Elmira, NY -- The fall sports season continued to chug along, as the Soaring Eagles welcomed the first official week of fall with a strong showing across the board this past week. Elmira women's soccer had a big bounce back week with an excellent start to Empire 8 Conference play. Men's soccer continued its quality play of late, while field hockey also secured a big road victory to stay alive in the postseason discussion. Women's volleyball split its first Empire 8 Crossover of the season, while men's and women's cross country continued its busy stretch with another meet in the Flower City. Rounding out the week's action saw women's golf back in action for the first time since the Empire 8 Championships, while women's tennis sent two members to take part in the USTA/ITA Northeast Regional Championships and men's tennis kicked off its non-traditional season with a match at Oswego State.
 
Headlines for the Week Ahead
 
Golf Hosts Fall Invitational on Tuesday
Although it looks as though weather may play role in proceedings, Elmira men's and women's golf are slated to host the annual Elmira College Fall Invitational on Tuesday, September 29^th, at Elmira Country Club. Play is set to begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. Please be sure to check the athletics website for updates on the status of the tournament.
 
Road Heavy Week for the Purple and Gold
While Tuesday's slate also includes home matches for men's soccer and women's tennis, the rest of the week will all take place on the road. Women's volleyball will have three days of matches away from Speidel Gymnasium this week, while men's and women's soccer both hit the road for the first time in Empire 8 play. Field hockey will continue its season-long four-game road swing with a pair of contests this week. Women's tennis rings in the month of October with a road match at Nazareth on Thursday. Both cross countries and both golfs will be away from home this coming weekend.
 
A Look Back on the Week That Was…
 
Women's Soccer Red-Hot to Begin Empire 8 Play
Entering the week still looking for its first win after a woeful non-conference trip to the North Country, women's soccer bounced back in emphatic fashion with the beginning of Empire 8 play this past week. The Purple and Gold stunned St. John Fisher College in a 2-0 shutout on Wednesday, while the squad capped the week with a 3-1 pasting of Utica College on Saturday. Jordyn Rousselle '18 had a huge week for Elmira. She tallied the insurance goal in the victory over the Cardinals, while she had a hand in all three goals on Saturday, scoring a brace and adding an assist against the Pioneers. The Soaring Eagles currently sit atop the Empire 8 standings with the only 2-0 record posted so far. They will put their perfect record on the line on Saturday when the squad hits the road for a big matchup at Stevens Institute of Technology.
 
Updates on EC Women's Soccer can be found: HERE.
 
Men's Soccer Remains Unbeaten in League Play
The Elmira men stretched its unbeaten streak to three consecutive games with a 1-0-1 mark this past week. The Soaring Eagles kicked off the week with 3-0 dismantling of Alfred State this past Tuesday at Campus Field. Without the services of star striker Michael Bryant '17, the team showcased its scoring depth against the Pioneers, as Chris Arstizabal '16, Ronaldo Charlton '18 and Colin Morrison '19 both tallied their first goals of the season. The Purple and Gold dominated the ball all afternoon, racking up a 25-to-5 advantage in shot attempts. It looked as though the Soaring Eagles would parlay the offensive explosion into a 2-0 week when it welcomed the Alfred University. With Bryant back in the fold for Saturday, he did not wait long to make his impact, scoring a brace early in the second half to put the home side ahead 3-1. However, playing with 10-men due to a red card in the 56^th minute, the Saxons were able to rally, equalizing with 2:25 remaining to finish in a 3-3 tie.
 
Updates on EC Men's Soccer can be found: HERE.
 
Field Hockey Tallies First Conference Win Over Hartwick
Entering the weekend with a 0-2 mark in Empire 8 play, field hockey needed a result in a must-win situation against Hartwick College to remain alive for postseason play. The Soaring Eagles got just that in a huge 3-1 victory over the Hawks on Saturday. Kristy Haskell '19 opened the scoring for Elmira with her second goal in as many games; however, the Hawks would equalize to take a 1-1 tie into halftime. Although getting a strong start to the second half has been a trouble spot for the Soaring Eagles this season, they flipped the script on Saturday, tallying twice in a span of 6:32 to begin the period. Julia Derco '17 tallied the game-winner off of a penalty corner opportunity, while Alli Gilbert '16 broke a five-game goalless drought with her second of the year. The lead was more than enough Julie Hockenberger '18 to protect, as she stopped 16 shots in the game including a pair of penalty stroke opportunities to notch her first victory of the season.
 
Updates on EC Field Hockey can be found: HERE.
 
Women's Volleyball Splits at First Empire 8 Crossover of the Season
Coming off a difficult straight sets defeat to Alfred State on Wednesday, women's volleyball was back in action this past weekend at its first conference crossover of the season at Hartwick. The Elmira women struggled to get things going in the opening match of the day, falling in straight sets to Nazareth College (25-20, 25-15, 27-25). The Purple and Gold rallied nicely against the crossover hosts in the nightcap, as they snapped their mini two-match losing streak with a straight sets victory over Hartwick (25-18, 25-16, 25-22). Elmira re-established its hitting stroke marking a .198 success percentage for the match, which included a clinical .455 in a dominant second set. Natalie Schieder '19 and Kelsey Ross '16 both finished with 10 kills against the Hawks, while the former would lead Elmira with 17 kills on the weekend. The victory over the Hawks moves Elmira to 1-2 in Empire 8 play this season.
 
Updates on EC Women's Volleyball can be found: HERE.
 
Men's Golf Takes Eighth at Oswego State Invitational
The Elmira men had a quick turnaround from the fall leg of the Empire 8 Championships when it returned to action this past Monday at the Oswego State Fall Invitational. Jarryd ten Vaanholt '16 led the way for the Soaring Eagles, carding a round of 80 (+9) to finish in a tie for 10^th place at the event. The Purple and Gold finished eighth of the 11 teams present at the tournament.
 
Updates on EC Men's Golf can be found: HERE.
 
Women's Golf Finishes Eighth at Martin-Wallace Invitational
The Elmira women returned to action for the first time since opening their season at the Empire 8 Championships two weekends ago. The Soaring Eagles showed great improvement from first to second round at the Martin-Wallace Invitational, hosted by SUNY Cortland at the Cortland Country Club. The Purple and Gold shaved 35 strokes on Day Two; however, the team would still finish eighth of eight teams in the tournament field. Audrey Clarke '18 was splendid for the Soaring Eagles during second round action. After carding a 90 (+18) in round one, she rallied on Sunday for a 79 (+7), which was tied for the fourth lowest round on the day and also marked a new career low round for the Elmira sophomore.
 
Updates on EC Women's Golf can be found: HERE.
 
Women's Tennis With Tough Draw at USTA/ITA Northeast Regional Championships
Elmira women's tennis had a tough draw this week. In team play, the Soaring Eagles were swept in a 9-0 decision at Ithaca College this past Tuesday. Although there were not many positives to draw from the match, it did serve as a nice challenge ahead of the weekend in which Ayaka Yoshino '16 and Ellen Plowman '16 competed at the USTA/ITA Northeast Regional Championships. In singles action, it must have seemed like déjà vu for Yoshino, who faced 12^th seed Haley Kusak of Ithaca College in her opening round match. The Bomber number one, bounced the Elmira senior in straight sets for the second time in the week 6-0, 6-2. Plowman suffered a similar fate on Saturday, falling to sixth seed Brianna Greene of Skidmore College in straight sets 6-0, 6-1. The pair battled hard in their opening doubles pairing match; however, Scranton's duo of Emily Machado and Anika Pornpitaksuk were able to secure the lone break in an 8-6 defeat.
 
Updates on EC Women's Tennis can be found: HERE.
 
Men's Tennis Opened Non-Traditional Season at Oswego State
The Elmira men opened their non-traditional season this past week with a midweek match at Oswego State on Wednesday. The team had an upward battle right from the kick, as it could travel only five players, prompting forfeits at sixth singles and third doubles. Chris Konow '18 and Patrick Tracey '18 were bright spots for the Purple and Gold, tallying straight set victories at third and fourth singles respectively. Oswego State would win the overall match, taking seven of the nine pairings.
 
Updates on EC Men's Tennis can be found: HERE.
 
Cross Country Continues to Show Improvement at Harry F. Anderson Invitational
The Elmira cross country teams continued their busy stretch this past weekend when they returned to Rochester to compete at the Harry F. Anderson Invitational, hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College. The EC women showed improvements across the board and were paced by speedster Hannah Lundgren '18 who posted the second-best 5K time in program history, crossing the line in 21:00.70. The Elmira women would finish 18^th of the 20 teams participating overall. On the men's side, all seven competitors posted new career best at the Matt St. James Trails on Saturday. James Fritsche '17 led Elmira, crossing the line in 29:43.00. The EC men would finish 22^nd of the 24 teams participating at the meet.
 
Updates on EC Women's Cross Country can be found: HERE.
Updates on EC Men's Cross Country can be found: HERE.
 
The Week Ahead…
 
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Men's Golf hosts Elmira College Fall Invitational, 10:00 a.m.
Women's Golf hosts Elmira College Fall Invitational, 10:00 a.m.
Men's Soccer vs. Marywood University, 4:00 p.m.
Women's Tennis vs. Oswego State, 4:00 p.m.
Field Hockey at Keystone College, 7:00 p.m.
 
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
*Women's Volleyball at Alfred University, 6:00 p.m.
 
Thursday, October 1, 2015
*Women's Tennis at Nazareth College, 4:00 p.m.
 
Friday, October 2, 2015
Women's Volleyball vs. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (Hartwick Tournament), 4:00 p.m.
Women's Volleyball vs. United States Coast Guard Academy (Hartwick Tournament), 8:00 p.m.
 
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Men's Golf at ECAC Championships
Women's Golf at Le Moyne College Invitational
Women's Cross Country at Mike Woods Invitational, 11:00 a.m.
Men's Cross Country at Mike Woods Invitational, 12:00 p.m.
Women's Volleyball vs. Union College (Hartwick Tournament), 12:00 p.m.
Field Hockey at Oswego State, 1:00 p.m.
*Women's Soccer at Stevens Institute of Technology, 3:00 p.m.
Women's Volleyball vs. SUNY Delhi (Hartwick Tournament), 4:00 p.m.
*Men's Soccer at Utica College, 7:00 p.m.
 
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Men's Golf at ECAC Championships
Women's Golf at Le Moyne College Invitational
 
Bold Indicates Home Event
* Indicates Conference Matchup