Men's Soccer | 8/26/2025 9:17:00 AM

AMHERST, N.Y. -- The Daemen University men's soccer team kicks off the 2025 season on Thursday, Sept. 4 with a 7:30 PM road match at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio. Prior to the start of the year, here are some quick hits and things to know before the start of the season.

1. The Wildcats will play all eight home games at Daemen's new home soccer and lacrosse stadium at the brand new Royal Park Sports Complex. A project that has been years in the making, Daemen will be able to play and practice on their own turf field. The Wildcat men will play their first home game on Friday, Sept. 12 at 5:30 PM when they host Saint Anselm of the Northeast-10 Conference. "It's great! Royal Park is definitely an upgrade from last year, the standards of the facilities are much higher, we have an Athletic Training room over there so we can get treatment there right beside the field, the turf is very nice, the stadium is nice, so we're really excited to get all our training and games going on over there," Daemen senior midfielder Joshua Choi (Upland, Calif.) said of the Wildcats' new facility. 

2. 17 players return for the Wildcats from the 2024 squad including 11 players that made at least one start a season ago. Fifth year midfielder/forward Rayane Baitiche (Thionville, France) is Daemen's top returning offensive weapon after finishing the '24 season ranked second on the team in points (7) and goals (3). Baitiche was one of five players to participate in all 15 games last season. Additionally, the Wildcats are bolstered by the presence of Jean Tilo (Port-au-Prince, Haiti), a defender with experience on the Bahamas Men's Soccer National Team, alongside forward Larry Noel (Nassau, Bahamas) and junior midfielder Joshua Choi (Upland, Calif.).

3. Entering his seventh season, head coach Bediako Swan brought in 14 newcomers for the 2025 season, with seven freshmen and seven transfer players looking to make an impact on the team this year. 

4. Coming off a tough 2024 season that ended with a 3-10-2 overall record and 0-7-1 record in East Coast Conference play, the Wildcats are ranked ninth in the 2025 ECC Preseason Coaches Poll. Queens College was selected as the top team in the league with 80 points and eight first-place votes. Mercy University earned 70 points, while District of Columbia closed out the top three with 51 points. Molloy University (48 points), D'Youville University collected one first place vote (47), St. Thomas Aquinas College (36), College of Staten Island (18) and Daemen (12) round out the league.

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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.

Follow the Daemen men's soccer program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenMSOC.