Geoff Schneider

Women's Lacrosse Closes Regular Season With ECC Contests Against D'Youville And Mercy

4/23/2024 10:20:00 AM

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

OPENING DRAW
The Daemen women's lacrosse team closes out the 2024 regular season with two East Coast Conference games this week. The Wildcats will travel across town to take on D'Youville on Wednesday (April 24) and host Mercy on Sunday (April 28) at Coyer Field on the campus of Buffalo State University.

SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN
Last season marked the inaugural season for Daemen women's lacrosse. Daemen officially announced it was adding women's lacrosse as a varsity sport in June of 2021. The Wildcats made a successful debut on Feb. 26, 2023 when they posted a 14-10 victory at Lake Erie College in the first game in program history. Daemen would go on to post a 7-9 record in its inaugural season.

GUIDING THE SHIP
Second-year head coach Dominique Hamman will head up a 21-player roster that includes six freshmen, nine sophomores, three juniors, two seniors and one graduate student. 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.

SEASON OUTLOOK
Coach Hamman returns 12 players and welcomes nine newcomers to the 2024 roster. The Wildcats must overcome the graduation of all-conference attack Casey Decatur who ranked second in goals (37) and led the team in assists (37) and points (74) last year. Senior Dana Bacher (Hamburg, N.Y.), junior Camryn Day (Hamburg, N.Y.) and sophomore Ella Bouley (Auburn, N.Y.) will serve as team captains. Bacher earned second team All-ECC honors last season after leading the team in goals (43) and ranking second in points (52). Day led the ECC and ranked 18th nationally in draw controls per game (6.31) last year and also contributed 25 goals and 33 points. Bouley ranked third on the team in goals (28) and points (34). Sophomores Avery Castner (Penn Yan, N.Y.) and Kylie Miranto (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) also return. Castner netted 20 goals as a rookie, while Miranto totaled 16 points. Sophomore goaltender Blair Pfohl (Lockport, N.Y.) is back after starting all 16 games in goal last year and averaging seven saves per game.

POLL POSITION
Daemen was picked to finish fifth in the East Coast Conference preseason poll following a vote of the league's seven head coaches. Two-time defending champion Mercy University collected five of the seven first place votes and topped the poll with 47 points. Roberts Wesleyan University earned the other two first place votes and placed second with 42 points.

THE 2024 WILDCATS (5-10, 2-2 ECC)
The Wildcats are coming off an 18-5 loss at nationally ranked Saint Anselm this past weekend. The Wildcats improved to 2-2 in the ECC following a 22-2 win over District of Columbia on April 14. Ella Bouley scored four goals in a 16-2 win over STAC and leads the team in goals (30), points (42), ground balls (29), caused turnovers (16) and draw controls (45). Dana Bacher scored five times during the win over UDC and has totaled 26 goals and 30 points. She has totaled a program-best 69 goals and 82 points over the past two years. Sophomore Avery Castner has totaled 29 points (21 gls, 8 asts) and 25 ground balls, while classmate Kylie Miranto has totaled 22 points (15 gls, 7 asts) and 38 draw controls. Additional production has come from junior Olivia Wade (21 gls, 2 ats) and freshmen Shannen Calandra (7 gls, 15 asts), Mikayla Myer (9 gls, 6 ast, 28 draw controls) and Cadence Baran (13 gls, 1 ast). The Daemen defense, led by sophomores Jenna Havert (Newark, N.Y.) and Maddy Carpenter (Hilton, N.Y.), junior Gabi Accurso (Buffalo, N.Y.) and graduate student Aaliyah Deaton (Hickory, N.C.) limited UDC to just two total shots during the 22-2 win, which ranks as the fewest shots allowed in game in the two year history of the program. Havert netted her first career goal during the win over STAC and ranks second on the team in ground balls (25). Deaton ranks second in caused turnovers (15). Senior transfer Tatiana Wright has started eight games in net and made a season-high 20 saves in a loss to Molloy. Among the ECC leaders she ranks first in save percentage (.471), third in goals against average (10.36) and fourth in saves per game (7.27). Sophomore Blair Pfohl has started seven games in net and made a program-record 21 saves in a loss to Missouri Western State earlier this year.

SCOUTING D'YOUVILLE (5-9, 2-2 ECC)
D'Youville returns several key players--including four 2023 all-conference selections--from last year's team that went 8-10 overall and 3-3 in ECC play. The Saints qualified for the ECC Tournament and suffered a 19-5 loss to Mercy in the semifinals. D'Youville will be playing its first game since snapping a four-game losing streak with an 18-12 win over St. Thomas Aquinas on April 14. Sophomore Sam Newlin returns after earning second team All-ECC and ECC Rookie of the Year last year. She racked up 53 goals and 59 points last year. She scored five times in an 11-10 win over Molloy and has totaled 26 goals and 33 points this year. Sophomore Sydney Gordon was a second team All-ECC pick last year. She scored four times in the win over Molloy and has totaled 22 goals and 29 points this year. Sophomore Madison Handley scored seven goals in the win over STAC and has totaled a team-high 44 goals and 52 points. Additional production has come from sophomore Madison Buck (27 gls, 8 asts) and junior Jillian Bernas (8 gls, 9 asts). All-conference defender Lauren Parker also returns. Junior Brinn Stworzydlak returns after earning first team All-ECC and ECC Goalkeeper of the Year last year. She has started all 14 games this season and made a season-high 16 saves in the win over Molloy.

SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between the Wildcats and the Saints. The Saints posted a 13-10 victory at Dobson Field last year.

SCOUTING MERCY (7-8, 4-0 ECC)
Mercy is the two-time defending ECC champion and is receiving votes in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll. Mercy returns several key players--including five 2023 all-conference selections--from last year's team that went 13-6 overall and 5-1 in ECC play. The Mavericks claimed the 2023 ECC Tournament title following wins over D'Youville (19-5) and Roberts Wesleyan (9-8). Mercy has played a very challenging schedule this season, with eight of its 11 non-conference opponents being nationally ranked. The Mavericks are 1-7 against nationally ranked teams this season, including a 12-11 (2 OT) loss to No. 1 ranked and defending national champion Pace. Mercy has won its last three games and is coming off a 15-14 win over Dominican on April 17. The Mavericks play a key ECC game at Roberts Wesleyan Friday before taking on Daemen on Sunday. Junior Leena Moussa and graduate student Erin Shimborske return after earning first team All-ECC last year. Moussa totaled nine points (6 gls, 3 asts) in a recent 17-13 win over Molloy and has totaled a team-high 59 points (41 gls, 18 asts). Shimborske totaled 30 points last year and has contributed 10 goals and 18 points this year. Senior Kelly Rosenfeld was a second team All-ECC pick last year and has 10 goals and 22 points this year. Junior Leah Hansen netted 37 goals last year and has racked up a team-high 49 goals this season. Additional production has come from sophomore Andrea Mott (13 gls, 25 asts) and graduate student Sydney Corley (21 gls, 6 asts). All-conference defenders Lindsey Shimborske and Christina Lopreato also return. Shimborske was also named ECC Defender of the Year last year and leads the team in ground balls (44), caused turnovers (35) and draw controls (88) this season. Senior Olivia Maute returns in net after starting 18 of 19 games last year. She has started all 15 games this season and made a season-high 11 saves in a 10-9 loss to nationally ranked Assumption.

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's game will mark the second all-time meeting between the Wildcats and the Mavericks. The Mavericks posted a 19-6 win at Mercy last year.

ON THE HORIZON
The top four teams in the final ECC standings qualify for the ECC Championship tournament.

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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