Elmira College (5-11, 1-6 Empire 8) at Stevens Institute of Technology (10-7, 4-3 Empire 8)
Saturday, October 31, 2015 | 5:00 P.M. | De Baun Athletic Complex – Hoboken, NJ
Live Coverage
 
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College field hockey team will conclude its season this weekend when it travels to Hoboken, NJ, to face Stevens Institute of Technology at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
 
Last Time Out
The Soaring Eagles scored a thrilling 2-1 victory over Wells College in their final home game of the season on Wednesday. Elmira jumped out to an early one-goal lead just 2:28 into play when Alli Gilbert '16 tallied her fifth goal of the season. The Purple and Gold would continue to sustain offensive pressure throughout the majority of the game, but could not extend its lead. Wells would shock Elmira with an equalizer in the 65^th minute. With game looking destined for overtime, Atu Machika '18 deflected home a shot from Gilbert just 55 seconds after the Wells goal to pull Elmira back ahead. The Soaring Eagles survived a late Wells breakaway as time expired to preserve the team's first win at the Murray Athletic Center this season.
 
All-Time Series
Elmira has not experienced much success against Stevens since it added a field hockey program in 2004. The Soaring Eagles are 1-8 all-time against the Ducks. After winning the first matchup between the programs in 2006 by a 4-2 margin, Elmira has lost eight consecutive games to its New Jersey rival. The Ducks took a 3-1 decision at the Murray Athletic Center last season, with Alli Gilbert '16 scoring the lone goal for Elmira.
 
In the Clutch
The Soaring Eagles showed remarkable resiliency on Wednesday after letting the lead momentarily slip away late in the game. Machika's goal came just 55 seconds after the Wells equalizer and came just 4:18 before the end of regulation time. It was Elmira's latest regulation game-winning goal since Nicole Rotolo '05 tallied a 68^th minute goal to beat Ithaca College 3-2 during the 2004 season.
 
Gilbert Closing In
Gilbert had a big performance in her final career game at the Murray Athletic Center. She scored Elmira's first goal and assisted on Machika's game-winner to help the Soaring Eagles to an emotional victory. With the three point outing she moved within three points of Kayla Blank '09 for second place on the program's all-time points list, while she also moved within two goals of tying blank for second in career goals. The assist was her seventh of the season, which extended her career-high for a single-season, also moving her within two assists of McKenna Light '14 and Sarah Vogel '04 for first place on program's all-time assists list.
 
Fifth Win
The Soaring Eagles have enjoyed a fine rebuilding year under first-year head coach Lauren Silva. With the win over Wells, Elmira tallied its fifth win of the season, which is the most for the program since also tallying five victories in 2012. With a win over Stevens in the season finale, it would give the program its first six win season since 2005.
 
Scouting the Ducks
Stevens got off to fast start this season, but have experienced some struggles during the second half of its schedule. The Ducks jumped out to a 7-2 record to begin the year, which included a six-game winning-streak from September 13-27. Stevens dropped five of six after that point, which included Empire 8 losses to Hartwick College and Ithaca College. The team has rallied with two straight victories heading into the team's regular-season finale. The Ducks have already locked up a berth in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament due to their head-to-head victories over Houghton, Nazareth, and Utica. They can solidify the conference's third-seed with a victory on Saturday. Stevens boasts a powerful offense with Victoria Alvarez (9g-6a – 24pts), Nolie Prouty (7g-9a – 23pts) and Dailyn Brook (9g-5a – 23pts) all over the 20-point plateau this season. Emily Stukenborg is the team's primary keeper, posting a 10-6 record with solid peripheral numbers with a 1.98 goals against average and a .776 save percentage.