ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Coming off of its first win of the season, the Elmira College women's soccer team will face Nazareth College and St. John Fisher College in Empire 8 Conference action on Saturday and Sunday, October 8th and 9th, respectively. Saturday's matchup with Naz is scheduled to start at 12:00 p.m. while the Sunday bout with Fisher is set for 1:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: Being back at home must have been the remedy that the Purple and Gold needed, as the Soaring Eagles defeated Fredonia 2-0 to earn their first win of the season at Campus Field. Sara Kazerouni '18 beat the Fredonia goalie twice to earn her fourth and fifth goals of the season. EC Goalie Amanda Banner '17 recorded made eight saves en route to a clean sheet and recorded her first career assist, with a booming goal kick that Kazerouni received on the opposite end of the pitch and deposited past the Fredonia netminder. Elmira's solid defense allowed the Soaring Eagles to maintain lead even though they were outshot, 22-15. Banner made several impressive saves, including a clutch stop one-on-one with a Blue Devil on a breakaway.    

FIRST WIN MOMENTUM: Tuesday's victory was the first of the season for the Purple and Gold. The Soaring Eagles will look to emulate their results last season; after Elmira earned its first win of the 2015 season against St. John Fisher College at home, EC went on to win its next match over Utica Collge, also at Campus Field. Jordyn Rousselle '18 sparked the victories with three goals those contests.

BANNER CLIMBS THE LEADERBOARDS: With her notable performance in Tuesday's match, Banner climbed the Elmira all-time record book in multiple categories. The Mullica Township, New Jersey, native passed Megan Lowe '13 for ninth place on the all-time saves list with 245. Banner currently sits 22 saves away from tying Karissa Wilson '12 for eighth place. Banner also moved into a tie for eighth-place in career shutouts with seven. 

SCOUTING NAZ: Nazareth enters the match with an overall record of 7-2-2 and a road record of 2-1-1. The Golden Flyers' most recent matchup was a 4-0 victory over Alfred State on Tuesday, October 4th. Naz scored three goals in the first half and used extended ball possession to keep the lead throughout. The Golden Flyers' dominated the match with 15 shots to Utica's one. Nazareth is led on defense by senior goalie Allison Dobles, who leads the E8 in save percentage (.917) and shutouts (5). On the offensive side of the pitch, the Golden Flyers are led by Julia Delgatti, who sits in a tie for second place in the conference with seven goals on the season. Nazareth has spread the ball around well so far this year, as three different players have recorded double-digit points. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. NAZ: The Purple and Gold have struggled in the all-time series against the Golden Flyers, with their series record sitting at 5-30-0. Last season, the Soaring Eagles lost 3-1 on the road at the Golden Flyer Stadium, in Rochester, New York. The last victory in the series for EC was a 2-1 win at home on Campus Field in October of 2006. 

SCOUTING ST. JOHN FISHER: St. John Fisher enter's the weekend with an overall record of 2-6-1 and an E8 mark of 1-2-0. The Cardinals' most recent matchup was a loss to non-conference foe and crosstown rival, University of Rochester, by a 3-0 final on October 4th. SJFC is led on the offensive side of the pitch by senior midfielder Taryn Guinta, who has eight points on the season with three goals and two assists. In net, senior goalie Gabriella Cotugno has shown stellar play throughout the season, ranking second in the conference in saves with 79. Cotugno also ranks seventh in the E8 with a .823 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY VS. ST. JOHN FISHER: The all-time series between these two programs has been close throughout. The record currently sits at 10-6 in favor of Fisher; however, Elmira won last season's matchup at Campus Field, 2-0. Jordyn Rousselle '18 and Niki Lemper '17 netted their first goals of the season in that game on September 23, 2015. The last time that the Soaring Eagles won at Growney Stadium in Rochester, New York, was in October of 2003 (2-1).

Up Next: The Soaring Eagles will return to Campus Field to host Empire 8 Conference rival, Houghton College, on Saturday, October 15th, at 12:00 p.m.