AMHERST, N.Y. – There was already plenty of excitement when the Daemen women's soccer team returned home after a lengthy road schedule to start the 2021 campaign. And when a long-time rival comes to town? The excitement naturally only magnifies.
That was certainly the case Wednesday afternoon when Daemen women's soccer wrote another chapter with Roberts Wesleyan in the Thruway Rivalry at Karrer Field.
Led by a two-goal performance from
Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) and another strong performance between the pipes from
Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio), the Wildcats recorded their third straight win with a 4-0 victory over the Redhawks in this Wednesday matinee.
With the win today, Daemen women's soccer improved to 4-3-0 and 3-0-0 in East Coast Conference play while RWC drops to 0-7-1 overall (0-3-0 ECC.) This is Daemen's longest winning streak as a program since rattling off three straight wins from Oct. 29 – Nov. 9, 2019.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Daemen once again scored first in this contest when sophomore forward Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) connected off a pass from senior midfielder Grace Stranahan (Grand Island, N.Y.) in the fifth minute to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. The scoring then continued in the 33rd minute when sophomore midfielder Madita Zeitz (Malsch, Germany) found the back of the net. Veterans Katelyn Sidoti (Rochester, N.Y.) and Katja Meyer (Verona, N.Y.) were both credited with assists. Daemen led 2-0 over Roberts Wesleyan at halftime.
- The Wildcats recorded two more goals in the second half. In the 54th minute, Stranahan scored her third goal of the season off a pass from freshman defender Baylin Tighe (Tonawanda, N.Y.) to give Daemen a 3-0 lead. Amato then completed the scoring with her second goal of the contest and third of the season when junior forward Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) found her for the scoring opportunity.
- Daemen outshot RWC, 16-12, including 12 shots on goal in the contest. The Wildcats and Redhawks, however, recorded three corner kicks apiece.
- Stranahan recorded a team-high five shots on goal for Daemen. Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) recorded three shots while Alyssa Diaz (Rochester, N.Y.) added two to Daemen's overall total.
- Junior goalkeeper Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) recorded five saves in her seventh start of the season. Today was also her sixth career victory and third career shutout (second this season.)
GAME NOTES
- Today was Daemen's third shutout victory of the season, including most recently a 9-0 victory against Lincoln (Pa.) on Sept. 26, 2021. This was also their fifth overall shutout as a program dating back to a 4-0 victory versus D'Youville on April 11, 2021.
- Today was the 25th all-time meeting between Daemen and Roberts Wesleyan and their first since the Redhawks defeated the Wildcats, 1-0, on April 3, 2021 in a contest held in Williamsville, N.Y. Following the loss, RWC now leads the all-time series, 12-9-4. Daemen is now 3-1-1 in their last five meetings with RWC, dating back to a 1-0 victory at Karrer Field on Oct. 4, 2017.
- By scoring in the 54th minute, Stranahan recorded her 10th career goal and her third of the season. This makes Stranahan only 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.
- Today was the first time Amato scored in a Daemen contest since the team's 1-0 home-opening victory versus Mercyhurst (1-0) on Sept. 11 at Williamsville South High School. In what was just her second appearance of the season, this is also Amato's third multi-goal game of her career and her first since posting two-goal performances on separate occasions against D'Youville on April 11 and April 17, 2021.
- With her assist, Scalisi has now recorded at least one point in three straight games with the Wildcats. The junior forward and Division I Buffalo transfer leads the team in overall (12) and is currently in a five-way tie for most goals scored in the ECC (4.) Scalisi previously scored three goals along with an assist for a new career-high seven points in a 9-0 road win against Lincoln (Pa.) The forward also recorded one goal and two assists (four points overall) in Daemen's 3-1 victory over D'Youville on Sept. 18, 2021.
- Since Stranahan's second half goal in a 3-1 loss at St. Anselm on Sept. 15, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents, 17-4.
- Daemen is now 4-0-0 on the season when scoring first in a contest.
- 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.)
- This marked the seventh of a traditional 16-game schedule which runs through November 6.
ON THE HORIZON
Daemen continues their 2021 campaign when they host the Molloy Lions in an East Coast Conference matchup on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1:30 PM at Karrer Field.
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.
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