Women's Lacrosse Hits The Road For Three Games This Week

3/14/2023 11:20:00 AM

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

Game #6
Daemen Wildcats (2-3, 0-0 ECC) vs. Alfred Saxons (0-1, 0-0 Empire 8)
DATE: Wednesday, March 15
TIME: 4 p.m.
LOCATION: Alfred, N.Y. | Yunevich Stadium
LIVE STATS: via Alfred Athletics / LIVE VIDEO: via Alfred Athletics

Game #7
Daemen Wildcats vs. Findlay Oilers (1-5, 0-0 G-MAC)
DATE: Friday, March 17
TIME: 3 p.m.
LOCATION: Findlay, Ohio | Russ and Peg Armstrong Sports Complex
LIVE STATS: via Findlay Athletics / LIVE VIDEO: via Findlay Athletics

Game #8
Daemen Wildcats vs. Ashland Eagles (2-3, 0-0 G-MAC)
DATE: Sunday, March 19
TIME: 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Ashland, Ohio | Dwight Schar Athletic Complex
LIVE STATS: via Ashland Athletics / LIVE VIDEO: via Ashland Athletics

RIGHT BACK AT IT
It will be another action packed week for the Daemen women's lacrosse team, as the Wildcats play three games in the span of five days starting with a trip to Alfred, N.Y. to play Alfred University on Wednesday. Daemen then heads to Ohio this weekend for road games against Findlay on Friday and Ashland on Sunday.

HISTORY MADE
Daemen made a successful program debut back on Feb. 26, as the Wildcats posted a 14-10 victory at Lake Erie College in the first game in program history. The 2023 campaign will mark the inaugural season for the program. Daemen officially announced it was adding women's lacrosse as a varsity sport in June of 2021.

GUIDING THE SHIP
First-year head coach Dominique Hamman will head up a 19-player roster that includes 11 freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and two graduate students. Prior to Daemen, Hamman spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Grand Valley State and played collegiately at Division I Central Michigan, where she was a member of CMU's inaugural team in 2016.

LIMITED EXPERIENCE
Daemen's rosters features three players with collegiate experience. Graduate student defender Hayley Latvala (Grand Island, N.Y.) played four seasons (2018-21) at Gannon University. She played in 44 of a possible 48 games and was in the starting lineup 38 times. Graduate student forward Casey Decatur (Apollo Beach, Fla.) played three seasons (2018-20) at Division I Saint Bonaventure and played in 29 of a possible 41 games over her career. Sophomore defender Emma Fenwick (Buffalo, N.Y.) played in nine games as rookie at John Carroll University last spring.

FIRST GAME, FIRST WIN
Turns out it was worth the wait, as Daemen picked up a victory in the first game in program history following a 14-10 victory at Lake Erie College on Feb. 26. 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. 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, 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.

BY THE NUMBERS
Several Daemen players rank among the East Coast Conference statistical leaders. Graduate student Casey Decatur (Apollo Beach, Fla.) is tied for the league lead in assists (10) and ranks eighth in points (19). Junior Dana Bacher (Hamburg, N.Y.) ranks 10th in goals (11) and 18th in points (12). Freshman Blair Pfohl (Lockport, N.Y.) ranks fourth in ground balls (20). Sophomore Camryn Day (Hamburg, N.Y.) ranks second (35) and freshman Ella Bouley (Aurburn, N.Y.) ranks fourth (22) in draw controls.

BACHER EARNS ECC HONOR
Junior Dana Bacher (Hamburg, N,.Y.) has been honored by the East Coast Conference for her play last week. Bacher was selected the ECC Women's Lacrosse Rookie of the Week. The announcement of award winners was made via the league's weekly sport report which was released Monday afternoon. It marks the second time this season that Bacher has earned the honor, as she was also selected after the Wildcats to a season opening win over Lake Erie College.

POLL POSITION
Daemen was picked to finish sixth in the East Coast Conference preseason poll following a vote of the league's seven head coaches. Mercy College, which has played in each of the last five ECC Tournament title games and claimed the conference championship in 2019 and 2022, collected six of the seven first place votes and topped the poll with 48 points. Roberts Wesleyan University, which lost to Mercy in last year's ECC Tournament championship game, earned the other first place vote and placed second with 42 points. Molloy University (35), D'Youville University (29) and Saint Thomas Aquinas College (18) round out the top five. Daemen collected 14 points and earned the No. 6 spot ahead of the University of the District of Columbia (10).

ON THE HORIZON
Daemen will play just one game next week, as the Wildcats close out their non-conference schedule with a trip to Edinboro University on March 23.

SCOUTING ALFRED
Alfred is a NCAA Division III affiliate and a member of the Empire 8 Conference. Alfred returns 10 players from last year's team that went 3-11 overall and 1-5 in Empire 8 play. The Saxons will be playing their first game since opening the year with a 20-8 loss to SUNY Fredonia on March 1. Sophomore Amelia Booth was named the Empire 8 Co-Rookie of the Year and earned All-Empire 8 first team accolades in 2022 after scoring 54 goals and 68 points, while adding 131 draw controls. Her 9.36 draw controls per game ranked fourth in Division III. Senior attack Brenna Turner also returns after totaling 34 goals and 49 points last year. Junior goalkeeper Alyssa Piechota led the Empire 8 and ranked second nationally in saves per game (14.64) last year. Booth scored five goals in the loss to Fredonia, while Piechota made 15 saves.

SCOUTING FINDLAY
Findlay is a NCAA Division II affiliate and a member of the Great Midwest Conference (G-MAC). Findlay returns 14 players from last year's team that went 11-7 overall and 9-1 in G-MAC play. The Oilers advanced to the championship game of the G-MAC Tournament where they suffered a 17-6 loss to top-seeded Walsh. The Oilers were picked to finish second in the G-MAC preseason poll. Findlay opened the 2023 season with five straight losses before posting a 14-11 win over Frostburg State this past Sunday. The Oilers host Maryvale tomorrow (March 15) before taking on Daemen Friday. The Oilers return six all-conference players from last year. Senior Danielle Dilorenzo earned first team all-conference honors last year after posting a team-high 39 goals. Sophomore Olivia Alvardo (30 gls, 4 asts) earned second team all-conference honors as a freshman last year, while senior Izzy Murphy-Morrow was a third team all-league pick after totaling 22 goals and nine assists. All-conference defenders Amber Patterson and Erin Kodger also return. Senior Rachel Bernstein returns between the pipes after earning G-MAC Goalie of the Year honors last spring. Dilorenzo scored five goals in the win over Frostburg State and has totaled a team-high 19 points (16 gls, 3 asts). Berstein has started all six games in goal and made 11 saves against Frostburg State..

SCOUTING ASHLAND
Ashland is a NCAA Division II affiliate and a member of the Great Midwest Conference (G-MAC). Ashland returns 16 players from last year's team that went 6-11 overall and 5-5 in G-MAC play. The Eagles lost to Findlay in the semifinals of the G-MAC Tournament. The Eagles were picked to finish third in the G-MAC preseason poll. Ashland opened the 2023 season with non-league wins over West Virginia Wesleyan (21-6) and Wilmington (12-10), before losing three straight games during a trip to Florida. The Eagles lost to Florida Tech (20-4), No. 14 Lynn (15-8) and Palm Beach Atlantic (8-5) during their stay in the Sunshine State. Ashland hosts Maryvale today (March 14) and McKendree on Thursday (March 16) before taking on Daemen Sunday. Six of the top seven scorers from last year return. Senior Cassady Becker returns after totaling 50 goals and 63 points last year and earned G-MAC Attacker of the Year honors. Fifth-year Natalie Sonntag (45 gls, 9 asts) and senior Madie Gash (22 gls, 12 asts) both return after earning all-conference honors last year. All-conference defenders Alexis Montalvo and Talia DiLello also return. Senior goalkeeper Jillian Rekulak returns after starting 11 games last year. Freshman Rachel Crumbacher totaled three goals and seven points in the win over Wilmington and has totaled a team-high 18 points (9 gls, 9 asts) thus far. Becker scored four times in the win over West Virginia Wesleyan and has totaled 10 goals and 13 points. Sonntag scored nine times during the Florida trip and has totaled a team-high 12 goals. Rekulak has started all five games in net and made a season-high 11 saves in the win over Wilmington.

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 women's lacrosse program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWLAX

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