Wildcats Picked 8th In ECC Preseason Men's Soccer Poll

8/18/2022 5:00:00 PM

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

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen University men's soccer team has been picked to finish eighth in the East Coast Conference this season according to the ECC preseason poll which was released today following a vote of the league's nine head coaches.

Molloy University and St. Thomas Aquinas College, who met in the ECC Tournament championship game last year, are tied atop the poll. Molloy, which claimed the 2021 ECC Tournament title last year, collected five of the nine first-pace votes and totaled 70 points. St. Thomas Aquinas garnered two first place votes and also totaled 70 points. Mercy College, which went 5-2-2 in league play last year, collected the other two first-place votes and totaled 65 points. The University of the District of Columbia (55 pts) and Roberts Wesleyan College (45 pts) round out the top five. The remainder of the poll includes Queens College at No. 6 with 37 points, the College of Staten Island (26 pts) in seventh, Daemen (25 pts) and D'Youville University (12 pts).

Daemen returns 20 players from its 2021 roster. Experience is abundant, as the team features four graduate students, nine seniors and six juniors. Daemen had a balanced attack offensively last year, as the team's 21 goals were scored by 11 different players. Veterans Christian Lewin (Bobenheim-Roxheim, Germany), Derek Bartlo (Williamsville, N.Y.) and Dennis Montero Guerrero (Weingarten, Germany) return up front. Lewin ranked second on the team in goals scored (3) last year. Senior Pontus Lundin (Asmundtorp, Sweden) and junior Michel Hölscher (Hamminkeln, Germany) return in the midfield. Lundin has stated 43 games over his career and totaled two goals and five points last year. Hölscher started 11 games last year and netted three goals. The Wildcats return the core of a defensive unit that limited 12 of its 16 opponents to two goals or less last year. Seniors Trey Buscaglia (East Amherst, N.Y.) and Ajan Rajamohan (Spencerport, N.Y.) and junior Alexander Khademi (Stockholm, Sweden) will head up the back line. Graduate student Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain) returns between the pipes after starting 15 of 16 games last year. He averaged five saves a game and posted a 1.71 goals against average last fall. He turned away a career-high 12 shots in a season-ending 4-2 win over Queens.

The Wildcats will open the 2022 season with four straight home games, before playing seven of their next eight on the road. The Wildcats have six contests against teams that won at least 10 contests during the 2021 season. Daemen kicks off the season Saturday, Aug. 27 when it hosts Saint Michael's College of the Northeast-10 Conference at Karrer Field. It will mark the first ever meeting between the Wildcats and the Purple Knights. Daemen opens ECC play Saturday, Sept. 10 when its hosts Mercy College at Karrer Field. Other highlights include dates with Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) powers Gannon University and Lock Haven University, who both advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last year. Gannon enters the year ranked 18th in the United Soccer Coaches Division II preseason poll. Daemen will travel to Erie, Pa. on Oct. 5 to face Gannon and the Wildcats have a home date on Oct. 19 against Lock Haven. Daemen will square off against ECC preseason favorite Molloy on the road on Oct. 8.

2022 ECC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll

1T. Molloy (5) - 70
1T. St. Thomas Aquinas (2) - 70
3. Mercy (2) - 65
4. District of Columbia - 55
5. Roberts Wesleyan - 45
6. Queens - 37
7. Staten Island - 26
8. DAEMEN - 25
9. D'Youville - 12

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.

Follow the Daemen men's soccer program on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @DaemenMSOC.

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