Game #9
Daemen Wildcats (5-3-0, 4-0-0 ECC) vs Stonehill Skyhawks (3-6-1, 2-5-1 NE-10)
DATE: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7
TIME: 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Williamsville, N.Y. / Williamsville South High School
LIVE STREAM: 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 Stonehill Skyhawks of the Northeast-10 in a non-conference matchup at noon at Williamsville South High School in Williamsville, N.Y. This is Daemen's first meeting with Stonehill in program history. Thursday will be Daemen's first contest since their 3-1 victory this past Saturday (Oct. 2) over East Coast Conference opponent Molloy, who had entered the contest ranked No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. This was the first time Daemen defeated a ranked opponent during the regular season in what was their fifth all-time game in this category in program history. This marked the first time Daemen faced a ranked opponent during the regular season since a 3-1 road defeat at No. 10 St. Rose on Oct. 19, 2019. Daemen erased Molloy's 1-0 lead in the 25th minute when freshman defender
Alyssa Diaz (Rochester, N.Y.) scored her third goal of the season off a pass from sophomore
Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) to tie the score at 1-1. Long-time veteran
Katja Meyer (Verona, N.Y.) scored the go-ahead goal in the 36th minute off a feed from sophomore
Emily Mogavero (Buffalo, N.Y.) for her first goal in over two years and the eighth of her career. Sophomore midfielder
Demi McCalliog (Wolverhampton, England) put the final nail in the coffin when she scored in the 54th minute off a pass from long-time veteran
Sam Hanes (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) to secure Daemen's fourth straight victory and their fifth in their last six contests. Junior goalkeeper
Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) recorded three saves in her eighth start of the season. Saturday also marked her seventh career victory in 12 starts. A win Thursday versus Stonehill would match the program record of five consecutive wins set at the start of their 2019 campaign that ended with their first NCAA Tournament appearance and an 11-4-3 record.
2. VETERANS DOING VETERAN THINGS…
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, 20-5, and have allowed only two goals over the last four contests. Leading the way offensively is junior forward
Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) The Division I Buffalo transfer, as of Thursday, is in a four-way tie for the second most goals among ECC players this fall, along with teammate
Faye Panagopoulos (Kenmore, N.Y.) with four tallies. Scalisi was also the first ECC player to reach double-figure points with 12, which is now second best among conference players. Panagopoulos now has six goals for her Daemen career. The forward now 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. Amato was named the ECC Offensive Player of the Week after her five-point outing in contests against Roberts Wesleyan and Molloy. Amato scored two goals against the rival Redhawks, her third career multi-goal game and the first in the fall 2021 season. Amato then recorded her first career assist in Daemen's victory against Molloy. By scoring against Molloy, Meyer ended a scoring drought that had lasted since her two-goal performance against Nyack on Sept. 18, 2019. Thursday will mark Meyer's 60th career appearance while 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 eight contests in 2021, Daemen has netted 22 goals from 10 different players and 13 players have recorded at least one point (team total of 61.)
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. 6, Mercy and Daemen are tied atop the ECC standings with a 4-0-0 record. Molloy currently has sole possession of third place with a 3-1-0 record and Queens rounds out the top four at 2-1-0. 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 St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans in an East Coast Conference matchup on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 11 AM at Karrer Field. This marks the fourth game of a season-high five-game homestand for Daemen women's soccer.
STONEHILL SCOUTING REPORT
Stonehill is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference East Coast Conference. The Skyhawks saw their 2020 season cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Skyhawks enter Thursday's contest with a 3-6-1 overall record and 2-5-1 in NE-10 play. Stonehill has gone 0-4-1 in their last five contests with their last victory to date coming against LeMoyne (1-0 on Sept. 18.) Their most recent loss came against St. Rose in double overtime, 2-1, on Oct. 2. Stonehill is led by eight-year head coach Alex Wilson. In their last full season back in 2019, Wilson and the Skyhawks finished 12-5-4 overall and won the program's first ever NCAA Tournament win against Jefferson University before their season ended in the semifinals before bowing out to Saint Rose. Prior to being named head coach in 2013, Wilson was an assistant with the program during the 2012 season and was a four-year standout for the Skyhawks from 2004 to 2007 with a four-year stint assisting the women's soccer program at Franklin Pierce University in between. As a player, Wilson captained the women's soccer team twice and her 15 career shutouts are tied for fourth all-time in program history, while her 1.00 career goals against average is good for second all-time. She also shares the program record for consecutive shutouts with four in 2006. As a coach, Wilson has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year twice, most recently in 2019, and has led the Skyhawks to the NCAA Tournament three times (2016, 2018, 2019.) The Skyhawks return 12 players from 2019, including Camryn Thompson. The senior forward finished third on the Skyhawks in goals (8) and points (18) in 2019 and has now scored three of the team's 10 goals in 2021. Emma Slade and Megan Giambanco also headline the returning veterans as they scored five goals apiece in 2019 but still look to score this fall. Junior Hanna Copley also returns this fall and enters Thursday with a 3-5-1 record, 1.41 GAA and a .711 save percentage.
