GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #7
Daemen Wildcats (5-0-1, 0-0-1 ECC) vs. Davis & Elkins Senators (2-2-0, 1-1-0 MEC)
Wednesday, Sept. 25 | 10 a.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Karrer Field
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video (via ECC Network)
FREE KICK
Daemen returns to the friendly confines of Karrer Field to kickoff a three-game homestand Wednesday when they face Davis & Elkins in a non-conference clash. The Wildcats are unbeaten through six games this season, and are coming off a 1-1 (2OT) tie in their East Coast Conference season opener last Saturday at New York Tech. For just the second time this season, the Wildcats were outshot in the game, conceding a season-high 24 attempts to the Bears. Senior Lindsay Ciaramella netted the game-tying goal with less than four minutes remaining in regulation, helping the Wildcats scratch out the road draw. They'll be meeting D&E for just the third time in program history, and for the first time since 2013. D&E is off to a 2-2 start this season, their first as a member of the Mountain East Conference.
HISTORIC START
At 5-0-1, Daemen is off to the best start in program history, and they've done so in dominating fashion. The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 25-3, and they presently lead the ECC in total goals, goals per game (4.17), goals allowed, goals allowed per game (0.48) 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. 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, and the first since a seven-game streak that spanned the final five games of 2012 and the first two of 2013.
PROTECT PARK
Wednesday's game comes at Karrer Field on the campus of The Park School of Buffalo where Daemen is 13-5-2 since the start of the 2017 season. Daemen is unbeaten (7-0-1) in their last eight home games, a streak that dates back to September of 2018. In three home games this season, the Wildcats are outscoring opponents 17-1.
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 93-86-9 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 six games. She's 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 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 56 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 five starts so far this season, posting a 4-0-1 record with a pair of shutouts. She presently ranks second in saves (31), third in goals against average (0.57) and third in save percentage (.912) 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 13-7-2 while making 24 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 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 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, 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).
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 38 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.
DAVIS & ELKINS SCOUTING REPORT
Davis & Elkins is a member of the Mountain East Conference, and the Senators are led by first-year head coach Declan McGill. A 2015 D&E graduate, McGill has made previous assistant coaching stops at Frostburg State and with the D&E men's program. He inherits a roster that returns just 10 players from the Senators' 2018 team that went 6-8-2 overall. The Senators posted a 6-7-1 league record in 2018, their final season as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Among the team's returners is senior midfielder Asheli Freed who garnered honorable mention All-GMAC recognition last season when she led the Senators in goals (6) and points (12). D&E has gotten off to a 2-2 start this season, alternating wins and losses. They defeated Caldwell 4-1 in their season opener, their only game thus far with more than one goal scored. Freed netted the lone goal in a 1-0 defeat of Charleston in their MEC opener last week. The Senators are coming off a 1-0 loss to Concord.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. DAVIS & ELKINS
Series Record: 1-1
Streak: Won 1
Last Meeting: Daemen 1, Davis & Elkins 0 | Sept. 14, 2013 | at Amherst, N.Y.
UP NEXT
Daemen's three-game homestand continues Saturday with a key East Coast Conference game vs. Mercy.
