Score: Wilkes University 3 – Elmira College 2
Records: Wilkes (4-2), Elmira (1-5)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, NY
 
Pine Valley, NY -- Deadlocked in a 2-2 tie for the majority of the second half, Elmira College field hockey conceded a late goal to Wilkes University with under 10 minutes to play, losing by a 3-2 final.
 
 Under a sweltering heat at the sun-baked Murray Athletic Center, the Soaring Eagles were impressive in their return to non-conference play. Elmira jumped out to leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first half of play, but could not find the back of the net in the decisive second half.
 
Katie Carroll '18 staked the Soaring Eagles to an early 1-0 lead just 5:59 into the contest. With the Soaring Eagles holding possession deep in Wilkes territory, Cassidy Genco '17 made an incisive pass to Atu Machika '18 who was crashing down the right-side of the arc. Machika fired a ball into traffic in front of the net, where Katie Carroll '18 deflected it past Colonel keeper Dallas Kendra into the right side of the cage.
 
Haley Coleman answered back for the visitors just over 10 minutes later in an excellent display of individual effort. Stealing possession near midfield, she charged down the right flank, before stick-handling past Elmira defender Julia Derco '17 and ripping a shot through the five-hole of EC keeper Julie Hockenberger '18 to equalize the game at 1-1.
 
Carroll re-established the Soaring Eagles lead in the 24^th-minute. Again Genco started the sequence after regaining possession at the top of the Wilkes arc. She shuffled down low to the left post where Alli Gilbert '16 sent a perfect backhand pass across the goal-mouth. Carroll was there at the backdoor for the tap-in goal.
 
Momentum swung back in favor of the visitors with just 27-seconds remaining in the first half, as Wilkes again would equalize on Taylor Ryan's goal. Gaining a feed from Alysa Adams at the center point of the arc, she whipped a backhand shot that weaved its way through a mass of traffic in front of Hockenberger, before nestling in the left corner of the cage.
 
Both teams would have sizeable stretches of threatening offensive play in the second half. The Colonels came out firing in the opening 10 minutes of the second session firing several shots on net; however, Hockenberger was strong. Her most impressive denial came in the 45^th-minute on a sprawling kick save of a hard shot from first half goal scorer Taylor Ryan. The middle portion of the half would be dominated by the Soaring Eagles, including a stretch where the home side generated five successive penalty corner opportunities, but were unable to create a threatening shot on goal.
 
Finally, Kaylee Caprari broke the deadlock with just under 10-minutes to play, as she deflected a shot from Adams inside the right post.
 
Turning Point
Although the Soaring Eagles dominated possession through the middle portion of the second half, including five successive penalty corners over a four-minute stretch, Elmira was unable to generate a quality shot on target. Wilkes finally was able to flip the field and Kaylee Caprari was able to break the deadlock shortly thereafter, which proved to be the difference in the contest.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Wilkes led Elmira 21-to-13 in shot attempts, including a 16-to-8 advantage in shots on goal.
• Elmira held a commanding 14-to-2 advantage in penalty corners.
• Carroll's goals were her first of the 2015 season.
• Gilbert led the Soaring Eagles with shot attempts, while Jenna Skrinak of Wilkes led all players with seven shot attempts with five on target.
• Gilbert tallied her fourth assist of the season, while Machika marked her first helper of the 2015 season against the Colonels.
• Hockenberger marked a season-high 13 saves, including several sparkling stops to keep the game equalized during the early portion of the second half.

 
News and Notes

• The 14 opportunities were a season-high for the Soaring Eagles and the most the program has generated since a 6-0 victory over Wells College on October 9, 2013.
• Carroll's pair of goals marked her first career multi-goal game, while she equaled her season total of two from her freshman campaign.
• With her fourth assist, Gilbert has already surpassed her season total of three from 2014. The four helpers are a new career-high for a single season.

 
Up Next
Elmira will return to Empire 8 Conference play this weekend when the Soaring Eagles welcome Utica to the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday, September 19^th. The contest will conclude Elmira's season-long three-game home stand. Start time is slated for 1:00 p.m.