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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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msoc senior day 2021
Daemen men's soccer honors nine seniors, defeats Queens 4-2 on Senior Day Saturday at Karrer Field.
2
Queens (NY) QUEM (8-8-0, 3-6-0)
4
Winner Daemen DAEM (5-11-0, 3-6-0)
Queens (NY) QUEM
(8-8-0, 3-6-0)
2
Final
4
Daemen DAEM
(5-11-0, 3-6-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Queens (NY) QUEM 1 1 2
Daemen DAEM 1 3 4

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Men’s Soccer Defeats Queens On Senior Day, 4-2

Three second half scores leads Daemen to most wins in season since 2018

AMHERST, N.Y.  – End on a high note.

That's what Daemen men's soccer wanted to accomplish Saturday afternoon at Karrer Field. And with this being the final game of the careers of nine players, who were also members of Daemen's 3-2-0 finish from this past spring, there wasn't a whole lot of other motivation needed to battle for a full 90 minutes of regulation time.

Behind goals from seniors Arthur Djengue Bille (Paris, France) and Derek Mancuso (Friendship, N.Y.), other scoring tallies from underclassmen Michel Holscher (Hamminkeln, Germany) and Chris Cox (Buffalo, N.Y.) and a stellar 12-save performance from senior goalkeeper Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain), Daemen men's soccer finished the season on top with a 4-2 victory over Queens College.

Not only did they avoid their third consecutive loss, the Wildcats wrapped up their 2021 campaign with an 5-11-0 overall record and 3-6-0 in East Coast Conference play. This was Daemen's first win this season since a 1-0 edging against Staten Island on Oct. 23.

With the loss, Queens College finished 8-8-0 overall and a similar 3-6-0 finish in ECC play.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Daemen got on the scoreboard first in this contest when senior midfielder Arthur Djengue Bille (Paris, France) received a pass from junior forward Christian Lewin (Bobenheim-Roxheim, Germany) and found the back of the net in the 10th minute for a 1-0 Daemen lead. This marked Djengue Bille's fourth goal in 2021 and the fifth of his Wildcat career. Djengue Bille wrapped up his senior campaign scoring in four of the last five contests and recorded at least one point in six of the last seven contests.
  • Queens then got on the scoreboard following a Daemen own goal in the 19th minute to tie the score at 1-1. This would remain the score at the halftime break.
  • The Wildcats picked up the scoring with three second half goals, starting when sophomore defender Michel Holscher (Hamminkeln, Germany) scored unassisted in the 51st minute to give Daemen a 2-1 advantage. His third goal of the season, this marked Holscher's second consecutive contest with a goal after scoring via a penalty kick in Daemen's 4-1 loss at Lock Haven on November 2.
  • Then in the 74th minute, junior forward Chris Cox (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored his first goal of the season off a pass from senior midfielder Carlos Espana (Madrid, Spain) to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead. This was also Cox's second career goal since scoring in Daemen's 3-1 loss at Mercy on Sept. 28, 2019.
  • Queens responded almost four minutes later (78:09 mark) as they forced pressure in front of the Daemen net, leading to another Wildcats own goal. This cut Daemen's lead to 3-2 with just under 12 minutes remaining in regulation.
  • After missing some scoring opportunities earlier in the contest, graduate student and forward Derek Mancuso (Friendship, N.Y.) capped off Daemen's scoring day in the 85th minute when he received a pass from longtime teammate and redshirt senior midfielder Anthony Cupello (Rochester, N.Y.) to give Daemen the eventual 4-2 final score. Playing in his 53rd career game with Daemen this afternoon, this was Mancuso's first goal of the season and the second of his Daemen career. His first goal came in Daemen's 7-1 loss versus LeMoyne on Sept. 17, 2019. For Cupello, who was playing in his 51st career game today, this was his second assist in 2021 (24 career points overall.)
  • Daemen outshot Queens, 23-19, in the victory. However, Queens accumulated more shots on goal, 14-10. Queens also out-edged Daemen in corner kicks, 7-6.
  • Collectively, Daemen recorded 10 shots on goal in the contest, their second highest total this season (11 versus Chestnut Hill on Oct. 13.) Djengue Bille led the Wildcats with three shots on goal while Holscher and Lewin had two shots on target each. Cupello, Mancuso and Cox recorded one shot on goal apiece.
  • In his final appearance in net for Daemen, senior goalkeeper Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain) tied his Wildcat career-high of 12 saves in the victory. The first time he recorded a dozen saves in a contest came in Daemen's last Senior Day contest, a 3-1 victory over Roberts Wesleyan on April 25, 2021. Today marked the veteran's 15th start of the season (18th of Daemen career) and had started the Wildcats' first nine contests in 2021. His counterpart, junior Dario Cruz, stopped six of the 10 shots he faced for the Knights.

GAME NOTES
  • Today marked the eighth all-time meeting between Daemen and Queens. The Knights now lead the all-time series, 6-2-0. This was the first meeting between the programs since the Knights' 3-0 victory on Oct. 12, 2019 (756 days.) More importantly, this was also Daemen's first victory in the series since a 1-0 victory on Oct. 13, 2018 (1,120 days.) on the campus of Williamsville South High School
  • Prior to the contest, Daemen men's soccer honored their nine seniors in a pre-game ceremony - seniors Mateo Astudillo, Arthur Djengue Bille, Marcos Lerma Escobar, Hilario Munoz, Tron De Freitas and Carlos Espana; redshirt senior Anthony Cupello and graduate students Jarrett Lecceadone and Derek Mancuso. To learn more about their plans for life after Daemen soccer, click here.
  • Daemen men's soccer finished with five overall victories this season, their most since the 2018 campaign (5-12-0 overall.) The three victories including today, tied for the program's most wins in ECC play in a single season (2017, 2018) since becoming a conference member in 2013. Dating back to the 2020 unorthodox season that was played in spring 2021, Daemen men's soccer recorded eight victories in a span of eight months (March – April and then September – October 2021.)
  • Collectively, Daemen scored 21 goals and 57 total points in the 2021 season.
  • Including today's victory, Daemen was 5-4-0 this season when scoring the first goal.
  • Including today's victory, Daemen was 3-0-0 this season when scoring four or more goals in a contest (4-1 at D'Youville on Sept. 18; 5-0 versus Chestnut Hill on Oct. 13.)
  • Since the team's 5-0 win over Chestnut Hill on Oct. 13, Daemen men's soccer finished 3-4 over their last seven contests and recorded 13 goals and 9 assists (35 points) in that span.
  • Today marked the 16th and final contest of a traditional 16-game schedule which ran through November 6.

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 18 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.

Follow the Daemen College men's soccer program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @DaemenMSOC.
 
 
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