Score: Nazareth College 4 – Elmira College 2
Records: Nazareth (2-1, 1-0 Empire 8), Elmira (1-4, 0-1 Empire 8)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, NY
 
Pine Valley, NY -- Elmira College field hockey looked to get off to a fast start to Empire 8 Conference play when it welcomed Nazareth College to a soggy Murray Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon. The visiting Golden Flyers struck for three second half goals to drop Elmira by a 4-2 final.
 
It was the visitors that jumped out to the early advantage, as Gabrielle DiSanto staked Nazareth to a 1-0 lead 8:11 into the contest in their first real scoring chance for either side. Maggie Muzio started the play, carrying possession into the right side of the arc and unleashing a hard shot on target. Elmira keeper Mikayla Rebusmen '17 did well to make the save, but the rebound fell right to the stick of DiSanto, who whipped it into the open cage.
 
Elmira looked to snag the momentum back for good towards the end of the opening half. The Soaring Eagles generated a pair of penalty corners towards the end of half, generating significant possession in the Nazareth end. EC would finally capitalize just a 1:25 before the halftime horn. Katie Carroll '18 slotted a pass from the right-wing corner pylon to Atu Machika '18 just outside the right of the arc. In one motion, the sophomore midfielder made an excellent pass to Kristy Haskell '19 who was wide-open in acres of space at the top of the arc. She made a stick-handle and whipped a shot, which Megan Brain '18 deflected in from three-yards out to equalize things at the break.
 
A scoring flurry ensued to begin the second half, with the Golden Flyers tallying twice in the opening 3:21 of the second half to snatch control. DiSanto notched her second goal of the game, receiving a pass from Muzio at the right post and making a nice turning move to open up for a shot which trickled into the lower right of the cage. Catherine Willard would extend the lead just 2:33 later, as she made an excellent run from near midfield, before ripping a howitzer of a slap-shot from near the top of the arc.
 
Elmira would respond well to the Nazareth push, scoring just 54-seconds after the Willard marker. Maintaining possession in the Golden Flyer zone, Emily Castelli '16 worked a ball down low to Alli Gilbert '16 at the left post. She stick handled, before flipping a ball across the face of goal, which Brain was able to steer past Nazareth keeper Lauren Devine for her second goal of the game.
 
That was as close as Elmira would get, as Willard would notch her second goal of the game with just under 20-minutes remaining to cap the scoring in the game.
 
In Her Own Words…
Head Coach Lauren Silva on her team's performance…
"I am extremely proud of the girls. Although we did not get the result we were hoping for, the team left it all out on the field today."
 
Turning Point
Elmira looked to have the momentum in its favor after scoring the equalizing goal late in the half and taking a shot advantage into halftime. However, Nazareth came out gangbusters in the second session, tallying twice – on goals from DiSanto and Willard – in the opening 3:21 to take control of the contest. 
 
Inside the Box Score

• Elmira led 16-to-12 in shot attempts; however, Nazareth held a 9-to-5 advantage in shots on goal.
• Elmira led in shot attempts 8-to-7 at halftime. It was the second consecutive game that the Soaring Eagles have held a shooting advantage at the break.
• Atu Machika '18 and Alli Gilbert '18 tied for the team lead in shot attempts with four apiece. Catherine Willard of Nazareth led all players with five in the contest.
• Mikayla Rebusmen '17 played the entire 70-minutes for the second time this season, finishing with five saves.
• Megan Brain '18 tallied her first two goals of the season.

 
News and Notes

• With her pair of goals, Megan Brain '18 has already surpassed her career-best for a single season, as she tallied one goal during her freshman campaign.
• Alli Gilbert '16 collected an assist for the second consecutive game. With the helper, she has now equaled her total of three from last season.

• Sarah McCaffrey '18 nearly scored on her first shot attempt of the season. Pushing for a second half equalizer with a penalty corner opportunity, McCaffrey deflected a Gilbert shot that ricocheted off the crossbar of the cage. Brain's shot off the rebound was denied on a defensive save by Marisa Walck to help Nazareth survive the sequence unscathed.
• Although there was a steady drizzle persisting throughout the contest, it did little to put the damper on the offenses, as the six combined goals was the highest total at the Murray Athletic Center this season.
• Nazareth has now won nine consecutive contests over the Soaring Eagles.
• With the loss, Elmira has now dropped four consecutive Empire 8 Conference openers. The Soaring Eagles last victory to start Empire 8 play came in a 2-0 shutout of St. John Fisher College in 2011.

 
Up Next
Elmira will return to non-conference play, as it welcomes Wilkes University to the Murray Athletic Center for a 4:00 p.m. start on Wednesday, September 16^th.