Elmira College Soaring Eagles (0-0) vs. #19 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons (0-0)
Tuesday, September 1, 2015 | 4:00 P.M. | Pine Valley, NY – Murray Athletic Center
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles
 
Elmira College Soaring Eagles (0-0) at SUNY Geneseo Knights (0-0)
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 | 7:00 P.M. | Geneseo, NY – Upper Alumni Field
Live Coverage
 
Elmira, NY – After a rigorous preseason, Elmira College Field Hockey is set to begin the 2015 campaign this week. The opening week will be a busy one for the Soaring Eagles, as the squad will play three times in the season's first five days, including a difficult back-to-back against SUNY opponents to begin the year. The toughest test for the Purple and Gold will be tomorrow afternoon when Elmira welcomes 19^th –ranked SUNY Cortland for the home opener at the Murray Athletic Center at 4:00 p.m. EC will hit the road the following evening to square off with SUNY Geneseo with the start time slated for 7:00 p.m.
 
All-Time Series
Elmira is 0-3 all-time against SUNY Cortland, while the Soaring Eagles are 1-10 all-time against SUNY Geneseo. The Soaring Eagles last met the Red Dragons last season, falling 8-0 in the season opener. The last meeting with the Knights occurred in 2010, with Elmira dropping a 4-0 decision.
 
Improving in Openers
Season openers have not been kind to the Soaring Eagles in recent seasons, a trend the Purple and Gold will look to change this coming week. Elmira's last victory in a season opener came in 2007, when the squad bested Oswego State 1-0. Some of that sour trend can be attributed to opening on the road, as the squad has experienced recent success in home openers. Elmira has gone 2-2 over the last four home openers and will look to push that mark higher with an upset of SUNY Cortland on Tuesday.
 
Chasing History
Pacing the Soaring Eagles offensive this season will be Alli Gilbert '16 who returns for her final season. She is coming off another strong season in 2014, as she led the squad with eight goals and 18 points en route to Second Team All-Empire 8 Conference honors. The strong year put her among the best offensive players to ever don the Purple and Gold, as she currently ranks third in program history with 23 career goals and fourth with 51 career points. With a strong finish, Gilbert has a chance to chase down Callie Black '05, who currently holds the top all-time mark in both categories with 36 goals and 83 career points.
 
Stalwart in the Cage
The Soaring Eagles return both ends of their formidable goalkeeping tandem in Mikayla Rebusmen '17 and Julie Hockenberger '18. The pair had a fairly equal split in terms of playing time last season with both posting very strong marks in terms of total saves and saves per game. The tandem ranked fifth among all NCAA Division III institutions with a 13.63 saves per game mark in 2014. With an experienced squad returning in front of them, the Soaring Eagles will look to ease the burden on the keepers this season.
 
Scouting the Red Dragons
SUNY Cortland has become somewhat of a local field hockey power over recent seasons. This season marks the third straight year that the Red Dragons have come into the matchup with Elmira carrying a national ranking. SUNY Cortland enters the season ranked 19^th in the initial preseason poll released by National Field Hockey Coaches Association. Although the squad will not return top scorer Shelby Underwood this season, eight of the program's 11 goal scorers are back in 2015, including five of the team's top eight point getters. The Red Dragons will have several offensive options to turn to as Jillian Vogl '16, Gabby Stein '17, Alexa Sanzone '17 and Victoria Dean '18 all topped 20 points a season ago. The team also returns four other players who chipped in at least two goals in 2014. SUNY Cortland brings back Mairead Hourihan '17 to patrol the cage in 2015. She was excellent in her second season as a part time starter, posting a 6-1 record and an impressive .714 save percentage to go with a miniscule 0.83 goals against average.
 
Scouting the Knights
SUNY Geneseo got off to a difficult 3-8 start to begin the 2014 season, however, the squad closed the season with a 6-4 record down the stretch, as the program made it all the way to the SUNYAC Tournament Championship, before falling to SUNY New Paltz. The stretch run included an impressive upset of nationally ranked SUNY Cortland in the SUNYAC Tournament Semis. With the majority of the team's key contributors returning, the Knights look to be a formidable foe in 2015. The Knights return most of their top talent from last season's 9-12 squad. The team boasts considerable scoring punch, as it returns its top four scorers from last season, headlined by Cara Stafford '18. The second year player tallied 11 goals and added three assists in a terrific freshman campaign. The return of keeper Dayna Mercer '17 will make goals difficult to come by. She started all 21 contests for the Knights last season, posting a rock solid 2.66 goals against average and a stellar .759 save percentage.
 
Looking Ahead
The Soaring Eagles will continue its busy early season slate this coming weekend when they return home to face Delaware Valley College on Saturday, September 5^th. Start time is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center.