the goal line in the third game of the season. It has also included 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. It marks just the fourth winning streak of at least five games in the 20-year history of the program, and the first since a seven-game streak that spanned the final five games of 2012 and the first two of 2013.
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 93-86-8 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. 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 10 goals and 21 total points over Daemen's first five games. She's scored in all five games, the longest consecutive scoring streak of her career. It has 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 three-goal performance vs. Nyack on Sept. 18, becoming just the third player in program history to do so. Daemen is now 22-5-1 when Boyar scores at least one goal, and 13-0 when she scores multiple times. She has started all 55 games since 2016 and has totaled 47 goals, 11 assists and 105 points. She ranks second in career goals and tied for second 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 four starts so far this season, posting a perfect 4-0 record with a pair of shutouts. She presently ranks second in saves (23) and goals against average (0.50) and third in save percentage (.920) among the ECC leaders. Flores is 13-7-1 while making 23 appearances in her career. Freshman Tori DeLappi earned the start vs. Mansfield and registered four saves to complete the shutout.
SAYING GRACE
Sophomore midfielder Grace Stranahan has registered four goals, three assists and 11 points through the first five 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 third 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 shares the ECC lead with five assists thus far. She's the first Daemen player in recent memory to record an assist in five straight games. Kenny, an Australian native, has already set career-highs for assists (4) and points (6).
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 34 games and made 17 starts over her three-year career, totaling seven goals, three assists and 17 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 37 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 has become 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 a goal, three assists and five points thus far. She scored her first career goal during Daemen's 7-0 win over Nyack on Sept. 18. Her journey from All-ECC basketball player to starting forward on the pitch was recently documented in a feature story for WKBW-Channel 7.
NEW YORK TECH SCOUTING REPORT
New York Tech is led by second-year head coach Karim Diallo. In his inaugural season, Diallo led the Bears to a 10-5-2 record marking the best season in terms of winning percentage in program history. It also marked just the second 10-win season in the 25-year history of the program. Just eight players from their 2018 team return, headlined by junior forward Casey Luongo (team-high 8 goals, team-high 18 points in 2018) and sophomore forward/midfielder Hannah Franco (5 goals, 13 points in 2018). The Bears' 2019 roster features just one senior (F/M Natalia Reynisdottir) and 15 players who are in either their first or second collegiate season, including nine freshmen. The Bears suffered a pair of losses to start the year, falling 3-2 to Wilmington and 3-0 to Pace. It marked the first time since 2016 that the Bears have dropped consecutive home games. New York Tech is coming off a 1-1 tie against Post. Their game against Chestnut Hill scheduled for earlier this week was postponed. Junior midfielder/forward Nikki Bermudez has netted a pair of goals to lead the way thus far. Luongo scored her first of the season in the tie with Post. Freshman goalkeeper Nicole Genis has gotten all three starts between the pipes, posting a 2.17 goals against average. The Bears were picked fourth in the ECC preseason poll.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. NEW YORK TECH
Series Record: 3-4
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 2, Nyack 1 | Sept. 29, 2018 | at Amherst, N.Y.
UP NEXT
Daemen kicks off a three-game homestand by taking on Davis & Elkins in non-conference action on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
