Nicole Grichen and Daemen women's soccer head to D'Youville this Sunday.

Women's Soccer Faces D'Youville In Sunday Matinee

Wildcats look for first win of season versus ECC newcomer

4/9/2021 10:30:00 AM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

GAME #3
DAEMEN WILDCATS (0-2-0) vs. D'YOUVILLE SAINTS (0-1-0)
SUNDAY APRIL 11
DOBSON FIELD (BUFFALO, NY) - 3 P.M.
VISITING TEAM SPECTATORS LIMITED - SEE D'YOUVILLE SPECTATOR POLICY

FREE KICK
Daemen continues their road slate Sunday afternoon when they visit East Coast Conference newcomer, the D'Youville Saints in the third game of the Wildcats' 2020 season which had been delayed to the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE WILDCATS
1. Daemen is coming off a 1-0 loss to long-time rival Roberts Wesleyan on a rainy night in Rochester on April 3. The Wildcats and Redhawks were scoreless for the first 57 minutes of the contest before Sydney Regan's goal from classmate Eboni Redman-Coombs gave RWC the 1-0 lead. This was the first goal scored between the two teams in 167 minutes, a streak that began in their last showdown, a double overtime tie on Oct. 26, 2019. Sophomore goalkeeper Tori DeLappi stopped 10 of the Redhawks 11 shots in the contest and made six saves in the second half alone. Sunday against D'Youville is the third of six contests on the abbreviated spring schedule which runs through May 2.

2. Daemen returns 17 players from their 2019 team, including six who started at least 10 games. Grace Stranahan is now in her junior season as a midfielder. Stranahan is one of five returning players who scored goals for the Wildcats last season, a group that includes senior Samantha Hanes, junior Katja Meyer and sophomores Alyssa Mercado and Faye Panagopoulos.

3. Named the team's Most Improved Player in 2019, midfielder Grace Stranahan looks again to be one of Daemen's top playmakers this spring. In 18 games, Stranahan finished among the ECC's top 10 in 2019 with six goals (9th), five assists (6th) and 17 points (7th) and finished only behind Jamie Boyar in these categories for Daemen. Stranahan recorded points in seven different games and played 90 or more minutes in five games in 2019.

4. Sophomore Tori DeLappi has made consecutive starts between the pipes for the Wildcats to start this season. The Medina, Ohio native has recorded a combined 17 saves through the first two contests ths spring, including a career-high 10 saves against Roberts Wesleyan last Saturday. DeLappi has now appeared in five games and has started four times in her career with the Wildcats. Senior Maddie Flores and freshman Megan White are also on the roster for Daemen this spring. Flores has made 22 starts over the last thee seasons and recorded a career-high six shutouts in 2019. The Seattle, Wash. native led a defensive unit that surrendered only 13 goals through the course of the regular season in 2019. Flores posted a 9-4-3 goalkeeping record and finished third in saves (80) and save percentage (.833) and fourth in goals against average (0.99) among the ECC leaders. White, a West Seneca native, did not appear in any games as a true freshman in 2019.

5. Head coach Dan Dolan returns for his 12th season roaming the Daemen sidelines. The longest-tenured coach and winningest coach in the history of the Daemen women's soccer program, Dolan enters the new season just one win shy of reaching 100 for his career. Dolan added eight newcomers to the roster, including sophomore Tatyjana Scalisi. The Williamsville native transferred after playing her freshman season at Division I Buffalo and currently leads Daemen in shots on goal (3) through the first two contests.

D'YOUVILLE SCOUTING REPORT
D'Youville is in its first season transitioning from Division III to Division II after years of membership in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. The Saints were welcomed as members of the East Coast Conference this past summer and are playing an independent schedule this spring. The Saints are led by fifth-year head coach Jim Hesch and finished 10-6-2 overall in 2019. His lone winning season with the Red and Black to date, 2019 saw the program advance to the AMCC semifinal round for the third consecutive season. With DYC, Hesch has compiled a 30-33-10 record and he was received the AMCC Coach of the Year award in 2018. Hesch previously spent two seasons as an assistant coach with D'Youville's men's soccer program and 10 years as the head men's soccer coach at Division I Canisius College and led five different players to nine combined All-MAAC Team selections. In 2010, Hesch became the first head coach of FC Buffalo, the top men's soccer team in the area, and led the club to a 6-4-2 finish and has almost two decades now worth of experience coaching at almost every level. As a collegiate player, Hesch won a national championship with Southern Connecticut University in 1990 before transferring to SUNY Cortland where he played from 1991-93 and was named a First Team All-American. Hesch then played in the National Professional Indoor Soccer League from 1995 to 2002, including time with the Buffalo Blizzard, and won the Major Indoor Soccer League championship with the Philadelphia Kixx in his final season. D'Youville's 16-player roster includes 11 returning players. Among the departed are second-team All-AMCC selection Kaylee Heschke and third-team All-AMCC selection Marina Campbell but the quartet of Makenna Magee, Sarah Milczarski, Laurie Poeller and Jordan Pachla all return in 2021. In her junior campaign, Magee led DYC in goals (11) and points (23) and was a second-team selection. As a sophomore, Poeller recorded four shutouts between the pipes along with nine victories and an .845 save percentage and was also named to the All-AMCC second-team along with Milczarski. Pachla was named to the All-AMCC third team after her freshman campaign saw her finish second on the team in goals (9) and points (21).

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. D'YOUVILLE
Series Record: Daemen 2-0
At Daemen: Daemen 1-0
At Daemen: Daemen 1-0
Last Meeting: Daemen 8, D'Youville 0 | Sept. 27, 2007 | at Amherst, NY

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen continues their season when they head to Erie, Pa. on April 16 where they'll face Mercyhurst with kickoff slated for 5:30 p.m.

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