ELMIRA, N.Y. -- It was another busy week in the world of Elmira College athletics, as several teams were in action on their respective home facilities, while the bulk of last week's action took place on the road. Both Elmira golf programs wrapped up the fall potion of their 2016-17 schedule, including the EC women, who concluded the Empire 8 Conference Championships on Sunday.
    In conjunction with Elmira College's annual Octagon Fair, EC will be welcoming the families of its student body for another installment of Family Weekend. Those visiting Elmira's campus this weekend will be in for a treat from an athletics standpoint, as six home contests will take place on Saturday and Sunday, October 8th and 9th.  Those in action will be field hockey, men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's tennis.
  Elmira opens a three-match homestand tomorrow with a 4:00 p.m. league bout against Nazareth College. The three-match home slate will serve as the final home contests of the 2016 fall season for the Soaring Eagles, who wrap-up action at the Murray Athletic Center with a pair of conference matches against Stevens and Hartwick on Saturday and Sunday, October 8th and 9th, respectively.
  After opening conference play with a dominant five-goal win over Utica College, the Elmira men have hit a rough patch in E8 matches with back-to-back losses to Houghton and Stevens. The Soaring Eagles are in a virtual three-way tie for fifth place in the league standings, setting up an all-important showdown with second-place Ithaca College at Campus Field on Saturday, October 8th, at 3:00 p.m. Saturday's contest with the Bombers will be a rematch of the 2015 Empire 8 Semifinals, which resulted in a 0-0 double-overtime tie with Ithaca advancing in a penalty-kick shootout, 11-10.
  With a 1-2 mark in Empire 8 matches, the Soaring Eagles will be looking to produce a good showing at this weekend's E8 Crossover, hosted by Houghton College in Houghton, New York.  Elmira sits in a two-way tie with Alfred University for sixth place in the league standings but will have the opportunity to jump into the top-four when the Soaring Eagles take on league-leading Stevens and third-place Houghton.
 
  Elmira College has announced the appointment of Kelsea Martalock as the new head coach of the women's ice hockey program. Martalock, who served as an assistant with the Soaring Eagles a year ago, becomes the fifth head coach in the program's 15-year history. She helped Elmira produce a 23-5-1 overall record (16-2-0 ECAC West) and claim the third-place trophy at the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championships.
  The EC soccer programs will welcome alumni back to their home pitch to take in a pair of Empire 8 Conference games on October 22nd. The EC women kick-off the festivities with a 12:00 p.m. matchup with Stevens Institute of Technology, followed by the men's game at 3:00 p.m. against Nazareth College. After watching the current Soaring Eagles in action, there will be an alumni meet and greet reception at the Green Derby, located at 113 West 2nd Street. On October 23rd, former Soaring Eagles from both teams will have the opportunity to play on Campus Field in a co-ed alumni game, beginning at 11:00 a.m.  
  The EC men's lacrosse team will also be holding an alumni game this fall, this one taking place on Saturday, October 15th, at the Murray Athletic Center. Over 20 alumni have signed up for the event, but the Soaring Eagles are still welcoming back all those who are available to make it to the Southern Tier. The opening faceoff for Saturday's alumni game is set for 3:00 p.m. Elmira fell in consecutive non-league matches to SUNY Canton and St. Lawrence University last Saturday, October 1st, at the Canton Classic. The Soaring Eagles nearly pulled off a monster comeback win against the Roos of Canton in their first match of the day. EC erased a 2-sets-to-0 deficit and leveled the match at two sets apiece. However, the Roos were able to hold onto an early lead in the fifth set to claim the win. Elmira capped the day with a 3-0 setback to St. Lawrence, despite a pair of really strong performances by the Soaring Eagles in the second and third sets. Taylor Kaznowski '19 was recognized for her outstanding play, as the second-year setter was named to the Canton Classic All-Tournament Team. Kaznowski amassed 73 assists in the two matches, including a 45-assist effort against Canton.
  The Soaring Eagles opened last week's action with a no-nonsense 2-0 shutout victory over visiting Marywood University. Elmira Michael Bryant '18 tallied twice for the Soaring Eagles, while Aidan Gray '19 was credited with assists on both Bryant tallies. The win over the Pacers extended Elmira's home unbeaten streak to 10 games, a mark that dates back to the 2015 season. Elmira concluded the week's action with a conference road bout with perennial power Stevens. Despite a fairly even stat sheet, the Ducks marched away with a 5-1 victory in Hoboken, New Jersey. Bryant scored the lone goal for the Purple and Gold in the setback, his conference-leading sixth tally of the year.
  After erasing a pair of Saxon leads in the first and second halves, the Soaring Eagles would come up just short in a heartbreaking 3-2 road loss to Alfred. The Saxons tallied just 9:02 into regulation, but Sara Kazarouni '18 leveled the match with her third goal of the season in the 33rd minute.  Alfred answered less than seven minutes later to reclaim its one-goal lead, one that would hold up through the halftime break. First-year talent Maddie Farrell '20 tied the game at 2-2 in the 51st minute with her first collegiate goal, assisted by Kerri Clark '18, but the tie did not last long, as Alfred's Lexi Riffelbach scored the game winner a little over 11 minutes later.
  The Elmira women opened a four-game homestand this past week with an impressive 4-0 shutout win over Keuka College at the Murray Athletic Center. Atu Machika '18 and Sarah McCaffrey '18 led the charge with a four points apiece. Machika scored the game-winning goal in the 11th minute and assisted on two others in the 26th and 65th minutes, while McCaffrey scored once and assisted on two tallies. Elmira also hosted SUNY Geneseo later in the week, but fell to the Knights by a 4-1 final score. Machika scored the game-opening goal against Geneseo in the 9th minute, but three second-half goals proved to be the difference, as the Knights marched away with a three-goal win. Julie Hockenberger '18 started in both games and amassed 17 saves, including a seven-save effort against the Wolves, en route to the third complete-game shutout of her collegiate career.
  Elmira's woes this fall continued this past Saturday, October 1st, with a 6-3 setback on the road to Alfred University. The Saxons prevailed at second and third doubles, as well as at singles spots third through sixth. Tilila El Yazidi '20 and Megan Fitzgerald '18 earned all three of Elmira's points on the day. El Yazidi was a 6-0, 6-0 winner at first singles, while Fitzgerald marched away with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the second spot; both players share the team-lead in singles wins with nine apiece. The duo also teamed up for an 8-4 triumph at first doubles to improve their 2016 combined win total to 18 matches.
  The 2016 fall season for the Elmira men came to a close, as the Soaring Eagles wrapped up play at the ECAC Division III Mid-Atlantic Championships, hosted at the Ravenwood Golf Club in Victor, New York. Elmira carded a two-day score of 676 (+100) and finished in a two-way tie for 15th place with Utica College. Charl Pretorius '19 ended the fall portion of the 2016-17 schedule on a high note with a day two score of 79 (+7), a mark that tied his career-low round. Pretorius finished the event in a tie for 67th place with a two-day score of 165 (+21).
  It was a phenomenal week to say the least for the Elmira golfers. EC began the week with a first-place finish at the Elmira College Fall Invitational, hosted by the Soaring Eagles at the Elmira Country Club. The Purple and Gold fired a 379 (+95) on their home course to claim the program's second consecutive home fall invite title. A quartet of golfers placed inside the top-10 at the event, headlined by Audrey Clarke '18 and her second-place finish.
 
At the E8 Championships, hosted by Ithaca College at the Country Club of Ithaca, the Soaring Eagles claimed a second-place finish for the second time in three years. EC fired a 754 (+178) at the two-day event, which were 100 strokes better than third-place Utica. Three Soaring Eagles placed within the top-10 leaderboard to earn Empire 8 All-Conference honors. Clarke collected First-Team honors, after finishing in third place with a two-day total of 166 (+22). Alyssa Ogden '17 and Giovanna DeLoca '17 received Second-Team accolades with scores of 185 (+41) and 191 (+47), which landed the two golfers in eighth and ninth place, respectively.
  The Elmira runners rook home a 21st-place finish at the Mike Woods Invitational, a 6K race that took place at the scenic Letchworth State Park Highbanks Recreation Area in Mt. Morris, New York. Freshman standout Caitlin Malanowski '20 and third-year runner Hannah Lundgren '18 finished the 6K course, EC's first race of that length this season, with the sixth- and seventh-best times in program history at 27:03.30 and 27:29.20, respectively. Additionally, Abby Tourison '17, Hannah Gaston '17, and Melody Ribeiro '17 all produced personal 6K race times.
   
  Elmira turned in a 24th-place finish at the 38th Annual Mike Woods Invitational, hosted by SUNY Geneseo at the scenic Letchworth State Park Highbanks Recreation Area in Mt. Morris, New York. James Fritche '18 led the way with an 8K time of 30:43.6, which landed the second-year runner in 137th place at the event. Yoshi Yokoi '19 also had a noteworthy afternoon, as he produced the fastest 8K time of his collegiate career at 34:01.6.