Elmira, NY – The Elmira College Women's Soccer team opened their 2011 season with a 4-0 win against visiting Keuka College Saturday afternoon at Campus Field. The Purple and Gold controlled the game from the start as they notched their first goal less than a minute into the contest.

Melanie English '15 (Sunderland, MA – Frontier Regional) started the attack off the opening kickoff. She threaded a pass to fellow classmate Mollie Hamilton '15 (Victor, NY – Victor) who one-touched the ball to Kelsey Kiel '13 (Bryn Athyn, PA – Academy of the New Church). Kiel fired a bullet into the left side of the net that set the tone for the remainder of the match.

The Soaring Eagles would strike minutes later when Hamilton found Caitlyn Criscuolo '14 (Cheshire, CT – Cheshire) with a cross to the far side of the box, where Criscuolo nailed a shot off the bottom of the crossbar into the right side of the goal.

After an extensive delay due to dehydration, play resumed and EC took a 2-0 advantage into intermission. Elmira College came surging out of the gates as they had two different shots hit the woodwork before breaking through in the 59th minute. Criscuolo beat her defender along the left end line, serving a cross to English who crushed a shot that deflected off the keeper and into the right side of the net.

With just over seven minutes remaining play was halted due to inclement weather. After the restart, Hamilton once again proved to be an offensive catalyst, as she fed Ansara Persad '14 (Fair Lawn, NJ – Fair Lawn). Persad went left and cut back to her right as she beat the goalie into the left side of net from 20 yards out.

The Women's Soccer team will take to the pitch again as they visit the University of Pitt-Bradford Saturday at 3:00 p.m.