Wildcats Head Back to Ohio to Play Walsh Wednesday

2/24/2026 10:00:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Connor Griffin, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications | cgriffin@daemen.edu

BACK TO OHIO
The Daemen women's lacrosse team heads back to Ohio for its second game of the season, taking on Walsh at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The Wildcats are 1-0 after opening the year with a win at Lake Erie last Thursday.

LAST TIME OUT
Daemen opened the season with a 16-1 victory at Lake Erie. The Wildcats began the game with a commanding first quarter, scoring seven goals, including five on woman-up advantages. The team maintained control throughout, with nine players contributing to the scoring. The Storm managed only a single goal, which came in the final quarter. Maria Salvo (Clarence, N.Y.) scored four goals, including two woman-up tallies, from seven shots. Avery Castner (Penn Yan, N.Y.) also netted four goals and provided an assist, converting all five of her shots on target. Freshman Sadie Schlesselman (Lancaster, N.Y.) contributed a goal and two assists. Shannen Calandra (Rome, N.Y.) tallied two goals and added an assist, making six of her seven shots on goal. Defensively, Kylie Miranto (North Tonawanda, N.Y.) recorded a team-leading three caused turnovers. Graduate student Camryn Day (Hamburg, N.Y.) also collected four ground balls and caused two turnovers. In goal, Molly Evans (Fulton, N.Y.) allowed just one goal while making three saves.

EVANS EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
Evans was named ECC Goalie of the Week on Monday. She allowed just one goal, a career low, helping Daemen earn a 16-1 season-opening victory over Lake Erie on the road last Thursday. The sophomore made three saves in the contest, with two in the third quarter and one in the fourth. Evans posted a 75% save percentage in the game. The netminder held the Storm scoreless for the first three quarters before allowing the only goal in the fourth. This is the second time in her career that Evans has earned a weekly honor from the league. Last season, Evans was named ECC Rookie of the Week once.

PRESEASON POLL
The Wildcats were picked fourth in this year's ECC preseason poll. Mercy was selected first in the poll with 45 points and four first-place votes, followed by defending champion Molloy with 44 points and three first-place votes. Roberts Wesleyan followed with 35 points, then Daemen with 28 points, and D'Youville with 23 points. St. Thomas Aquinas (14 points) and the University of the District of Columbia (7 points) concluded the poll.

RETURNING OFFENSIVE POWER
The Wildcats return their top goal scorer from the 2025 campaign, Ella Bouley (Auburn, N.Y.), who was named First Team All-ECC after scoring 25 goals and providing nine assists for a team-high 34 points. Bouley also ranked second on the team in draw controls (42), forced 16 turnovers, and collected 27 ground balls. Daemen's top point leader from last season, Calandra also returns after she tallied 43 points, recording 15 goals and a team-leading 28 assists, which ranked fourth in the ECC. Castner contributed 28 points last season, finishing third on the squad in goals (20) and adding eight assists.

STRONG DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
On the defensive side, Jenna Havert (Newark, N.Y.) finished tied for the team lead in caused turnovers (20) and was second in ground balls (32), collecting Second Team All-ECC honors in 2025. She was tied for eighth in the conference in caused turnovers per game (1.25). Miranto caused 16 turnovers and picked up 16 ground balls. Evans played in 14 games, making 13 starts in goals last season, logging a 14.53 goals-against average while making 113 saves.

IN THE RANKINGS
Last season, Daemen led the conference in caused turnovers per game (9.69) and ranked third in ground balls per game (17.31). The Wildcats also led the conference in women-up goals (39) and women-up goals per game (2.44). Additionally, Daemen was fourth in assists per game (5.56).

SCOUTING WALSH (0-1, 0-0 G-MAC)
The Cavaliers dropped their season opener 17-9 at the University of Charleston this past Sunday. Trinity Stowell led Walsh with six points (5G, 1A) in the contest. Walsh finished the 2025 campaign with a 9-9 record, including a 7-1 mark in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The Cavaliers fell to Findlay, who Daemen plays on Sunday, in the G-MAC semifinals. Junior Jossalyn Welch is the Cavaliers' top returning scorer after logging 33 points with 22 goals and 11 assists last season. Junior Olivia Price finished with 29 points (18G, 9A) last season. Defensively, senior Alexa Panetta finished third on the team in caused turnovers (33) and ground balls (47) last year. She logged three caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls last game. Ky-Mani Naseer started in goal for the Cavaliers against Charleston, making nine saves in the loss.

SERIES HISTORY
Daemen is 0-3 all-time against Walsh. The teams met last year, when the Wildcats dropped a 12-11 decision at home. The Cavaliers also won 15-5 in 2024 and 21-2 in 2023.

UP NEXT
The Wildcats host Findlay in its home opener on Sunday at 12 p.m. It will be Daemen's first game at their new home, Royal Park.

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 program on Twitter and Instagram at @DaemenWLAX.

Print Friendly Version