Jacob Mattice '21 made just his second appearance and his first-ever start between the posts for the Soaring Eagles in a crucial Empire 8 Conference contest on Saturday against Utica. The rookie keeper posted a clean sheet with three saves, while playing all 90 minutes in a 1-0 victory at Utica's Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. Two of his stops came in the second half with the Purple and Gold clinging to a 1-0 lead, the first off of a header in the 73rd minute and the latter with a mere three minutes remaining in regulation.
The Canton, New York, native is the first Elmira freshman to earn a shutout in his first collegiate start since Kevin Huggins '16 did so in a 6-0 defeat of Baptist Bible College in the 2012 season opener. The clean sheet was just the second of the 2017 season for EC, the first of which was recorded by Jacob Liese '20 in a 2-0 triumph over Nazareth on September 23.
With the shutout win, the Soaring Eagles moved into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Empire 8 standings. Elmira will host first-place Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday, October 14, at 3:00 p.m. The league bout will open a season-long three-game homestand at Campus Field.
