Men's Soccer Plays At Regionally-Ranked Gannon Wednesday Night

10/4/2022 3:10:00 PM

By: CONTACT: Tom McDermott, Director of Athletics Communications | tmcdermo@daemen.edu

Game #10
Daemen Wildcats (4-3-2, 1-2-1 ECC) vs. Gannon Golden Knights (8-2-1, 3-0-1 PSAC)
DATE: Wednesday, Oct. 5
TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION: Erie, Pa. | McConnell Family Stadium
LIVE STREAM BROADCAST: via PSAC Network
LIVE STATS: via Gannon Athletics

BACK IN ACTION
Daemen travels to Erie, Pa. for a non-conference game at regionally-ranked Gannon University Wednesday (Oct. 5) night.

LAST TIME OUT
Senior Derek Bartlo (Williamsville, N.Y.) totaled a goal and an assist to lead the Daemen to a 2-0 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas this past Saturday at Spartan Soccer Field on the STAC campus. Daemen opened the scoring 20 minutes into the game. Freshman defender Sujan Rajamohan (Spencerport, N.Y.) took a back pass from senior Pontus Lundin (Asmundorp, Sweden) and sent a cross field pass to Bartlo on the right flank. Bartlo tapped a pass to junior Nassim Zahouani (Saint Denis, France) who blasted a shot into the upper left corner from 30 yards out. STAC nearly tied the game 10 minutes later when Jorge Umana sent a free kick off the crossbar and Daemen goaltender Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain) then made a point blank save off the rebound. The ensuing rebound was then cleared by a Daemen defender. STAC posted a 10-6 advantage in shots in the first half and the teams headed to halftime with Daemen leading 1-0. The Spartans fired nine shots at the Daemen net over the first 15 minutes of the second half, but it was Daemen that found the back of the net. Daemen's second goal came in the 63rd minute following a corner kick by graduate student Carlos España (Madrid, Spain). Barto got his head on the corner, but that attempt was blocked by a defender. Bartlo then got his foot on the loose ball and slipped it past STAC net minder Tabor McDaniels for his third goal the year. STAC pressured the Daemen net throughout the remainder of the second half, but the Daemen defense kept the Spartans off the scoreboard. The Spartans out shot the Wildcats 16-5 in the second half and the hosts finished with a 26-11 advantage in shots overall. STAC finished with just an 8-7 edge in shots on goal. Lerma Escobar, the reining ECC Defensive Player of the Week, turned away eight shots en route to his second shutout in his past three starts.

LERMA ESCOBAR NAMED ECC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Derek Bartlo (Williamsville, N.Y.) and graduate student Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain) have been honored by the East Coast Conference for their play last week. Bartlo was selected the ECC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, while Lerma Escobar was named the ECC Defensive Player of the Week for the second-straight week. The announcement of award winners was made via the league's weekly sport report. A Daemen player has now collected one of the weekly major awards in four of a possible six weeks this season. Bartlo becomes the first Daemen player to be selected ECC Offensive Player of the Week this season, while Lerma Escobar and fellow goalkeeper Harry Firth (Reading, England) have both been named the league's Defensive Player of the Week. In addition, freshman forward Riccardo Boscolo Bachetto (Chioggia, Italy) was named ECC Rookie of the Week after scoring two goals, including the game-winner, in a season-opening win over Saint Michael's College. Bartlo becomes the first Daemen men's soccer player to be named ECC Offensive Player of the Week since the Wildcats joined the league in 2013. It also marks the first time since Daemen joined the ECC that the Wildcats have garnered two major weekly awards in the same week. Bartlo played a role in all three of Daemen's goals last week. He assisted on Daemen's only goal in a 1-1 draw with rival Roberts Wesleyan on Wednesday, and totaled a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over St. Thomas Aquinas this past weekend. He has started all nine games this year and has played 788 of a possible 810 minutes. He is tied for the team lead in goals scored (3) and leads the team in assists (3) and points (9). He has also been key part a defensive unit that ranks first among ECC teams in fewest goals allowed (9) this season. Bartlo has played in all 47 games over the past four years (43 starts) and has totaled seven career goals and 19 career points. Lerma Escobar stopped 16 of 17 shots on goal during a 1-0-1 week. He made eight saves in the 1-1 draw with Roberts Wesleyan and turned away all eight shots on goal against STAC en route to his second shutout of the year. He has started eight of Daemen's nine games and is averaging 4.7 saves per game. He ranks second among the ECC leaders in fewest goals allowed (8) and leads the league in goals against average (1.00) and save percentage (.843). As a team, Daemen has limited eight of its first nine opponents to one goal or less. Lerma Escobar transferred to Daemen from Medaille prior to the 2020 season. He has started 26 of a possible 30 games over the past three years and owns a career goals against average of 1.56 with four career shutouts.

SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE
Daemen enters Wednesday's contest ranked first among East Coast Conference (ECC) schools in fewest goals allowed (9), while Gannon ranks first among Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) schools in most goals scored (42). Daemen has limited eight of its first nine opponents to one goal or less.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen returns to ECC play Saturday (Oct. 8) when it travels to league-leading Molloy.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon is a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The Golden Knights have won their last five games and are coming off a 7-1 victory over California (Pa.) this past Saturday. Gannon went 16-3-3 last year and lost to Millersville in the championship game of the PSAC Tournament. The Golden Knights earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament and lost to Millersville on penalty kicks in the opening round. They were tied with Mercyhurst atop the 2022 PSAC West preseason coaches' poll and are currently ranked sixth in the Atlantic Region by the United Soccer Coaches. The Golden Knights rank first among PSAC teams and second among all NCAA Division teams in goals per game (3.8). Senior Sergio Del Castillo scored five goals in the win over California (Pa.) and leads all NCAA Division II players in goals (18) and points (39). Additional offense has come from freshman Sverre Orton (3 gls, 5 asts) and junior Benjamin Querling (5 gls, 1 ast). Junior David Synstelien has started nine games in goal and owns a 1.14 goals against average and two shutouts.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. GANNON
Series Record: Gannon, 6-2-0
At Daemen: 2-2-0
At Gannon: Gannon, 4-0-0
Last Meeting: Gannon 3, Daemen 1 | Oct. 20, 2021 | at Williamsville, N.Y.

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