GAME INFORMATION & LINKS
Game #1
Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. Urbana Blue Knights (0-0, 0-0 MEC)
Friday, Sept. 6 | 3 p.m.
Amherst, N.Y. | Karrer Field
Live Stats
Game #2
Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) vs. Mansfield Mountaineers (0-0, 0-0 PSAC)
Sunday, Sept.8 | 1 p.m.
Mansfield, Pa. | Mansfield Soccer Field
Live Stats
Live Streaming Video
FREE KICK
Daemen opens the 2019 season this weekend with a pair of non-conference games. The Wildcats will host Urbana University Friday afternoon, before traveling to Mansfield (Pa.) University Sunday. Daemen will be facing Urbana for the first time since 2007. The Wildcats are an impressive 7-2-1 in season openers under current head coach Dan Dolan, who enters his 11th season on the Daemen sideline.
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 an 88-86-8 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, and is 17-5-1 since 2016 when Boyar scores at least one goal. She has started all 50 games since 2016 and has totaled 37 goals, 10 assists and 84 points. She ranks second in career goals and third in career points among Daemen's all-time leaders.
URBANA SCOUTING REPORT
Urbana is located in Urbana, Ohio and is a member of the Mountain East Conference—a NCAA Division II conference comprised of schools from West Virginia, Maryland and Ohio. The Blue Knights are coached by Kevin Mounce, who is entering his sixth season at Urbana. The Blue Knights finished 3-13-0 overall and 2-11-0 in the MEC last year. They were picked fifth out of six teams in the MEC North Division preseason poll this year. Sophomore forward Alyssa Edwards earned second-team All-MEC honors last year after totaling a team-high eight goals and 17 points. Sophomore goaltender Ashton Curnutte returns after starting four games as a freshman.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. URBANA
Series Record: 1-4
Streak: L 1
Last Meeting: Sept. 15, 2007 | at Urbana, Ohio | Urbana 3, Daemen 1
MANSFIELD SCOUTING REPORT
Mansfield is a longtime member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. John Shaffer was named head coach this past January after serving as interim head coach in 2018. He is just the second head coach of the Mountaineer program that was founded in 2002. MU finished 1-15-0 overall and 1-15-0 in the PSAC last year. The Mountaineers were picked ninth out of nine teams in the PSAC East Division preseason poll this year. Coach Shaffer must overcome the graduation of striker Bria Bitterer, who accounted for five of MU's eight goals last year. Sophomore goaltender Stephanie Moir started 13 games as a rookie last year and averaged 10 saves a game.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MANSFIELD
Series Record: 1-4-2
Streak: T 1
Last Meeting: Sept. 14, 2016 | at Amherst, N.Y. | Daemen 1, Mansfield 1 (2 OT) | Game Recap
UP NEXT
Daemen returns to action Wednesday (Sept. 11) when it travels to Syracuse, N.Y. for a non-conference game at Le Moyne College.
