SPARKILL, N.Y. - The Daemen University women's lacrosse team tallied a program record 24 goals in one game as they dominated St. Thomas Aquinas, 24-3, in their first East Coast Conference game of the year Saturday afternoon at Spartan Field. 

With the win, the Wildcats improved to 3-5 and 1-0 in ECC play while the Spartans dropped to 3-4 and 0-1 in conference action. 

Junior attacker Avery Castner (Penn Yan, N.Y.) paced the Daemen attack with five goals while sophomore attacker Shannen Calandra (Rome, N.Y.) tied the program record and set a new career-high in points with nine. Junior attacker Ella Bouley (Auburn, N.Y.) made history herself as her three goals took her to 100 career points and made her the first player in program history to record 100 points all with Daemen. The junior midfielder also snagged a game-high seven ground balls as well. Senior Katelynn Deveans (Clinton, N.Y.) and sophomore Maria Salvo (Clarence, N.Y.) each notched a hat trick of their own in the win. Junior midfielder Kylie Miranto (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) nabbed five draw controls and tallied four points to help pace the Daemen offense. Making her first collegiate start in net after primarily playing as a midfielder, freshman Marianna Szamoskozi (Port Coquitilam, British Columbia) made five saves to help the Wildcats secure the win. 

Jada Garcia scored two of St. Thomas Aquinas' three goals in the losing effort. Hailey Galison collected a team-high five ground balls while in net, Lilah Magenheimer was credited for the loss after playing 30:00 minutes and surrendering 18 goals while making 11 saves. 

Daemen roared out of the gate as they scored six goals in the first 3:23 of the contest with Castner leading the early scoring run with two tallies of her own. STAC was abel to stop the Wildcats scoring run with a goal from Garcia at the 10:54 mark, but Daemen closed the first quarter on a high note as they rattled off six unanswered goals to close the frame. During the run, Bouley tallied her third point of the game with a goal at the 6:17 mark to become the first player in program history to secure 100 points all with Daemen. 

The Wildcats dominated the second quarter as they only allowed two shots from STAC, both of which were saved by Szamoskozi, while scoring six goals of their own to head into halftime with an 18-1 advantage. Castner again led the 'Cats scoring efforts as she tallied three of Daemen's six goals. 

Out of the halftime break, the Blue and White continued to roll as they netted their 13th and 14th consecutive goals dating back to the first quarter with Salvo and senior Cameron Briggs (Buffalo, N.Y.) each finding the net. The Spartans tallied two of the final three goals of the quarter to stop the Daemen run with the score at 21-3 entering the final frame. 

The 'Cats added three more goals in the fourth quarter, with Deveans, sophomore Cadence Baran (Lancaster, N.Y.) and junior Grace Heath (Corning, N.Y.) accounting for the three Daemen goals. 

Daemen ended the day with a 39-10 advantage on shots and 37-12 lead in ground balls. The Wildcats also went 9-of-12 on clears compared to just 4-of-16 from STAC.

GAME NOTES
• The Wildcats are now 3-0 all-time against the Spartans.
• Daemen's 24 goals are the most in a game in program history while their 21 goal win is the largest win in program history. 
• Freshman Adison Pollutro (West Seneca, N.Y.) and Calandra each tallied five assists which is tied for third all-time in a single game in program history
• Today marked the second time in program history Daemen won their conference opener
• Bouley's seven ground balls are one shy of the program record of eight
• Szamoskozi picked up her first collegiate victory as a goalie. 

UP NEXT
The 'Cats will continue their season-long four game road swing with a trip to Mercy on March 29. Opening draw is set for 11 a.m.

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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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