Game #10
Daemen Wildcats (5-4-0, 4-0-0 ECC) vs St. Thomas Aquinas (3-5-0, 2-2-0 ECC)
DATE: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9
TIME: 11 a.m.
LOCATION: Amherst, N.Y. / Karrer Field
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 St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans in an East Coast Conference matchup at 11 a.m. at Karrer Field in Amherst, N.Y. This will be the ninth all-time meeting between the Wildcats and the Spartans and the first since Daemen's 2-1 road victory in Sparkill, N.Y. on November 9, 2019. Daemen leads the all-time series, 5-2-1. Saturday will be Daemen's first contest since a 2-1 loss versus Stonehill in a nonconference contest on Oct. 7 at Williamsville South High School. The first all-time between these two programs, Daemen erased an early 1-0 deficit for a second consecutive game when senior midfielder
Katelyn Sidoti (Rochester, N.Y.) connected off a pass from sophomore midfielder
Madita Zeitz (Malsch, Germany) in the 34th minute to tie the score at 1-1. This was the first goal of Sidoti's career wearing the blue-and-white. In what was appearing to be Daemen's first overtime contest of the season, the Skyhawks had other plans as freshman Karleigh Schultz scored the game-winning goal with less than 90 seconds left in regulation. As a result, Daemen's winning streak ended at four consecutive games. A victory would have tied the program record of five consecutive wins, which was set during a historic 2019 season (11-4-3 overall record, first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.) Despite the loss, junior goalkeeper
Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) kept rolling as she established a new career-high 11 saves against the Skyhawks. This marked her ninth consecutive start of the season (13th career start.) This 11-save effort surpassed DeLappi's previous career-best of seven saves which came in Daemen's 2-0 loss versus St. Rose on March 27, 2021.
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, 21-7, and have allowed only four goals over the last five contests. Leading the way offensively is junior forward
Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) The Division I Buffalo transfer, as of Thursday, is in a five-way tie for the third 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 still 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. By scoring against Molloy, Meyer ended a scoring drought since her two-goal performance against Nyack on Sept. 18, 2019. Thursday 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 eight contests in 2021, Daemen has netted 23 goals from 11 different players and 13 players have recorded at least one point (team total of 64.)
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. 8, 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 Le Moyne Dolphins of the Northeast-10 Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 13 at 1 PM at Karrer Field. The contest concludes a season-high five-game homestand for Daemen women's soccer.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SCOUTING REPORT
St. Thomas Aquinas is a member of the East Coast Conference. The Spartans saw their 2020 season cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Spartans enter Saturday's contest with a 3-5-0 overall record and 2-2-0 in ECC play. This will be STAC's first game action since a 2-1 victory over Queens on Sept. 29, preventing their third consecutive loss. St. Thomas Aquinas is led by first-year head coach Chris Nichol. Nichol takes over the program from Graham Brown, who is now solely coaching the men's program after he led both teams from 2012 to 2020. Nichol is a familiar face within the Spartans women's soccer program as he served as an assistant coach and then associate head coach under Brown from 2018 to 2020. In their last full season back in 2019, the Spartans finished 2-13-2 overall and are searching for their first 10-win season since the program was founded in 2003. The Spartans return 13 players from 2019, including current top playmaker in junior forward Amandajane Fuchs-White. After scoring once in 2019, Fuchs-White leads in goals scored (3) and total points (8.) The midfielding trio of sophomore Rachel Brownell, Colette Martucci and Caitin Speranza have all scored two goals each for the Spartans offense. Junior Colleen Stevens has earned two of STAC's three wins between the pipes this season. In six appearances (five starts), Stevens enters Saturday with a 2.55 GAA and a .763 save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
Series Record: Daemen 5-2-1
At Daemen: STAC 2-1-1
Last Meeting: Daemen 2, STAC 1 | November 9, 2019 | at Sparkill, NY
