Score: Elmira College 10, SUNY Cobleskill 3
Records: Elmira (2-2), SUNY Cobleskill (2-3)
Location: Elmira, NY - Notre Dame High School

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team earned its second consecutive home victory by knocking off SUNY Cobleskill 10-3 on Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame High School.

Skyler Pradelski '16 started right where he left off after scoring a career-high five goals last time out against Cazenovia College. The EC senior midfielder scored back-to-back goals at 10:38 and 6:48 of the first quarter to give the Purple and Gold a lead it would never relinquish. Forty seconds after Pradelski's second tally, fellow senior TJ Leach '16 pushed the lead to 3-0.

Goalie Cameron Prior '17 and the stingy EC defense held the visitors scoreless for nearly 20 minutes until Alex Acompora found the back of the net for the game's only goal in the second quarter. Acompora netted all three SUNY Cobleskill goals on the day, with the last pair coming in the fourth quarter.

Up 3-1 at the half, Wyatt Katsos '17 led the charge for the Soaring Eagles' offense in the second half. He scored twice on EC's 4-0 run to open the third quarter, with the latter coming on the man-up unit. Pradelski and Katsos would both complete their hat tricks in the fourth quarter as the Soaring Eagles cruised to victory in the final period of play.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Preston Chapman on his team's quick start in the first quarter...
"I think offensively we carried the momentum over from our last game against Cazenovia. We kind of went flat but then we picked it up in the second half. We went back to the game plan."

Coach Chapman on the performance from the EC defense to limit SUNY Cobleskill to only three goals...
"We had a very good scout on their personnel. I think the close defense and the D-middies did a real solid job playing good individual and good team defense."

Coach Chapman on the efficiency of the man-up unit...
"That's something we've been talking about over the last week, that we need to convert on the power play. In the first two games, we had worked incredibly hard in six-on-six but were not getting any offense on the power play. To see us get some on the man-up was nice to see."

Turning Point
The Soaring Eagles bolted out of the gates in the first quarter, as Pradelski teamed up with Anthony LaRusso '17 to score consecutive goals. It then took less than a minute for Leach to make it a 3-0 advantage with 6:08 to play in the first period. The quick start seemingly deflated the visiting Fighting Tigers while giving the Soaring Eagles the confidence they needed to dominate the remainder of the contest.

Inside the Box

• Elmira held advantages in shots (33-to-29) and man-up scores (3-for-4, 0-for-1).
• SUNY Cobleskill edged EC in ground balls 36-to-33.
• The Fighting Tigers also won 10-of-17 faceoffs.
• Katsos led all scorers with four points on three goals and one assist.
• Pradelski also scored thrice for Elmira.
• Leach (one goal, two assists) and LaRusso (three assists) each registered three points for the Soaring Eagles.
• Nevin Olney '18 netted a pair of goals.
• Joe Greene '17 tallied his first goal of the season to complete Elmira's scoring.
• SUNY Cobleskill received all three goals off of the stick of Acompora.
• Katsos and freshman LSM Kevin Schutt '19 led EC with five ground balls and two caused turnovers apiece.
• SUNY Cobleskill's Jake McCarthy led all players with seven goal balls.
• Faceoff specialists Kyle Magdziuk was 10-for-14 on the draw with five ground balls.
• Prior recorded 14 saves and allowed only three goals.
• John Montaniz had 15 stops in goal for the Fighting Tigers.

News and Notes

• Elmira evened its record at 2-2 on the year.
• Katsos' three goals and four points are career-highs for the converted goaltender.
• LaRusso's three assists are a single-game career high.
• Pradelski has scored a combined eight goals in his last two games.
• Olney has scored at least one goal in all four games so far this season.
• EC's three man-up goals are the most in a single game for the Soaring Eagles since scoring three such goals on April 23, 2014, against Stevens Institute of Technology.
• Prior allowed only three SUNY Cobleskill goals, the fewest he's surrendered when playing at least 50 minutes in goal for EC.

Up Next
The Elmira College men's lacrosse team concludes its four-game homestand with the 2016 Empire 8 Conference opener against No. 9 Nazareth College on Saturday, March 26th, at 1:00 p.m.