Game #12
Daemen Wildcats (6-4-1, 5-0-1 ECC) vs College of Staten Island Dolphins (3-10-1, 2-3-1 ECC)
DATE: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23
TIME: 1:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Williamsville, N.Y. / Williamsville South High School
LIVE STREAMING: Via ECC Sports Network
LIVE STATS: Via Daemen Athletics
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. BACK IN ACTION
Daemen resumes their 2021 campaign when they host the College of Staten Island (CSI) Dolphins in an East Coast Conference matchup at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the athletics complex of Williamsville South High School in Williamsville, N.Y. This will be the inaugural meeting between the programs as CSI is in their first official year as an ECC member in what is their third and final provisionary period. This will be Daemen's first contest since a 2-2 draw against Bridgeport in a road contest on Oct. 16 and the team now stands at 5-0-1 in conference play. Trailing 2-0 to the Purple Knights – with the second goal coming just 37 seconds into the second half – the Daemen offense got to work. In the 54th minute, freshman defender
Alyssa Diaz (Rochester, N.Y.) scored her fourth goal of the season off an assist from veteran midfielder
Sam Hanes (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) to cut UB's lead in half, 2-1. This remained the score until the 79th minute when Hanes scored her first goal of the season. The game-tying goal started when junior forward
Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) booted a long pass to Diaz, who sprinted down the field. Diaz then beat her defender to find Hanes within striking distance to tie the score at 2-2 and force extended time. Junior goalkeeper
Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) recorded eight saves in the draw in her 11th start of the season (14th of career.) Daemen's match with Bridgeport was the first contest to end in a tie for the program since a scoreless finish with rival Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 26, 2019 (721 days.) That was the third and final contest to end in a draw that season. Despite the draw, Daemen women's soccer heads into Saturday's contest with CSI as the only remaining unbeaten team in East Coast Conference play at 5-0-1 (6-4-1 overall). This came after the draw and Mercy's 1-0 loss at Molloy on Oct. 16. Additionally, with a Queens loss to Mercy this morning (Oct. 22) or a win against CSI tomorrow, Daemen can clinch a bid for the ECC Tournament, which starts Thursday, November 11.
2. SCORING SENSATIONS
Since senior midfielder
Grace Stranahan (Grand Island, N.Y.) scored in the 54th minute of Daemen's 3-1 loss at St. Anselm on Sept. 15, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents, 25-8, and have allowed only seven goals over the last seven contests. Leading the way offensively is junior forward
Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) The Division I Buffalo transfer, as of Oct. 12, is in a four-way tie for the third most goals among ECC players this fall, along with teammate
Faye Panagopoulos (Kenmore, N.Y.) with five tallies. Scalisi was also the first ECC player to reach double-figure points with 15, which is the second highest total among all conference players. Scalisi enters Saturday's contest having recorded at least one point in five of the last seven games. By scoring against STAC on Oct. 9, Panagopoulos now has seven goals for her Daemen career. The forward already joins current teammates Stranahan,
Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.),
Sam Hanes (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) and
Katja Meyer (Verona, N.Y.) to score at least five goals during their time at Daemen. By scoring against Roberts Wesleyan on Sept. 29, this was the 10th career goal in Stranahan's career. She is now just the third player to have competed during Daemen's NCAA Division II era (2015 – present) to score at least 10 career goals (Meghan Lipinoga, 10; Jamie Boyar, 55). Stranahan had netted a career-high six goals and totaled 17 points during the 2019 season. By scoring in the 54th minute against Bridgeport on Oct. 16, Diaz recorded her fourth goal of the season and was named the ECC Rookie of the Week for women's soccer
earlier this week. Diaz now stands with 12 points on the season and joins
Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) and
Faye Panagopoulos (Kenmore, N.Y.) to reach double-digits in total points. With the four goals, Diaz is now tied with current teammate
Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) plus former players Celina de Pablo Esteban (2017) and
Alyssa Mercado (2019) for the second most goals scored by a freshman in the program's NCAA era (2015 – present.) The program's all-time scorer, Jamie Boyar, scored a program-best six goals in her freshman campaign in 2016. By scoring in the 79th minute against Bridgeport, Hanes recorded her first goal of the season and was named the ECC Offensive Player of the Week for women's soccer
earlier this week. The draw against the Purple Knights was her first three-point outing since her one-goal, one-assist performance in a 3-1 victory versus Goldey-Beacom on Sept. 14, 2019. Hanes has now recorded seven goals and seven assists (21 total points) while wearing the blue-and-white. By scoring against Molloy on Oct. 2, Meyer ended a scoring drought since her two-goal performance against Nyack on Sept. 18, 2019. Daemen's contest against Stonehill on Oct. 7 marked Meyer's 60th career appearance wearing the blue-and-white and she now stands two goals away from joining Stranahan, Boyar and Lipinoga in the "10 Goal Club" for her career. Through the first 11 contests in 2021, Daemen has netted 27 goals from 12 different players and 13 players have recorded at least one point (team total of 76.)
3. RETURNING VETERANS
Daemen returns 17 players who were on the roster for the unorthodox 2020-21 academic year, including 10 who were part of the Wildcats' NCAA tournament team in 2019 when they finished 11-4-3 – the best season in the program's NCAA era (2015 – present.)
Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) wrapped up her freshman campaign as the team leader in goals (4) and points (8.) Team MVP
Nicole Grichen (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) and incumbent starters
Katja Meyer (Verona, N.Y.),
Julia Eichel (Grand Island, N.Y.),
Sam Hanes (North Tonawanda, N.Y.),
Grace Stranahan (Grand Island, N.Y.),
Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) and
Madita Zeitz (Malsch, Germany) also return. Goalkeeper
Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) made two starts and three appearances this past spring between the pipes and recorded a 1.00 GAA and a .857 save percentage.
4. CONFERENCE PLAY COMMENCES
For the first time in two years, all East Coast Conference members in women's soccer will return to conference play this fall. Daemen women's soccer has been picked to finish fourth in ECC play this season, according to the league's preseason poll which was released on August 27. Daemen earned 63 total points following their abbreviated spring season. As of Oct. 21, Daemen stands alone at the top of the ECC standings with a 5-0-1, the only unbeaten team remaining in conference play. Following their 1-0 victory in their head-to-head meeting on Oct. 16, Molloy and Mercy are now tied for second place with a 5-1-0 record. Roberts Wesleyan rounds out the top four at 3-3-0. With a Queens loss to Mercy this morning (Oct. 22) or a win against CSI tomorrow, Daemen can clinch a bid for the ECC Tournament. The ECC Tournament will feature the top four teams in the final regular season standings with the No. 1 and 2 seeds hosting semifinal games on Thursday, November 11; the highest remaining seed hosts the tournament finals on Sunday, November 14.
5. ON THE HORIZON
Daemen continues their 2021 campaign when they host the Clarion Golden Eagles of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in a nonconference matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. at Williamsville South High School in Williamsville, N.Y. This is one of two home contests remaining for Daemen women's soccer.
COLLEGE OF STATEN ISLAND SCOUTING REPORT
The College of Staten Island (CSI) is in their first official year as a member of the East Coast Conference in what is their third and final provisionary period. The Dolphins saw their 2020 season cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Dolphins enter Saturday's contest with a 3-10-1 record and 2-3-1 in ECC play. This will be CSI's first game action since a 1-0 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas on Oct. 16, their first win since Sept. 29. CSI is led by first-year head coach Brendan Guzman, who is the program's third coach in as many years. Prior to coaching, Guzman was also a four-year player at Division III Montclair State and appeared in 85 games and finished with four goals and 14 points. Guzman led the Hawks to two regular season New Jersey Athletic Conference championships (2012, 2015), won the 2014 NJAC championship and four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, reaching the Elite Eight round in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The Dolphins return two players in sophomore defender Danie Duka and junior midfielder Mirsade Pelinkovic from a 2019 team that finished 6-7-1 overall. Freshman forward Nadia Evola has scored three of CSI's nine goals this season. Freshman goalkeeper Sara Villacres has started in nine contests, accumulating a 3-6-0 record, 2.64 GAA and a .700 save percentage.)
