Alfred, NY -- With one swing of her leg, Courtney Burgazli '16 broke a 0-0 tie with just under three minutes remaining and lifted the Elmira College women's soccer team to a 1-0 road victory over Alfred University. The win moves the Soaring Eagles back to .500 (6-6-2) on the season and with a result against Utica College next Saturday, EC will have qualified for any type of postseason play for the first time since 2005.
 
Tonight's victory was Elmira's fourth straight over the Saxons, the last three of which have been shutouts, and also extended their unbeaten streak against Alfred to 10 games, dating back to 2005.
 
The Purple and Gold came out attacking in the first half placing a barrage of shots on net in the first 16 minutes of play, two from Alexa Barber '15, one from Mikayla Gowett '17, one from Niki Lemper '17, and one from Mollie Hamilton '15. Alfred's keeper, Sammy Jo Shanahan, proved up to the early task, however, as she made all five saves to keep EC off the scoreboard.
 
Play would settle in from there but with few scoring opportunities, just two each, over the final 30 minutes of the half. Both of Elmira's attempts were off target while Alfred's lone attempt on goal was saved by Danielle Fournier '15, who was making her first start of the season in net. Shanahan's five early saves and Fournier's lone save led to a 0-0 game at halftime.
 
Shots continued to come at a premium in the second half as, despite the game's back-and-forth tempo, neither team could get a clean look at the goal. Shanahan again had to come up with a handful of saves in the first 20 minutes of the half, but so did Fournier who recorded three of her four total saves in an eight minute span to ensure the game remained scoreless.
 
Again, both offenses went stagnant as time in the second half ticked down, however the dispossession of an Alfred player in Elmira's defensive half would lead to the game-deciding goal. Hamilton received the ball and started the break with Burgazli and others running with her. Hamilton carried the ball to the left side of the 18-yard box and sent a high-floating cross towards the top of the 18 to where Burgazli had slowed her run. Burgazli settled under the ball and fired a volley at net. The ball, which was slicing from left to right as it flew through the air, screamed past a diving Shanahan and into the back of the goal, putting EC up 1-0 with just 2:54 on the clock.
 
From there, Elmira's stout defense did the rest, not allowing a single Alfred shot in the final 2:54 to secure the 1-0 victory. In fact, the Purple and Gold held the Saxons without a shot for the last 28:14 of the second half as they relinquished just seven total shots all game. The seven shots are the fewest EC has given up all season and the lowest total in a game since October 26, 2013, which was also against Alfred, when EC saw just one shot taken.
 
Elmira now has just one game remaining in its 2014 regular season, a road contest at Utica College on November 1, 2014. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. A win or tie from the Soaring Eagles secures a .500-or-better record for the first time since 2004 and maintains EC's eligibility for the 2014 ECAC Tournament.