Score: Elmira College 3 – Keuka College 0
Records: Elmira (1-3), Keuka (0-3)
Location: Jephson Complex – Keuka Park, NY
 
Keuka Park, NY – The offense came alive for Elmira College field hockey on Tuesday afternoon, as the Soaring Eagles scored their first victory of the season, besting Keuka College 3-0. Atu Machika '18 sparked the scoring barrage with a massive game for Elmira, tallying a hat-trick – the first three goals of her collegiate career – in the winning effort.
 
Although the offense was a welcome sight for an EC side that has struggled to put the ball in the cage through the early part of the fledgling season, it was not exactly a surprise. The Soaring Eagles have steadily improved over the season's first three games and certainly seemed to carry the momentum generated from a strong effort against Delaware Valley University over the weekend into Tuesday afternoon's matchup.
 
Atu Machika '18 gave the Soaring Eagles offense liftoff in the eighth minute of play, sending home a powerful shot from the top of the arc that took a wicked deflection off a Wolfpack defender and into the cage. The goal – the first of Machika's Elmira career – gave EC its first lead of the season just 7:38 into the game.
 
Elmira continued to put a hard press on Keuka throughout the first half, generating four penalty corners in the opening 35-minutes. An area that has shown excellent growth since the beginning of the season, the Soaring Eagles doubled their lead in the 26^th-minute on Machika's second of goal, coming just after a set play. Sarah McCaffrey '18 inserted the ball into Alli Gilbert '16 to start the sequence; however, Gilbert could not get a quality initial look at goal. The senior forward was able to maintain possession and moments later unleashed a hard shot from the top of the arc. Machika made a deft play to get a tip on the ball from three-yards out as it sailed through traffic and into the cage. EC would take the 2-0 lead to the halftime break.
 
Elmira would not wait long to continue to extend the lead in the second session, as the Soaring Eagles again connected on a corner opportunity with a carbon-copy of the team's second goal. Gilbert secured her second assist of the contest, while Machika tallied the hat-trick with another deflection goal to cap the scoring on the afternoon.
 
The scoring would prove more than enough for Mikayla Rebusmen '17 and Julie Hockenberg '18, who combined for the Soaring Eagles first shutout of the year.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Lauren Silva on her first career victory as a collegiate head coach...
"Securing my first win as a head coach feels great, but it's more important that this team has proved to themselves that they are capable of setting the tone from the beginning and coming out on top." 

Head Coach Lauren Silva on her team's performance...
"I'm proud of the girls for playing together through the entire game. The heat, combined with Keuka's tough play presented challenges for us, but their persistence despite those factors shows me a lot about this team's heart."

Atu Machika '18 on the team's win...
"It was so awesome to finally win and I believe the win is going to help us know what our potential is moving forward. We pushed through the heat as a team and walked off of the field with a win! It was great to see everyone work together and push the ball up the field."
 
Turning Point
Atu Machika '18 set the tone for the afternoon, sending home the opening goal 7:38 into the contest. To that point in the game, the Soaring Eagles had been holding the lion's share of possession, but had only generated three shot attempts. The squad would go on to fire 31 more shots, including 18 more on target through the rest of the contest.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Elmira led Keuka 35-to-6 in shots, including a 20-to-3 edge in shots on goal. Both totals were season-highs for Elmira.
• Elmira led Keuka 10-to-4 in penalty corner opportunities. The 10 penalty corners were a season-high for the Soaring Eagles.
• Elmira out-fouled Keuka 55-to-37 in the contest. The 55 fouls were a season-high for Elmira. The Soaring Eagles were also whistled for their first three cards of 2015, as Emma Miklinski '18 and Megan Brain '18 both were tabbed for greens, while Katie Carroll '18 was docked for a yellow.
• Alli Gilbert '16 registered the first two assists of the season for the Soaring Eagles.
• Mikayla Rebusmen '17 and Julie Hockenberger '18 split the shutout, each playing a half, while combining for three saves.
• Elizabeth Sherman made 17 saves for the Wolfpack in the losing effort.

News and Notes

• Head Coach Lauren Silva registered her first victory at the helm of the Elmira College field hockey program. It is her first career victory as a head coach at the collegiate level.
• Machika's first goal 7:38 into the opening half gave the Soaring Eagles their first lead of the 2015 season.
• Machika's hat-trick was the first of 2015 for the Soaring Eagles. The last player to record a hat-trick for Elmira was Alli Gilbert '16, who tallied all three goals of a 3-2 overtime victory over Houghton College on October 24, 2014.
• Rebusmen and Hockenberger combined for EC's first clean sheet of 2015. The squad has now registered one shutout in each of the last three seasons.
• Keuka College falls to 0-3 in its inaugural season as a varsity program.

 
Up Next
Elmira will look to carry the momentum from its first victory into the weekend, as the squad welcomes Nazareth College to the Murray Athletic Center in the opening of Empire 8 Conference play on Saturday, September 12^th. Start time is slated for 1:00 p.m.