Elmira College Soaring Eagles (0-6) vs. St. John Fisher College Cardinals (3-3-1)
Wednesday, September 23, 2015 | 4:00 P.M. | Elmira, NY - Campus Field
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles

Elmira, NY -- After playing three consecutive games away from the friendly confines of Campus Field, the Elmira College women's soccer team returns home on Wednesday, September 23rd, to host St. John Fisher College at 4:00 p.m.

The matchup marks the opening of play inside the Empire 8 Conference for both the Soaring Eagles and the Cardinals in 2015.

Last Time Out
The Soaring Eagles returned from last weekend's road trip empty-handed following an 8-0 loss to currently-undefeated St. Lawrence University on September 20th. The Saints netted four goals in each half, beginning with two straight from Kaleigh White in the first 12 minutes. White finished with a hat trick to lead all goal scorers. St. Lawrence's potent offense outshot Elmira, 32-to-11. Despite the loss, EC's 11 shots and seven shots on goal both represent the second-highest single-game totals of 2015 in addition to a season-high .636 shots-on-goal percentage.

Save-A-Lot
As a team, EC leads the Empire 8 Conference in saves with 55 and saves per game with 9.17. Goalkeepers Amanda Banner '17 and Gabe Carmona '18 rank third and fourth, respectively, in the conference with 6.20 and 5.25 per game. In her last four games – all starts – Banner is averaging nearly eight saves per game.

Empire 8 State of Mind
With the challenging six-game season-opening stretch of non-conference opponents now out of the way, the Soaring Eagle can focus on the earning a bid to the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The next five games and eight of the remaining 10 games are against conference opponents. Since 2000, Elmira is 6-6-3 in conference openers and 4-2-2 in such games at home. Last season, the Purple and Gold played Hartwick College to a 0-0 double-overtime tie to open the league slate. The last conference-opening victory came on September 21, 2013, when EC topped Utica College, 3-0. In that game, Banner recorded her first career shutout and Mikayla Gowett '17 scored her first career goal.

Series History
Elmira and St. John Fisher have met every season since 2000 as conference opponents. The Cardinals hold an edge in those last 15 games, leading the series, 10-5. Last season, Fisher beat EC, 2-0, at Growney Stadium in Pittsford, NY.

Scouting the Cardinals
St. John Fisher enters Tuesday's game with a 3-3-1 overall record and a 3-2-0 record on the road. In their last game, the Cardinals defeated the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, 3-1. On the season, junior Carly Finn, an Empire 8 All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2014, leads the Cardinals with six points and is tied with junior Nicolette Nigro with a team-leading two goals. Junior Taryn Guinta, an All-Conference Second Teamer last season, has a team-best three assists. In goal, junior Gabriella Cotugno has a 1.10 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage. She also has three shutouts this season and sports a 2-2-1 record. Fisher has qualified for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament each of the last four seasons but has not advanced past the semifinal round.

Up Next
Elmira College continues conference play when it hosts Utica College in Empire 8 action on Saturday, September 26th, at 12:00 p.m. at Campus Field.