AMHERST, N.Y.- It was all Wildcats right from the start as the Daemen men's soccer team snapped a five-game slide Wednesday afternoon at Karrer Field with a 5-0 shutout win against out-of-conference foe Chestnut Hill. The win improved Daemen's record to 3-7-0 this season, while Chestnut Hill fell to 0-8-3. This was the first-ever meeting between the teams.

The Daemen offense spread the wealth by scoring five goals with five different players. Junior Colin Archibald (North Tonawanda, N.Y.), sophomore Michel Hölscher (Hamminkeln, Germany), junior Pontus Lundin (Asmundtorp, Sweden), junior Christian Lewin (Bobenheim-Roxheim, Germany) and junior Derek Bartlo (Williamsville, N.Y.) and each scored one goal. 

• The scoring began when Archibald pounced on a rebound opportunity in the 25th minute. Chestnut Hill goalkeeper Mahmoud Mahmoud made the initial save on a hard drive from Daemen forward Arthur Djengue Bille (Paris, France), but Archibald was ready and waiting on the right side of the box and he punched the ball past the diving goalkeeper. Archibald's tally ended the Wildcats' scoring drought which lasted nearly 469 minutes of game action. 

• Hölscher got on the board shortly thereafter. He struck a beautiful line drive from 30 yards out, reminiscent of a Josh Allen touchdown strike, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead in the game's 30th minute. Djengue Bille picked up his second assist on the play. 

• More than 40 minutes of game time passed before the Wildcats got on the board again, but the flood gates really opened from there. Hölscher was hauled down in the box creating a penalty kick opportunity which Lundin calmly cashed in on, making the score 3-0 in the 73rd minute. It marked Lundin's second goal of the season and the fifth of his career, all of which have come on penalty kicks. 

• Only three minutes went by before the Wildcats scored again as Lewin took a centering feed from sophomore Dennis Montero Guerrero (Weingarten, Germany) and flicked a shot over Mahmoud who charged out off the goal line. For Lewin, it marked his team-leading third goal of the season. 

• Just 20 seconds later, in the 76th minute, Bartlo scored the fifth and final goal on the day - his second of the season.

• Senior goalkeeper Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain) recorded the first shutout of his Daemen career, and needed to make just one save to do so. The Wildcats outshot the Griffins 19-10 overall and 11-1 in shots on goal. Center backs Alexander Khademi (Stockholm, Sweden) and Ajan Rajamohan (Spencerport, N.Y.) as well as outside backs Bartlo and Owen Schoeppich (Williamsville, N.Y.) all contributed to the staunch defensive effort. 

GAME NOTES

• The offensive outburst snapped a streak of four scoreless games for the Wildcats. Their last goal before today was a penalty kick score from Lundin in the 14th minute of a 4-1 loss to Mercyhurst on September 22. 

• The five-goal performance marked Daemen's best offensive game since a 6-1 win over Pitt-Johnstown during the 2017 season. It also marked the third time in the program's NCAA Division II era (2015-present) that they've scored at least five goals in a contest.  

• Daemen improves to 3-0 on the season when scoring at least two goals.

• It was the first shutout win for Daemen since a 2-0 defeat of D'Youville in the finale of their obscure 2020 season that was played last April 30. 

LOOKING FORWARD
Daemen will look to continue their winning ways Saturday, October 16 in Bridgeport, Conn. against East Coast Conference rival Bridgeport. First kick is set for 12 p.m.