Elmira College (2-4-1, 0-0-1 E8) vs. Alfred University (6-1-1, 1-0-0 E8)
Tuesday, September 26, 2015 | 3:00 P.M. | Campus Field – Elmira, NY
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles
 
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's soccer team resumes their Empire 8 Conference schedule tomorrow, September 26th, as the Soaring Eagles welcome Alfred University to Campus Field.  Saturday's matchup is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
 
Last Time Out
Elmira improved to 2-4-1 last Tuesday, as the Soaring Eagles powered past visiting Alfred State, 3-0.  A sizeable advantage in shots (25-5) coupled with a strong defensive performance propelled EC to their second victory of the season. The Purple and Gold scored a pair of first half goals, starting with a tally from Chris Aristizabal '16 in the ninth minute of play.  Ronaldo Charlton '18 scored the other goal in the half, one that came on a corner kick in the 42nd minute of play.  Rookie defender Colin Morrison '19 put the game out of reach in the 77th minute, as he buried a header off of a corner kick to seal EC's three-goal win. 
 
Series History
Since 2002, Elmira and Alfred have played each other 13 times, with the Soaring Eagles holding an 8-5 edge in the series.   Alfred has the most recent victory in the series history, a 2-0 win over the Soaring Eagles last season. Prior to last season's setback, Elmira had won seven consecutive games. Additionally, Elmira owns a 4-2 record since 2003 when playing Alfred at Campus Field, with Alfred's two wins occurring in 2003 and 2005.
 
Top Man in Form
Second-year midfielder, Tony Barraco '18, has really come on strong for the Soaring Eagles as of late.  The Central New York native has five points in Elmira's last four games and enters tomorrow's contest on a two-game point streak.  Barraco leads the Soaring Eagles with three assists, which are two more than his entire season total in 2014.  Including last season, Elmira is 3-1-2 when Barraco records at least one point.
 
Conference Honors for Mansell
Another EC player who has been enjoying some success this season has been fourth-year netminder, Austin Mansell '16.  In four appearances this season, Mansell is 2-1-1 with a team-leading 18 saves and team-best 0.95 goals against average.  Mansell's goals against average leads the Empire 8 Conference and his .818 save percentage is second-best in the E8. For his efforts, Mansell was named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending September 20th.
 
Scouting the Saxons
After opening the 2015 campaign with a one-goal loss to Geneva College, Alfred University has pieced together seven very strong performances, going 6-0-1 in that time.  Most of Alfred's success in that time has to do with the offensive firepower of Richard Lander and Oumar Soumahoro, who collectively have 32 points.  Lander has tallied a point in all but one game this season and is averaging just over 89 minutes per game. Soumahoro, who is the reigning Empire 8 and Corvias ECAC Upstate Offensive Player of the Week, has five goals in his last three games, including a hat trick effort in Alfred's 4-0 dismantling of St. John Fisher College.
 
Looking Ahead
Elmira concludes their four-game homestand on Tuesday, September 29th, when the Soaring Eagles welcome Marywood University to Campus Field for a non-conference showdown.  Tuesday's contest is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.