Women's Soccer 2021-22 Year In Review

WILMINGTON, DEL. – Coming off an academic year full of twists and turns, excited would be an understatement to describe the emotions Daemen women's soccer had when they saw the calendar flip to September, once again filled with games on their schedule.
 
After having their 2020 schedule postponed to this past spring due to COVID-19 protocols, the Wildcats began their 2021 campaign with a traditional out-of-state road trip for a Friday matinee against their fellow Wildcats located in Wilmington, Del.
 
But the blue-and-white will have to wait a little longer to secure their first win of this new season.
 
Behind goals scored by veterans Kasie Lambert and Lauren Hoelke in the 26th minute and 69th minute, respectively, Wilmington (Del.) secured a 2-0 victory over Daemen in a contest held at the Wilmington University Athletics Complex. FULL RECAP

WILMINGTON, DEL. – One game at a time.
 
That's the mindset Daemen women's soccer is determined to have after finishing their out-of-state road trip to begin their 2021 campaign Saturday afternoon against Goldey-Beacom and now begin their journey home to Main Street.
 
Behind a two-goal performance from sophomore forward Hanna Clarke in the 40th and 79th minutes plus a goal and an assist from freshman forward Alyssa Ruggieri, the Lightning secured a 3-1 victory over Daemen in a contest held at Nancy Churchman Sawin Field. FULL RECAP

WILLIAMSVILLE, NY – First win of the season? Check.  
 
Behind a goal scored just 18 seconds into the contest by forward Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) and a six-save shutout from goaltender Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio), the Wildcats recorded their first win of the 2021 campaign with a 1-0 victory over Mercyhurst in a contest held at the athletics complex of Williamsville South High School. FULL RECAP

MANCHESTER, N.H. - After a scoreless first half, Daemen surrendered a trio of goals and suffered a 3-1 setback to the St. Anselm Hawks in non-conference women's soccer action today at Melucci Field. 
 
The Wildcats, who were bidding for their second consecutive win, dropped to 1-3-0 on the season. All three of their losses have come on the road. Coach Dan Dolan's Wildcats were coming off a 1-0 victory over Mercyhurst in their home opener this past Saturday. FULL RECAP

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Junior Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) totaled a goal and two assists to lead the Daemen College women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory over crosstown rival D'Youville College at Dobson Field. It marked the East Coast Conference opener for both teams. Daemen improved to 2-3-0 overall, while the host Saints dropped to 1-3-0.

Today marked his is the fourth all-time meeting between the '716' programs, and their first-ever meeting as conference foes. The teams did face each other twice last spring as part of their independent schedules after the ECC canceled the 2020 fall sports season due to COVID-19. Daemen leads the all-time series, 4-0. FULL RECAP

LINCOLN, PA. – Goals, goals and more goals.  
 
In what was their first game in eight days since their conference-opening win at D'Youville, Daemen women's soccer showed no signs of rust offensively on Sunday morning.
 
Led by a seven-point performance (three goals, assist) from Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) and a hat trick from Faye Panagopoulos (Kenmore, N.Y.), the Wildcats recorded their second straight win with a 9-0 victory over Lincoln (Pa.) in a contest held at Lincoln University Stadium. FULL RECAP

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. FULL RECAP

AMHERST, N.Y. – Not one, not two, not three, but four straight wins for Daemen women's soccer – with the latest against a nationally-ranked program.
 
Behind three unanswered goals, Daemen women's soccer recorded their first-ever win against a nationally-ranked program with a 3-1 victory over No. 24 Molloy in an afternoon contest held at Karrer Field Saturday. FULL RECAP

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. – The winning streak has come to an end for Daemen women's soccer.
 
In what was appearing to be the Wildcats' first overtime game of the season, their opponent, Stonehill, had other plans. With less than 90 seconds remaining in regulation, freshman Karleigh Schultz connected off a pass from veteran Meghan Lord and sent the ball just over the right shoulder of Daemen goalkeeper Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) to lift the Skyhawks to a 2-1 victory in a Thursday matinee held at Williamsville South High School. FULL RECAP

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's soccer team got early first half goals from juniors Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.) and Faye Panagopoulos (Kenmore, N.Y.) en route to a 2-1 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas College today at Karrer Field. The host Wildcats remained unbeaten in East Coast Conference play (5-0-0) and improved to 6-4-0 overall. Daemen has now won five of its last six contests. STAC dropped to 3-6-0 overall and 2-3-0 in the ECC.

Daemen has now prevailed in six of the last eight meetings between the two schools, and the Wildcats now own a 6-2-1 advantage in the all-time series. FULL RECAP

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. – While their unblemished record in East Coast Conference play is now off the board, Daemen women's soccer has plenty of reasons to keep their heads high before waiting a whole week before returning to game action.
 
After falling behind 2-0 – with the second goal clocking in at just 37 seconds into the second half – the Wildcats forced extra time with late scores from Alyssa Diaz (Tonawanda, N.Y.) and veteran midfielder Sam Hanes (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) in what resulted as a 2-2 draw with Bridgeport Saturday afternoon at Knights Field.
 
Despite the draw, Daemen women's soccer now stands as the only remaining unbeaten team in East Coast Conference play at 5-0-1 (6-4-1 overall) after Mercy's 1-0 loss at Molloy earlier this afternoon. FULL RECAP

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. – Heading into this cool, crisp weekend in late October, Daemen women's soccer already knew they had clinched a spot in next month's East Coast Conference tournament thanks to Mercy's victory over Queens on Oct. 22. This was one of many goals the group wanted to accomplish in the 2021 campaign when training camp began in late August.
 
The next mission to complete? Remaining unbeaten in East Coast Conference play with the reward of serving as the No. 1 seed in the tournament. And after today's contest hosting College of Staten Island (CSI), the "magic number" to accomplish this is down to two games.
 
Behind a two-goal, four-point outing from junior play-maker Tatyjana Scalisi (Williamsville, N.Y.), a goal from sophomore forward Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) and assists from veteran midfielders Sam Hanes (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) and Grace Stranahan (Grand Island, N.Y.), the Wildcats defeated the visiting Dolphins, 3-0, Saturday afternoon on the campus of Williamsville South High School in Williamsville, N.Y. FULL RECAP

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. – Coming off a huge victory over Staten Island this past Saturday, Daemen women's soccer had the momentum and used it to their advantage in their final non-conference contest of the 2021 season.
 
Behind goals from sophomore forward Brooke Amato (Grand Island, N.Y.) and veteran forward Katja Meyer (Verona, N.Y.) and a one-save shutout from junior goalkeeper Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio), Daemen women's soccer defeated Clarion, 2-1, on a rainy Tuesday evening on the campus of Williamsville South High School in Williamsville, N.Y. FULL RECAP

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – No matter the sport, when a contest has plenty at stake, all it takes is one play to determine the final outcome.
 
That was the case Saturday afternoon when Daemen women's soccer traveled downstate and faced the Mercy Mavericks at Mercy Field in a battle of two of the top teams in the East Coast Conference prior to kickoff.
 
In a game with seeding implications for the upcoming East Coast Conference tournament on the line, the Mercy offense capitalized on a rare turnover in the Daemen defensive zone when Dominique Bono scored the game-deciding goal at the 58:48 mark (59th minute) to secure a 1-0 victory over the Wildcats. FULL RECAP

AMHERST, N.Y. - Senior Day was a success, thanks in large part to a freshman. 

Freshman Alyssa Diaz (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a pair of second half goals, helping Daemen erase a halftime deficit en route to 2-1 victory over visiting Queens in East Coast Conference women's soccer action at Karrer Field today.

It marked the final regular season contest for the Wildcats, as they improve to 9-5-1 overall and 7-1-1 in ECC play. The seven conference wins are the most for the Wildcats since they posted an 11-1 mark in 2011 - the program's final season as a member of the now-defunct American Mideast Conference. FULL RECAP

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – The end of the journey with a bright future ahead.
 
Despite making their first East Coast Conference Tournament appearance since 2018, the Daemen women's soccer program saw its 2021 campaign come to a close in a 2-0 defeat against the Mercy Mavericks at Mercy Field Thursday afternoon.
 
Similar to their first encounter just 12 days ago (1-0 Mercy win on Oct. 30), a second half goal turned out be enough for the Mavericks to gallop their way to Sunday's championship game to face the winner of Thursday's other semifinal between Roberts Wesleyan and top-seeded Molloy.
 
After a scoreless first half, the Mavericks found the right opportunity. With plenty of traffic in front of the Daemen net, Mercy's Kayla Camacho received a pass from Marlene Avalos and fired a shot into the open right corner of the net in the 58th minute to give her Mavericks a 1-0 lead.
 
With the loss, Daemen finished with a 9-6-1 overall record and went 8-3-1 over their last 12 games. This was Daemen's first conference tournament appearance since 2018 (4-0 loss at Bridgeport, Oct. 30, 2018.) FULL RECAP