Match 3: Daemen at Saint Michael's | Sept. 3 | 3 p.m. | Duffy Field | Colchester, Vt.
Live Stream and Links: FloCollege (subscription required) | Live Stats
Daemen Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Saint Michael's Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
Match 4: Daemen at Saint Anselm | Sept. 5 | 12 p.m. | Melucci Field | Manchester, N.H.
Live Stream and Links: Watch on FloCollege (subscription required) | Live Stats
Daemen Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats
Saint Anselm Links: Roster | Schedule | Stats

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BACK ON THE ROAD 
The Daemen men's soccer team is back on the road this week, heading to New England for two games. The Wildcats face off against Saint Michael's in Vermont at 3 p.m. on Thursday before traveling to New Hampshire on Saturday to play Saint Anselm at 12 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
Last Thursday, Daemen opened its season at home against West Liberty, falling 3-2 to the Hilltoppers in a closely contested match.  West Liberty secured an early 1-0 lead with a goal by Leyton Collier in the 7th minute. The Hilltoppers then pulled ahead 2-0 just twenty-three seconds into the second half when Wilson Hanna found the back of the net. Daemen fought back, first getting on the board in the 59th minute when junior Afonso Abreu (Leiria, Portugal) scored his first goal as a Wildcat, converting a penalty kick. Freshman Sincere Noble (Baltimore, Md.) then tied the game with his first career goal, assisted by Christian Baker (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Abreu. Colin Hockridge (Scarborough, Ontario) made a career-best 10 saves in the contest. The Wildcats then fell 3-0 at Pace on Sunday. The Setters took a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute. Pace then added two late goals in the 82nd and 87th minutes to secure the win. Tim Florek (Marburg, Germany) recorded two shots, putting one on target.

OFFENSIVE RETURNERS
Daemen returns a strong veteran presence, with 18 players from last season. Senior midfielder Amin Garcia (Leganes, Spain) scored two goals in 2025, while Florek, Jankovic, Selim Ozleplebici (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), and Thomas Wikan (Inderøy, Norway) also found the back of the net. Jonathan Lopez-Leblanc (Centennial, Colo.) registered two assists. 

ANCHORING THE BACKLINE
Defensively, Elie helped anchor the backline, starting all 14 games he played and logging 1,002 minutes. Senior Nolan Smith (Ridgeway, Ontario) and junior Sam Mann (Buffalo, N.Y.) also contributed key minutes in the back. In goal, Cristopher Vasquez (Sunnyside, N.Y.) and Hockridge both saw limited action last season. Vasquez made a season-high five saves in a game against Lock Haven while Hockridge logged a season-best four stops at the University of the District of Columbia.

FRESH FACES
The Wildcats welcomed nine new players to the squad for this fall, including four freshmen and five transfer players. The newcomers hail from five states and two countries and include five defenders, two forwards, one midfielder, and one goalkeeper.

SCHEDULE OUTLOOK
Daemen is set to play 15 contests this season, including eight at home and seven on the road. The Wildcats are back home for two games next week, hosting Monroe on Wednesday and Salem on Saturday. Slippery Rock visits Royal Park on Sept. 16. ECC play kicks off with two road matches, beginning on Sept. 19 with a trip to Molloy before making the short drive to Roberts Wesleyan on Sept. 23. Daemen will host Mercy in its home ECC opener on Sept. 26
 

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SCOUTING SAINT MICHAEL'S (0-1-1)
The Purple Knights open the season falling 4-1 to Caldwell in a neutral-site game last Thursday. The team then tied Georgian Court 2-2 in another neutral contest last Saturday. Saint Michael's finished the 2025 campaign with an 8-6-3 record. Joey Manley is SMC's top returning scorer after finding the back of the net three times last season, while logging one assist for seven points. Lucas Schwalbe-Goodwin also registered seven points in 2025 with a goal and five assists. Ian Ueckler started Saint Michael's first game in goal while Cristian Torres started the second, making nine saves against Caldwell.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats and Purple Knights have played four times, with Daemen holding a 1-1-2 record in the series. Saint Michael's defeated Daemen 7-0 on its home field last season. The teams tied 0-0 in Amherst during the 2024 season, after drawing 1-1 at St. Michael's in 2023. The Wildcats won the first meeting in 2022 by a 3-1 mark at home.

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SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM (1-1)
The Hawks fell 1-0 at Molloy in the season opener last Thursday, then defeated Staten Island 3-2 on the road last Saturday. St. A's finished the 2025 season with a 4-6-5 record. Jake McCabe led the squad in goals last year with four. Chance Prouty finished with a team-leading nine points, scoring three goals and tallying a team-best three assists last season. He logged a goal and an assist in the contest against Staten Island last Saturday.  Sophomore Luke Della finished tied for second on the Hawks in assists (2) and was tied for third in goals (2) and third in points (6). David Hood has started both games in goal for the Hawks and made seven saves against CSI.

SERIES HISTORY
The teams have met twice previously. Last season, the Hawks won 5-0 at Royal Park. In 2024, Saint Anselm earned a 2-0 win on their home field.

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UP NEXT
Daemen returns home for two games next week. The Wildcats will take on Monroe next Wednesday (Sept. 9) at 3 p.m. before welcoming Salem to Royal Park for a 12 p.m. tilt next Saturday (Sept 12). 

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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, Instagram and Facebook at @DaemenMSOC.