Elmira College (4-8, 1-4 Empire 8) vs. St. John Fisher College (9-3, 5-0 Empire 8)
Saturday, October 17, 2015 | 1:00 P.M. | Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, NY
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles
 
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College field hockey team will conclude a brief two-game homestand on Saturday, October 17^th, when it welcomes Empire 8 Conference-leading St. John Fisher College to the Murray Athletic Center for a 1:00 p.m. start. The Soaring Eagles will celebrate Class of 2016 Recognition Day with a pregame ceremony prior to the announcement of starting lineups.
 
Last Time Out
Elmira had a rough go of things this past weekend, as it had its three-game winning streak snapped in a pair of 4-0 defeats. Last Saturday, the Soaring Eagles looked to try and secure a sweep of its four-game road swing when they made the short trip up Route 13 to take on Ithaca College. Unfortunately, the offense never got on track, while the Bombers tallied three goals in the opening half in rolling to the 4-0 shutout. EC returned to the Murray Athletic Center on Sunday when they welcomed Washington & Jefferson College. Despite the change in opponent and venue, it ended up being more of the same for the Soaring Eagles, as the Presidents held Elmira to three shot attempts in a second consecutive shutout loss.
 
All-Time Series
Saturday marks the fifth-ever meeting between the two programs. Elmira is 1-3 all-time against the Cardinals since they launched their field hockey program in 2011. The Soaring Eagles took the first meeting in the overall series by a 2-0 final at the Murray Athletic Center. The series has been dominated by St. John Fisher ever since, as the Cardinals have taken the last three decisions, while outscoring Elmira 11-1 combined in those contests.
 
Thanks for the Memories
Saturday marks Elmira's penultimate home game of the season, while it will be the squad's final weekend home contest of the year. The program will honor Emily Castelli '16 and Alli Gilbert '16 in a pregame ceremony, recognizing the Class of 2016. The pair has combined for 114 appearances and 81 starts over their careers. Elmira's senior captains have been instrumental in the program's rebound this fall. Castelli has been a leader for the much improved Elmira defense this season, while Gilbert has continued to power the Soaring Eagles offensive.
 
Igniting the Offense
The Soaring Eagles entered last weekend on one of the best offensive rolls the program has ever witnessed, tallying at least one goal in seven straight contests. That run came to a screeching halt against Ithaca and Washington & Jefferson, as Elmira was shutout in back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Purple and Gold struggled to hold much possession and consequently created very few scoring chances in totaling just nine shot attempts combined in the two games. It won't get any easier for the Soaring Eagles, as they face the Empire 8's second-best scoring defense in St. John Fisher on Saturday.
 
Scouting St. John Fisher
The Cardinals are once again one of the top programs in the Empire 8 this season, entering the weekend with a 9-3 overall record and an undefeated 5-0 mark in conference play. St. John Fisher has already locked up a berth to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament and can take one step closer to hosting the tournament for the first time ever with a victory on Saturday. The Cardinals have won three in a row, which includes an 8-0 drubbing of Keuka College on Tuesday evening. Emily Markarian, Elizabeth Cusack and Lauren Fazio form a formidable three-headed offensive monster up top. The trio has accounted for 25 goals and seven assists; over 73% of the Cardinals' scoring offense. Danielle Famolaro has seen the lion's share of the minutes in the cage this season, entering the weekend with an excellent 1.46 goals-against average and .826 save percentage.
 
Looking Ahead
The Soaring Eagles will return to non-conference road play next week when it faces regional power University of Rochester at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20^th.