Women's Soccer Treks To New England To Face Bentley

Wildcats and Falcons To Meet For First Time Ever On Saturday

9/2/2022 9:12:00 AM

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

Game #3
Daemen Wildcats (0-1-1, 0-0-0 ECC) at Bentley Falcons (0-1-2, 0-0-0 NE-10)
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 3
TIME: 11 a.m.
LOCATION: Walthamt, Mass. | Bentley Soccer Field
LIVE STREAM BROADCAST: via NE-10 Network
LIVE STATS: via Bentley Athletics

BACK IN ACTION
Daemen plays its first road game of the season Saturday (Sept. 3) when it travels to Waltham, Mass. to take on Bentley University in a non-conference match. Veteran head coach Dan Dolan has put together a challenging non-conference schedule that features five teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament last year.

LAST TIME OUT
Through a steady downpour at Karrer Field on Tuesday afternoon, Daemen and Le Moyne battled to a 0-0 tie. The NCAA instituted a rule change prior to the start of this season that regular-season games will not go to overtime and the game will end after 90 minutes of play. Overtime will still take place during post-season games when a winner must be determined. The Wildcats controlled the pace of play for the majority of the game, and out-shot the Dolphins 5-0 at the half. Daemen went on to finish with 15-3 advantage in shots overall (9-1 in shots on goal). Daemen's best chance for a goal came in the 53rd minute of play when Le Moyne goalie Allison Moreau made a diving save of graduate student Grace Stranahan (Grand Island, N.Y.)'s penalty kick. Daemen goaltender Tori DeLappi (Medina, Ohio) made one save en route to the shutout.

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 HORIZION
Daemen will play its fourth-straight NE-10 team Monday (Sept. 5) when the Wildcats host Saint Anselm. Game time is 12 noon at Karrer Field.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bentley is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference. Lauren Lukis enters her 20th season as the head coach of the Bentley women's soccer program. Bentley went 8-6-3 overall (8-4-1 NE-10) last year and lost to Saint Anselm in the quarterfinals of the NE-10 Tournament. The Falcons were picked fifth in the 2022 NE-10 preseason poll. They opened the 2022 season with a 1-1 draw with Wilmington and then dropped to 0-1-1 following a 1-0 loss to Molloy last Sunday. The Falcons are coming off a 1-1 tie with Franklin Pierce on Wednesday. Senior midfielder Brooke Jones scored the Falcon's lone goal in the tie with Franklin Pierce, while senior midfielder Liliana Silva scored in the 1-1 tie with Wilmington. Sophomore Claire McEwin has started all three games in net (0.80 GAA) and made three saves in the tie with Franklin Piece, Saturday's game will mark the first ever meeting between Daemen and Bentley.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. BENTLEY
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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