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top 10 moments wsoc vs mercy

Top 10 Moments of 2019-20: Women's Soccer Extends Unbeaten Streak With 1-0 Defeat Of Mercy

7/10/2020 2:00:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - On Wednesdays and Fridays this summer, daemenwildcats.com will feature stories that look back upon the top 10 moments of the 2019-20 season. Record-setting performances, important wins and history-making achievements will be documented in the series.

THE MOMENT:
Women's Soccer extends unbeaten streak with 1-0 defeat of Mercy

A single goal off the foot of freshman forward Alyssa Mercado (Ontario, Calif.) was all the Daemen women's soccer team needed to knock off perennial East Coast Conference contender Mercy on September 28 at Karrer Field. The visiting Mavericks came into the contest with a 5-1 record, ranked fourth in the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll and with four NCAA tournament berths to their credit in the prior six seasons.

The win pushed Daemen to 6-0-2 on the season as they matched the longest unbeaten streak in program history, a feat last achieved in 2011. It also extended their home unbeaten streak to 10 games in a row, going 8-0-2 in that span. 
"We had some drawn up, how to play Mercy. Obviously we defended a little bit more than we like to," said Daemen head coach Dan Dolan following the match. "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." 

The Wildcat defenders, led by center backs Sam D'Agostino (Mississauga, Ont.) and Julia Eichel (Grand Island, N.Y.), outside backs Katja Meyer (Verona, N.Y.) and Madeline Emmi (Grand Island, N.Y.) and goalkeeper Maddie Flores (Seattle, Wash.), played key roles in limiting Mercy to just seven total shot attempts and one shot on goal in the contest. Flores turned aside the one on-frame attempt while recording her third of six shutouts on the season. 

Mercado's goal came at the 59:56 mark when she won the race to a loose ball in the box after a pass from teammate Nicole Grichen (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) ricocheted off a Mercy defender. Mercado was able to get a good enough touch on the ball to slip it past Mercy goalkeeper Melissa Torres. 
Although the overall and home unbeaten streaks would end a week later with a 1-0 loss to defending national champion Bridgeport, the Wildcats would go on to finish the season with an 11-4-3 record - a benchmark for wins during the program's NCAA Division II era - and gain their first-ever NCAA tournament berth.  

ADDITIONAL TOP 10 MOMENTS FROM THE 2019-20 SEASON:

Daemen College features the premier 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.
 
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