Score: Elmira College 21 – Wells College 11
Records: Elmira (1-2), Wells (0-3)
Location: Corning Community College – Corning, NY
 
Corning, NY -- Unseasonably cold temperatures did nothing to cool down the offense of the Elmira College women's lacrosse team, who scored early and often in a 21-11 victory over Wells College on Saturday afternoon. The win is Elmira's first on the young 2016 season, while it was also the first victory in the fledgling career of first-year head coach Alexa Tardif.
 
Moorea Spoljaric '16 had a historic day for the EC attack, as she at times was a one-woman wrecking crew through the Wells defense. She set a new single-game program record with 11 goals to up her season total to 18 on the year.
 
The senior midfielder was not short of help, as five other players found the back of the net for the Soaring Eagles, while seven EC players outside of Spoljaric registered at least one point. Hayley Baker '19 continued her strong debut season, tallying her first career hat trick and adding three assists. Kylie Connell '17 also had a big day in cracking the score sheet for the first time this season. She finished with Elmira's other hat trick performance, scoring three goals and adding one helper.
 
Kara Yakel '16 tallied two goals, while Marisa Carr '18 (1g-1a) and Laura Powell '16 (1g-2a) rounded out the goal scoring for the Elmira women. Mae Dinh '18 and Macy Huntley '19 each recorded one assist apiece.
 
First-year netminder Payton Rusin '18 collected her first career win in the EC cage, finishing with five saves.
 
It was the Express that got on the board first, finding the back of the net in its first possession following the opening draw control of the game. Wells' leading goal scorer Mackenzie Maloney made an excellent slashing move, before beating Rusin with a low shot to briefly give the visitors the lead.
 
The Express actually won possession on the ensuing draw control, but Spoljaric showcased her exceptional skill, which ended up foreshadowing what would be a trend throughout the game. She stripped the ball in her own defensive zone, scooping up possession and charging the length of the field, before depositing the shot into the back of the net to tie the game. The Saugerties, NY, native went on to score two more goals in quick succession, tallying the hat trick with a free-position goal just 5:24 into the game.
 
The Soaring Eagles turned the early scoring flurry by Spoljaric into a bigger 6-0 run to widen the gap. Connell netted her first of the afternoon just 14 seconds after Spoljaric's free-position tally, taking a great feed from Carr and beating Wells netminder Quinn Doubet one-on-one. Spoljaric added a fourth goal, while Baker also scored off a free-position opportunity to make it 6-1 with 18:41 remaining in the half.
 
The Express did not go quietly, however, tightening things up over the middle portion of the half to get back into the game. Lexie Roberson netted her first of two goals on the afternoon, while Julia Smith bested Rusin on a free-position attempt just under a minute later to close the gap to 6-3, prompting an Elmira timeout.
 
Tardif's words during the timeout had a great effect, as EC responded with two goals in 23 seconds to reestablish the margin. Yakel sent home her first of the day with a nifty move off the free position, while Connell pumped home her second of the afternoon, after receiving a beautiful feed by Dinh to spring the breakaway.
 
Spoljaric capped the big half with Elmira's final two goals, giving her six through 30 minutes, as the Soaring Eagles took a 10-5 lead to halftime.
 
Wells made one final hard push to get back into the contest coming out of halftime. The Express scored three of the first four goals after the break to cut the EC lead to 11-8 with 26:57 left. That was as close as the visitors would get in the contest, as Spoljaric continued to create opportunities for herself and her teammates. A six goal run over a 8:45 span pushed the lead to double-digits, erasing any hope of a Wells comeback.
 
In Her Own Words…
Head Coach Alexa Tardif on today's game…
"I thought that the team did a great job communicating and connecting with each other throughout the entire game. They worked extremely hard at both ends and it showed on the scoreboard. I'm really proud of their performance today."
 
Tardif on Spoljaric's big game…
"Moorea is an extremely strong player in all facets of the game, both physical and mental. She did a great job working with her teammates to create offensive chances. We have been stressing moving the goalie in practice and I thought she did a great job of that this afternoon."
 
Tardif on the team's energy…
"We got off to a little bit of a sluggish start, which resulted in us giving up that opening goal. However, I thought the team responded well to that early adversity. Moorea kind of put the team on her back for a couple minutes and I think once we grabbed the lead, everybody felt a big confidence boost. They started linking up on some nice plays and did a great job supporting each other."
 
Tardif on the first victory…
"It's always a nice feeling to get that first victory out of the way. We are going to keep working hard each day and hopefully we can carry the momentum into our next game."
 
Turning Point
Wells controlled the opening few minutes of the contest, snagging an early lead and setting up possession in the offensive zone off the ensuing draw. It was at that point that Spoljaric took over the game, forcing a turnover, before going end-to-end to equalize the game. The Soaring Eagles never looked back, scoring five straight to establish a wide lead they didn't relinquish.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Elmira outshot Wells 35-to-24, which included a 31-to-16 advantage in shots on target in the contest.
• Wells finished with 25 turnovers, while Elmira concluded the game with 19.
• The transition game heavily favored the Soaring Eagles. EC went 16-for-17 in clear attempts, while it limited Wells to just an 11-for-26 mark.
• Elmira finished with 21 ground balls, while Wells scooped 13.
• The Purple and Gold held a 6-to-3 advantage in free-position shots.
• Spoljaric led all players with 11-points, all coming on goals. She also packed the stat sheet with a game-high 11 caused turnovers, 11 draw controls, and 10 ground balls.
• Baker recorded six points on three goals and three assists. She also recorded four ground balls, two caused turnovers, and one draw control.
• Powell had a solid all-around effort this afternoon, finishing with three points on a goal and two assists. She added three ground balls, four caused turnovers, and four draw controls.
• Connell added a hat trick as part of a four-point effort.
• Dinh and Huntley both added assists.
• Carr (1g-1a) and Yakel (2g) each added productive days.
• Rusin finished with five saves.

 
News and Notes

• The win was Elmira's first of the 2016 season, while it also marked the first win for the Soaring Eagles under rookie head coach Alexa Tardif.
• The 21 goals scored are the most since also finding the back of the net 21 times in a 21-8 victory over SUNY Canton on March 10, 2013.
• Spoljaric had a historic outing for the Soaring Eagles, setting new single-game program records in goals (11), points (11), and caused turnovers (11). Her 11 goals were just three shy of tying the all-time NCAA Division III record for goals in a game.
• Baker notched the first hat trick of her career, setting a new career high with six points.
• Connell also collected her first career hat trick, while she tied her career high with four points.
• Rusin notched her first career victory in goal.
• Dinh and Huntley both recorded their first points of their collegiate careers.

 
Up Next
The Elmira women return to action when they jump into Empire 8 Conference play on Wednesday, March 23^rd, traveling to Ithaca College for a 4:00 p.m. contest against the Bombers.