Meredith Wipper/Findlay Athletics

Women's Lacrosse Closes Out Non Conference Schedule This Week

3/22/2023 9:10:00 AM

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

Game #9
Daemen Wildcats (3-5, 0-0 ECC) vs. Edinboro Fighting Scots (2-4, 0-2 PSAC)
DATE: Thursday, March 23
TIME: 6:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Edinboro, Pa. | Sox Harrison Stadium
LIVE STATS: via Edinboro Athletics / LIVE VIDEO: via PSAC Network

Game #10
Daemen Wildcats vs. Tiffin Dragons (4-4, 0-0 G-MAC)
DATE: Sunday, March 26
TIME: 1 p.m.
LOCATION: Buffalo, N.Y. | Medaille Sports Complex
LIVE STATS: via Daemen Athletics / LIVE VIDEO: via ECC Network

RIGHT BACK AT IT
The Wildcats close out non-conference play this week. They make a trip to Pennsylvania to play Edinboro University on Thursday and then host Tiffin University 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.) ranks second in the league lead in assists (15), third in points (31) and 12th in goals (16). Junior Dana Bacher (Hamburg, N.Y.) ranks 11th in goals (17) and 15th in points (20). Freshman Ella Bouley (Auburn, N.Y.) ranks 13th in goals (15) and 19th in points (16). Freshman Blair Pfohl (Lockport, N.Y.) leads the league in ground balls (28) and ranks fourth in total saves (63). Sophomore Camryn Day (Hamburg, N.Y.) ranks second (46) and Bouley ranks third (37) in draw controls.

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 plays just one game next week, as the Wildcats open East Coast Conference play at the University of the District of Columbia Friday (March 31).

SCOUTING EDINBORO
Edinboro is a NCAA Division II affiliate and a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Edinbioro returns eight players from last year's team that went 2-15 overall and 0-12 in PSAC play. The Fighting Scots were picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West preseason poll. Edinboro opened the year with a 17-3 loss at D'Youville, before posting back-to-back wins over District of Columbia (20-14) and Chowan (13-12 OT). The Fighting Scots have since dropped three-straight games to Lake Erie (11-6), Seton Hill (22-0) and IUP (22-2). Freshmen Rylee Jones, Caroline Zentis and Emma Lamica have paced the offense thus far. Jones scored eight goals in the win over UDC and has scored 20 of the teams 44 goals. Zentis scored four times against UDC and has totaled 12 points (8 gls, 4 asts). Lamica netted four goals against Chowan and has totaled 10 points (8gls, 2 asts). Senior Savannah Fischer has started five of the six games in goal and made a season-high seven saves in the win over UDC.

SCOUTING TIFFIN
Tiffin is a NCAA Division II affiliate and a member of the Great Midwest Conference (G-MAC). Tiffin returns seven players from last year's team that went 5-13 overall and 5-5 in G-MAC play. The Dragons were picked to finish fourth in the G-MAC preseason poll. Tiffin opened the 2023 season with non-league losses to Maryvale (23-1) and McKendree (19-5), before posting back-to-back wins over Thomas More (10-9) and Chowan (13-12). The Dragons are coming off a 16-11 win at Madonna last Wednesday and open conference play at Lake Erie on Friday before taking on Daemen Sunday. Tiffin must overcome the loss of five all-conference selections and the top four scorers from last year. Sophomore Gabby Wilson returns after totaling 21 goals and 29 points and earning second team all-conference honors as a rookie. Junior goalkeeper Jenay Rennie returns after earning second team all-conference honors last year. Wilson scored three goals iin a win over West Virginia Wesleyan and has totaled 15 goals and 19 points this season. Freshmen Gabrielle Beals (13 gls, 6 asts), Katelyn Jarvis (15 gls, 3 ast) and Lillian Graham (10 gls, 2 asts) have made immediate contributions this season. Rennie has started all eight games in goal and made 10 saves in the win over Madonna.

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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