PAINESVILLE, Ohio. – Turns out it was worth the wait, as the Daemen University women's lacrosse team picked up a victory in the first game in program history today. The Wildcats posted a 14-10 victory over Lake Erie College here today. The long awaited game came over a year and a half after Daemen officially announced it was adding women's lacrosse as a varsity sport in June of 2021.

Junior Dana Bacher (Hamburg, N.Y.) scored five goals and graduate student Casey Decatur (Apollo Beach, Fla.) added three goals and four assists to lead the way today. Freshman Blair Pfohl (Lockport, N.Y.) went the distance in goal for the Wildcats and made three saves to earn the win in her collegiate debut.

Lake Erie, which is a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, dropped to 1-1 on the year. Sophomore Shannon Smith led the hosts with four goals, while freshman Ainsley Sutter made eight saves.

Freshman Kylie Miranto (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) will get credit for scoring the first goal in program history, as her goal off a pass from Decatur just 1:15 into the game gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

The score remained 1-0 until LEC evened the score at 1-1 with 8:56 left in the first quarter. Bacher scored the first of her five goals less than a minute later, and Daemen would take a 5-2 lead into the second quarter.

The Wildcats scored four unanswered goals over the first six minutes of the second quarter to take a 9-2 lead. Daemen would take a 10-3 lead into halftime.

LEC outscored the Wildcats 3-1 during the third quarter and the hosts later cut the Daemen lead to three goals, 12-9, after Smith scored an extra-man goal with 8:24 to play in the fourth quarter.

Daemen regained control after Decatur and sophomore Camryn Day (Hamburg, N.Y.) scored back-to-back goals a minute apart to give the Wildcats a 14-9 lead.

Daemen will play its first ever home game Tuesday (Feb. 28) afternoon when they host Walsh University in a non-league game. The Wildcats will play their five home games at the Medaille Sports Complex at Buffalo Color Park while Daemen awaits construction of the West Royal Park athletic complex.

GAME NOTES

• Daemen finished with a 29-17 edge in total shots. Decatur led the way with eight shots, while Bacher scored five goals on just six shots.
• Lake Erie posted a 19-17 edge in ground balls. Freshman Ella Bouley (Auburn, N.Y.) led Daemen with four ground balls.
   

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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