Women's Soccer Plays At Nationally-Ranked Southern New Hampshire Wednesday

9/13/2022 2:03:00 PM

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

Game #6
Daemen Wildcats (0-4-1, 0-1-0 ECC) vs. #13 Southern New Hampshire (3-0-0, 1-0-0 NE-10)
DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 14
TIME: 1 p.m.
LOCATION: Manchester, N.H. | Penmen Stadium
LIVE STREAM BROADCAST: via NE-10 Network
LIVE STATS: via SNHU Athletics

BACK IN ACTION
Daemen makes its second trip to New England in the span of 12 days to play nationally-ranked Southern New Hampshire Wednesday afternoon. Four of Daemen's first six opponents are currently regionally or nationally ranked.

LAST TIME OUT
Regionally-ranked Mercy struck for two goals in the span of 2:41 late in the second half to secure a 2-0 victory over Daemen this past Saturday at Karrer Field. It marked the East Coast Conference opener for both teams. Mercy, which entered the game ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll, improved to 4-1-0 overall and 1-0-0 in the ECC. Daemen fell to 0-4-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the league. Neither team registered a shot for the first 23 minutes of the second half, and the game remained knotted at 0-0 until the Mavericks struck for two goals in the span of 2:41 with less than 15 minutes to play. Freshman Ancksu Dixon scored what would be the game-winning goal at 74:29, and sophomore Isabella Messina added an insurance goal at 77:10. Mercy finished with a 13-2 edge in total shots and a 10-2 advantage in shots on goal. Senior Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) went the distance in net for Daemen and equaled her season-high for saves (8).

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.

POLLS, POLLS, POLLS
Daemen women's soccer has been picked to finish third in the ECC this season according to the league's preseason poll which was released on August 16. The No. 3 preseason ranking ties for the highest in program history since the Wildcats joined the ECC in 2013. Daemen was also ranked third in the ECC preseason poll in 2019. Mercy and Molloy both collected four first place votes and Mercy edged Molloy for the top spot in the poll with 75 points. Both Mercy and Molloy posted an 8-1-0 league record last year and Molloy earned the ECC Tournament title following a double overtime win over Mercy. Daemen collected one first place vote and earned 66 points, while Roberts Wesleyan (57) and Queens (39) rounded out the top five.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen returns to conference play Saturday (Sept. 17) when it travels to Queens College for a 1 p.m. match.

SCOUTING THE PENMEN
SNHU has advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament each of the last four years (they did not play in 2020 due to COVID-19). Elie Monteiro, a 1997 graduate of SNHU, enters his ninth season as head coach. SNHU went 13-4-1 overall (11-2-0 NE-10) last year and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Penmen suffered 1-0 loss to Mercy in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Penmen were picked second in the 2022 NE-10 preseason poll. SNHU stands at 3-0-0 on the year and is ranked second in the East Region and 13th nationally by the United Soccer Coaches. The Penmen have held each of their first three opponents scoreless. They opened the 2022 season with non-league wins over Bridgeport (1-0) and Staten Island (4-0) and opened NE-10 play with a 3-0 win over Le Moyne this past Saturday. Junior Nida Orloff (2 gls, 1 ast), senior Allison Beaumont (2 gls) and freshman Georgia Greene (1 gl, 1 ast) have paced the offense. Graduate student Hannah Rose has started all three games in goal (0.00 GAA) and made seven saves in the win over Bridgeport.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. SNHU
Record: First Meeting

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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