Senior goalkeeper Marcos Lerma Escobar and Daemen men's soccer kick off 2021 campaign at Walsh Thursday night.

Men's Soccer Kicks Off Season At Walsh Thursday

9/1/2021 11:55:00 AM

By: By Joe Kraus, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

Game #1
Daemen Wildcats (0-0-0, 0-0-0 ECC) at Walsh Cavaliers (0-0-0, 0-0-0 GMAC)
DATE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: North Canton, Ohio | Larry Staudt Field
LIVE STREAM BROADCAST: Via Stretch Internet
LIVE STATS: Via Stretch Internet

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1. BACK IN ACTION
Daemen returns to their traditional 16-game schedule in 2021, beginning Thursday night when they square off against Walsh at 7:30 p.m. in North Canton, Ohio. This will be the first of many road trips to start the season for the Wildcats as six of their first seven contests are on the road. This is the first meeting between the programs since Walsh escaped with a 2-1 overtime victory in Daemen's season opener on Sept. 7, 2019 held at Karrer Field.

2. LAST TIME OUT
The Wildcats finished with a 3-2-0 overall record during a shortened 2020 season that was played in spring 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Following a pair of road losses, the Wildcats turned their season around by defeating Medaille, Roberts Wesleyan and D'Youville to end the unprecedented campaign with three consecutive victories – the program's longest winning streak since rattling off four straight victories during the 2006 season. The three victories were also the first for head coach Bediako Swan who returns for his third season at the helm this fall.

3. RETURNING VETERANS
Expectations for Daemen men's soccer are high this fall as 26 players from their 2020-21 roster return, many of whom were key contributors for their 3-2-0 finish. Daemen had a balanced attack offensively as nine goals were scored by six different players – and all are returning this fall. Strikers Dennis Montero Guerrero (Weingarten, Germany) and Christian Lewin (Bobenheim-Roxheim, Germany) and defender/midfielder Michel Hölscher (Hamminkeln, Germany) accounted for six of the team's nine goals. Including the goal scored by Montero Guerrero in the 80th minute against RWC on March 27, Daemen outscored their opponents 7-1 from that point forward. Midfielder Anthony Cupello (Rochester, N.Y.) finished with a team-high three assists after missing the end of the 2018 season and all of the 2019 campaign while recovering from an injury. Rejoining the Daemen defensive unit is junior Pontus Lundin (Asmundtorp, Sweden). The Swedish native made a combined 29 starts in 2018 and 2019, and led the team in goals (3) and points (6) during his sophomore campaign. Key veterans Derek Mancuso (Friendship, N.Y.) and Jarrett Lecceadone (Randolph, N.Y.) will both compete as graduate students this fall. Senior Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain) joins Lecceadone as a returning goalkeeper. Lerma Escobar, who transferred from Medaille College in spring 2020, recorded his first victory with the blue-and-white when he recorded a career-high 12 saves in Daemen's 3-1 victory versus RWC on April 25.

4. POLLS, POLLS, POLLS
Daemen men's soccer team has been picked to finish ninth in the East Coast Conference this season according to the league's preseason poll which was released on August 26. Daemen earned 24 total points following the abbreviated season. 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 Wednesday, Nov. 10; the highest remaining seed hosts the tournament finals on Saturday, Nov. 13.

5. ON THE HORIZON
Daemen continues their season-opening road trip in Canton, Ohio when they visit the Malone Pioneers of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in a non-conference contest on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 4 PM at Pioneer Park.

WALSH CAVALIERS SCOUTING REPORT
Walsh is a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The Cavaliers are coming off an abbreviated 2020 season that was moved to Spring 2021 due to COVID-19 protocols and finished 3-8-1 overall before bowing out to top-seeded Ohio Valley in the GMAC quarterfinals. The Cavaliers are led by fifth-year head coach Andy Hoggarth, who led them to a 10-6-3 overall finish in 2019 before bowing out to fourth-seeded Tiffin in the GMAC quarterfinals. Previously at Slippery Rock University for two seasons, where he led the Rock to the 2015 PSAC tournament championship, Hoggarth has since compiled a 33-44-8 record with the Cavaliers. Sophomore striker Patrick O'Halloran was voted Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-GMAC selection this past spring after he led Walsh in goals (7), assists (5) and total points (19) and scored goals in each of the first four games of his career. Junior midfielder Jake Cunningham was a third-team All-GMAC selection totaled nine points on four goals (tied for 10th in the G-MAC) and one assist.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. WALSH
Series Record: Walsh 15-1
At Walsh: Walsh 8-0
Last Meeting: Walsh 2, Daemen 1 F/OT | Sept. 7, 2019 | at Amherst, NY

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