HIGHLIGHTS

• After a scoreless first half, freshman forward Alyssa Mercado (Ontario, Calif.) pounced on a bouncing ball in the box and volleyed it past Mercy goalkeeper Melissa Torres at the 59:56 mark to put Daemen on the board. The ball became loose after Nicole Grichen's (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) centering pass ricocheted off a Mercy defender. Mercado won the race to the ball and put home her third goal of the season. 
• Daemen kept Mercy at bay throughout, conceding just seven total shots and a single shot on goal in the contest. The Mavericks' lone attempt on frame came just prior to Mercado's goal, and it was turned aside by junior goalkeeper Maddie Flores (Seattle, Wash.) who recorded her third shutout of the season, and the seventh of her career. 
• In front of Flores, the Wildcat defense was anchored by center-backs Sam D'Agostino (Mississauga, Ont.) and Julia Eichel (Grand Island, N.Y.), as well as outside backs Katja Meyer (Verona, N.Y.) and Madeline Emmi (Grand Island, N.Y.).
• Daemen totaled six total shots, and put four on frame. Senior forward Jamie Boyar (Williamsville, N.Y.) registered a game-high three shots on goal for the Wildcats. 

  Here's the lone goal from today's big win for @DaemenWSOC, scored by freshman forward Alyssa Mercado pic.twitter.com/1BX67H5TtH

  — Daemen Wildcats (@DaemenAthletics) September 28, 2019

HEAD COACH DAN DOLAN POST-GAME COMMENTS
"We had some drawn up, how to play Mercy. Obviously we defended a little bit more than we like to. Mercy is very athletic, very technical, very good. Defensively, we just played amazing. Our line of confrontation was at the right spot. We marked up tight in the middle. They started getting frustrated and started kicking the ball to corner of the field, which is exactly what we kind of drew up. Everyone was bought in. We had forwards defending all the way back. We had players passing off and bouncing. It was just a total team effort all the way through the whole 90." 


GAME NOTES

• In Daemen's East Coast Conference era (2013-present), Mercado is just the third freshman to score three or more goals in a season, joining teammate Jamie Boyar (six goals in 2016) and Celia de Pablo Esteban (four goals in 2017). It was Mercado's first goal since scoring a pair during the opening week of the season which led to her selection as the ECC Rookie of the Week. 
• Flores improved her season goalkeeping record to 5-0-2, and she has established a new career-high for shutouts in a season. She currently ranks second in save percentage (.894) and goals-against average (0.67) among the ECC leaders. 
• The win marked Daemen's fourth by shutout this season. The Wildcats have posted at least four shutout wins now in 12 of the last 15 seasons, and nine times in the 11-year tenure of head coach Dan Dolan.
• In addition to their overall unbeaten streak, Daemen is also unbeaten now in 10 straight home games, posting an 8-0-2 record at Karrer Field in that span. The Wildcats are 14-5-3 at home since the start of the 2017 season. 
• The result marked Daemen's first one-goal victory of the season. In five prior wins this season, Daemen's average margin of victory was 4.4 goals. The Wildcats' last one-goal victory was a 2-1 final over New York Tech on Sept. 29, 2018. Their last 1-0 shutout win came Oct. 30, 2017 at Shepherd University. 

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.