Wildcats Travels To St. Thomas Aquinas For Key ECC Match Saturday

9/30/2022 11:10:00 AM

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

Game #9
Daemen Wildcats (3-3-2, 0-2-1 ECC) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans (4-2-3, 0-1-2 ECC)
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 1
TIME: 2 p.m.
LOCATION: Sparkill, N.Y. | Spartan Soccer Field
LIVE STREAM BROADCAST: via ECC Network
LIVE STATS: via STAC Athletics

BACK IN ACTION
Daemen travels to Sparkill, N.Y. to battled St. Thomas Aquinas in a key East Coast Conference game.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen and Roberts Wesleyan battled to a 1-1 draw in an ECC match played this past Wednesday at Williamsville South High School. It's was the first time since the 2015 season that the two long time rivals have played to a draw. Daemen opened the scoring just over six minutes into the game. Graduate student Carlos España controlled the ball in the midfield and sent a pass to senior Derek Bartlo (Williamsville, N.Y.) on the right flank. Bartlo dribbled down the flank and then sent a nice cross to freshman Cody Cavuoto (Rochester, N.Y.) in the Roberts box. Cavuoto collected the ball and slid a shot past RWU net minder Jared Gibbons from 10 yards out. Daemen goaltender Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain) kept the Redhawks off the scoreboard with three saves in the first half and the Wildcats took a 1-0 lead into halftime. Daemen's defense took a blow just eight minutes into the second half when junior defender Alexander Khademi (Stockholm, Sweden) was issued a red card for denying RWU a goal scoring opportunity. As a result the Wildcats would have to play the final 37 minutes down a man. RWU pressured the Daemen net throughout the second half and eventually tied the game with just over 22 minutes left to play following a goal by senior Dylan Ruiz. It marked the team-leading seventh goal of the year for Ruiz, who was voted the 2022 Preseason ECC Offensive Player of the Year. Lerma Escobar registered two big saves in the final 10 minutes to keep the game knotted at 1-1. Roberts out shot the Wildcats 11-2 in the second half while up one man. The Redhawks finished with a 16-5 edge in total shots and a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal. Lerma Escobar finished with eight saves for the Wildcats.

LERMA ESCOBAR NAMED ECC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Daemen goalkeeper Marcos Lerma Escobar (Zaragoza, Spain) was named the East Coast Conference Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for games played Sept. 19 through Sept. 25. He becomes the second Daemen men's soccer player to be selected ECC Defensive Player of the Week this season, joining fellow goalkeeper Harry Firth (Reading, Englans) who collected the honor on Sept. 6. It also marks the third time this season that a Daemen men's soccer player has earned an ECC weekly honor. Freshman forward Riccardo Boscolo Bachetto (Chioggia, Italy) was named ECC Rookie of the Week after scoring two goals, including the game-winner, in a season-opening win over Saint Michael's College. Lerma Escobar led the Wildcats to a win in their only game last week, as he turned away all five shots he faced in a 3-0 non-conference win at Chestnut Hill. It was the first solo shutout of the season for Lerma Escobar, who has started seven of Daemen's eight games and is averaging 4.4 saves per game. He ranks first among the ECC leaders in save percentage (.814), third in fewest goals allowed (8) and fourth in goals against average (1.14). In addition, junior midfielder Nassim Zahouani (Saint Denis, France) was named to the ECC weekly honor roll. He scored the game-winning goal and also added an assist in the win over Chestnut Hill.

SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE
Daemen enters Saturday's contest ranked first among ECC in fewest goals allowed (9), while STAC ranks first in most goals scored (28). Daemen has limited seven of its first eight opponents to one goal or less.

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen returns to non-conference play Wednesday (Oct. 5) when it travels to Erie, Pa. to face Gannon.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
St. Thomas Aquinas picked up its fourth win of the year following a 4-0 win over Saint Anselm this past Wednesday. The Spartans remained winless in league play following a 2-0 loss at Staten Island last weekend. The Spartans opened league play with a 5-5 tie with Roberts Wesleyan and also played Molloy to a 1-1 draw. STAC went 10-3-4 overall (6-1-2 ECC) last year and tied for first with Molloy in the 2022 ECC preseason coaches' poll. The Spartans rank first among ECC teams in total goals scored (28) and goals per game (3.11). Senior Jorge Umana and sophomore Kevon Evans have paced the offense. Umana scored four times in a season-opening 7-0 win over St. Michael's and totaled a goal and an assist in the win over Saint Anselm. Evans scored twice in the win over St. Michael's and has totaled six goals and 15 points. Junior Joshua Heber, sophomore Felix Davies and freshman Tabor McDaniels have each started three games in goal. Heber (2.09 GAA) made a season-high six saves in an early season 4-1 loss to nationally-ranked Frankllin Pierce. Davies (3.60 GAA) stopped a season-high eight shots in a 3-2 win over Alliance (formerly Nyack). McDaniels (1.38 GAA) has started the last three games and made five saves in the win over Saint Anselm.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DAEMEN VS. STAC
Series Record: STAC, 6-2-0
At Daemen: 2-2-0
At STAC: STAC, 4-0-0
Last Meeting: STAC 4, Daemen 0 | Oct. 9, 2021 | 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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