Score: Elmira College 2, St. John Fisher 0
Records: Elmira College (1-6, 1-0 E8), St. John Fisher (3-4-1, 0-1 E8)
Location: Campus Field | Elmira, NY

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's soccer team earned its first win of the 2015 season and improved to 1-0 inside the Empire 8 Conference by defeating St. John Fisher College, 2-0, Wednesday afternoon at Campus Field.

After struggling through a season-opening six-game losing streak against non-conference opponents, the Soaring Eagles pieced together a complete performance on both ends of the field to defeat the Cardinals for the first time since 2009. The win is also head coach Kaitlyn Mallernee's first victory at the helm of the Purple and Gold.

The offensive attack was sparked by a season-high 17 shots and goals from Niki Lemper '17 and Jordyn Rousselle '18 while, on the backend, Gabe Carmona '18 backstopped the Soaring Eagles with her second career shutout.

Lemper opened the scoring for EC in the 37th minute. Following a foul on the visiting Cardinals, she fired the free kick towards the goal. Although she was initially trying to set up one of her teammates with a scoring opportunity, the ball took a high bounce over the head of Fisher goalkeeper Sarah O'Brien, giving EC the 1-0 lead. Lemper also had a nearly identical free kick opportunity in the 74th minute, but this time O'Brien was there for the stop.

Not satisfied with the one-goal advantage, the Soaring Eagles continually pressured the Fisher defensive zone, rifling off 11 of their 17 shots in the second half. In the 65th minute, Rousselle sent a shot from about 25 yards out just over the reaching fingertips of O'Brien, giving EC a 2-0 cushion.

Desperate to find the back of the net, Fisher had six shot attempts in the final 5:01, three from Jackie Romano. Carmona stopped three of those six attempts in the final three minutes, giving her seven saves on the day.

In Their Own Words…
Head coach Kaitlyn Mallernee on her first head coaching win…
"It feels absolutely amazing. We needed the win. We just needed to work together as a team and we pulled it off."

Coach Mallernee on Niki Lemper's performance…
"Niki played amazing. She took the shots that she needed and she stayed composed. She played in a different position than she has been; we just dropped her back a little bit more so she was more of a safeguard, but she still was able to find shots."

Coach Mallernee on carrying momentum from the win into conference play…
"They were really down about our non-conference results but we told them that the slate is clean; it's 0-0 starting today. We've been telling them to believe in themselves and each other and beating them (the Cardinals) is a huge boost of confidence going forward."

Turning Point
The Soaring Eagles and Cardinals appeared to be evenly matched in the first half, with Fisher narrowly leading in shots, 6-to-5, through the first 36 minutes of play. After a foul was assessed to the Cardinals on the left wing, Lemper booted the free kick towards the goal, and the ball bounced high enough to sail over O'Brien's head and into the net to give EC the one-goal lead.

Inside the Box Score

• Elmira outshot Fisher, 17-to-15.
• Courtney Burgazli '16 led EC with four shots.
• Rousselle, Lemper and Sara Kazerouni '18 each finished with three shots.
• Lemper and Rousselle each scored once.
• Amy Sullivan '18 recorded an assist on Rousselle's goal.
• Carmona and O'Brien each made seven saves.
• With a shortened bench, seven different Soaring Eagles played all 90 minutes.

News and Notes

• Coach Mallernee earned her first win as head coach of the Soaring Eagles.
• The goals by Lemper and Rousselle were the first of their careers.
• Sullivan's assist was the second of her career.
• Carmona blanked the Cardinals for her second career shutout.
• The win ended a streak of six straight losses to open the season.
• It is the first win for the Class of 2016 against Fisher and the first for EC since 2009.

Up Next
Elmira College continues play inside the Empire 8 Conference with a home contest against Utica College on Saturday, September 26th at Campus Field at 12:00 p.m.