Women's Soccer Opens ECC Tournament Play Wednesday at Mercy

Wildcats Begin Quest For First Ever ECC Tournament Title

11/1/2022 11:44:00 AM

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

Game #17
ECC TOURNAMENT - Semifinal

No. 4 Seed Daemen Wildcats (5-9-2, 5-3-0 ECC) vs. No. 1 Seed Mercy Mavericks (12-2-1, 7-0-1 ECC)
DATE: Wednesday, Nov. 2
TIME: 2:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. | Mercy Field
LIVE STREAM BROADCAST: via ECC Network
LIVE STATS: via Mercy Athletics
ECC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL / TICKETS

THE QUEST BEGINS
Daemen opens post season play Wednesday (Nov. 2) when it travels to Mercy for semifinal round action of the 2022 East Coast Conference Championship tournament. The Wildcats are seeded fourth in the four-team tournament, while Mercy is the top seed. The other semifinal matchup will feature second-seeded Molloy hosting third-seeded Roberts Wesleyan. The highest remaining seed will host the tournament championship game Saturday (Nov. 5). The ECC Tournament champion earns as automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

ECC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Daemen is making its second straight and third overall (2018, 2021, 2022) appearance in the ECC Tournament. The Wildcats are looking to secure their first ever ECC Tournament title. Daemen suffered a 4-0 loss to top-seeded Bridgeport inn the 2018 semifinals and fell 2-0 to second-seeded Mercy during last year's semifinal round.

STRONG FINISH
After going winless (0-8-1) over their first eight games of 2022, the Wildcats enter the post season as one of the hottest teams in the region. Daemen has won four straight games and went 5-1-1 over its final seven regular season games. The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 20-7 over the last seven games. Sophomore Alyssa Diaz (Rochester, N.Y.), the 2021 ECC Rookie of the Year, has totaled a team-high seven goals and 16 points--all opf which have come over the past seven games. The reigning ECC Offensive Player of the Week, she scored her first career hat trick in just 41 minutes of action diuring a 6-0 win over Lincoln this past Saturday. Freshman Kylie Miranto (Noeth Tonawanda, N.Y.) is a two-time ECC Rookie of the Week selection and ranks second on the team in goals (5) and points (11). She has scored a goal in each of the last four games. Senior Julia Eichel (Grand Island, N.Y) has beened tabbed ECC Defensive Player of the Week each of the last two weeks. She has headed up a defense that has limited 12 of its 16 opponents to two goals or less. Senior Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) has started 12 games in goal. She ranks fourth among the ECC leaders in total saves (57), goals against average (1.59) and save percentage (.760).

LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Alyssa Diaz (Rochester, N.Y.) registered her first career hat trick to lead Daemen to a 6-0 victory over Lincoln this past Saturday. It marked the regular season finale for both teams. Daemen scored nine minutes into the game today and held a 3-0 lead at halftime. Two seniors teamed up for Daemen's first goal shortly after being honored in a pre-game ceremony in recognition of their final home game. Faye Panagopoulos (Kenmore, N.Y.) opened the scoring off a pass from Nicole Grichen (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) at 9:16. Panagopoulos has now scored a goal in three of the last four games. Diaz netted her first of the game in the 21st minute, with Panagopoulos and Grichen picking up assists. Freshman Kylie Miranto (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) closed out the first-half scoring off a feed from junior Madita Zeitz (Malsch, Germany). It was the fifth goal of the year for Miranto, who has now scored a goal in four-straight games. Diaz scored twice in the span of seven minutes early in the second half to complete her hat trick and give the hosts a 5-0 lead. Daemen closed out the scoring when senior Natalie Such (Rochester, N.Y.) converted a penalty kick in the 68th minute. It marked the first career goal for Such. Seven players recorded a point in the game for Daemen. Grichen and senior Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) both recorded two assists, while Panagopoulos finished with a goal and an assist. Senior Megan White (West Seneca, N.Y.) made her first career start in net for Daemen and recorded one save before being replaced by fellow senior Tori DeLappi (Medina, N.Y.) late in the second half. DeLappi stopped two shots over the final 11 minutes.

RETURNING VETERANS
Daemen returns 20 players from its 2021 team, including six who collected All-ECC honors last year. Experience is abundant, as the team features two graduate students, seven seniors and five juniors. The team's top five scorers from last year all return to the pitch this fall. Senior Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) and sophomore Alyssa Diaz (Rochester, N.Y.) accounted for 13 of the team's 34 goals last year and both earned first team All-ECC honors. Scalisi also earned all-region honors, while Diaz became the first player in program history to be named the ECC Rookie of the Year. All-conference defenders Julia Eichel (Grand Island, N.Y.) and Baylin Tighe (Tonawanda, N.Y.) return after heading up a backline that surrendered just 20 goals in 16 games last year. Senior goalkeeper Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) is coming off an all-conference junior season in which she averaged five saves a game and posted a 1.27 goals against average. Graduate students Grace Stranahan and Katelyn Sidoti will serve as teams captains for 2022.

DAEMEN SWEEPS WEEKLY ECC AWARDS
Daemen women's soccer players Alyssa Diaz (Rochester, N.Y.), Julia Eichel (Grand Island, N.Y.) and Kylie Miranto (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) were all honored by the ECC for their play last week. Diaz was selected the ECC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the first time this season. Eichel was named the ECC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, while Miranto was named ECC Women's Soccer Rookie of the Week. It marks the second time this season Eichel and Miranto have collected the honors. It marks the first time since September of 2018 that one school has swept all three major weekly awards. It also marks the third straight week that a Daemen women's soccer player has garnered a major weekly award from the conference. Miranto was selected Rookie of the Week for the first time three weeks ago after scoring her first two collegiate goals in a 3-0 win over D'Youville. Junior Brooke Amato Grand Island, N.Y.) collected Offensive Player of the Week honors last week after scoring twice in Daemen's 4-0 upset of regionally ranked Roberts Wesleyan. Eichel was named Defensive Player of the Week last week after heading up a defense that limited Roberts Wesleyan to just two shots on goal.

ROAD WARRIORS
Daemen recently closed out a stretch of seven-straight road games and played 10 of its 16 games on the road this season.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
The Mavericks are the No. 1 seed in the ECC Championship for the first time. Mercy is making its ninth straight appearance in the ECC Championship and is looking to win its third ECC Championship. The Mavericks previously won the championship in 2014 and 2017. Mercy closed out the regular season with a 0-0 draw with Roberts Wesleyan this past Saturday and is ranked third in the region and No. 20 nationally by the United Soccer Coaches. The Mavericks rank first among ECC teams in goals scored (52). Junior Kayla Camacho (11 gls, 5 asts), freshman Ancksu Dixon (8 gls, 11 asts) and graduate student Nikki Bermudez (9 gls 5 asts) have paced the offense. Freshman goalkeeper Kamy Anaya has been named ECC Defensive Player of the Week twice and is 11-2-1 in goal this season with 39 saves, a .848 save percentage and 0.54 goals-against average. The Mavericks are coming off a season in which they went 12-5-4 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. The Mavericks look to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight season.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. MERCY
Record: Mercy, 9-1
At Daemen: Mercy 4-1
At Mercy: Mercy, 5-0
Last Meeting: Mercy 2, Daemen 0 | Sept. 10, 2022 | at Amherst, N.Y.

Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 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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