Elmira College (0-1, 0-0 Empire 8) vs. Lebanon Valley College (2-1, 0-0 MAC Commonwealth)
Saturday, March 12, 2016 | 1:00 p.m. | Notre Dame High School - Elmira, NY
Live Stats | Twitter

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team will host the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley College on Saturday, March 12th. The Soaring Eagles will play their home opener at nearby Notre Dame High School at 1:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Soaring Eagles opened the 2016 campaign with a 13-3 road loss against Keuka College on March 5th. Although the Wolfpack struck first, EC scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead in the first quarter. Nevin Olney '18 tied the game at one-all, before TJ Leach '16 gave the Purple and Gold the one-goal advantage. Keuka then responded with a momentous run with six straight scores to take an insurmountable lead. Ollie Heitkamp '18 ended EC's scoring drought, but it would be Elmira's only second-half goal, allowing the Wolfpack to run away with the win. Overall, EC was outshot 55-to-18. Keuka also held a significant advantage in faceoff victories, winning 16-of-20 draws.

Beginning Where They Left Off
Olney, Leach, and Heitkamp each found the back of the net once in Elmira's season-opener against Keuka last weekend. With their respective scores, all three Soaring Eagles are now on mini two-game scoring streaks, as the trio played a big role in EC's 2015 season-finale against Alfred State. In the 10-4 victory over the Pioneers, Olney scored twice, Leach recorded two points with one goal and one assist, and Heitkamp scored once. Also building off of a strong end to 2015 is Cameron Prior '17, who earned the starting role this season after a pair of solid starts at the end of last season. Prior earned his first victory with 15 saves against Alfred State and started his junior campaign with 21 stops against Keuka, second-most in a game in his career.

Series History
Saturday's matchup is only the second all-time meeting between the Soaring Eagles and Dutchmen. EC traveled to Annville, PA, to take on Lebanon Valley in the 2015 season opener on March 14, 2015. The Soaring Eagles were defeated by the Dutchmen, 15-4. Consecutive goals from Skyler Pradelski '16 and Eric Hallman '15 cut the deficit to 4-3 to start the second quarter, but the Dutchmen then netted 11 straight goals to secure the lead and the win.

Scouting Lebanon Valley
After an 11-2 road loss to Frostburg State University in their season opener, the Dutchmen have reeled off a pair of one-goal victories over Immaculata University (9-8) and Muhlenberg College (5-4) at home. Through the first three games, Lebanon Valley is averaging only 5.33 goals per game. Leading the offense is Jacques Mercer, who has a team-high five points. Both Mercer and Brett Kudlak have scored a team-leading four goals, followed by Alex Bushong with three. Cameron Epple has played every minute in goal for the Dutchmen, registering a .582 save percentage, 7.67 goals-against average, and 32 saves. Epple has been tested in each of Lebanon Valley's two wins, as both opponents have closed their respective games on three-goal streaks, threatening to overcome the Dutchmen's once comfortable lead.

Up Next
The Elmira men will continue their season-long four-game homestand on Wednesday, March 16th, at 6:00 p.m. against the Wildcats of Cazenovia College.