Elmira College (1-2, 0-0 Empire 8) vs. Ithaca College (3-2, 0-0 Empire 8)
Wednesday, March 23, 2016 | 4:00 p.m. | Higgins Stadium - Ithaca, NYLive Coverage
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's lacrosse team will look to build off of its impressive performance over the weekend versus Wells College, as the Soaring Eagles open Empire 8 Conference play today at Ithaca College at 4:00 p.m.
Last Time OutEC tallied its first victory of the 2016 campaign – and the first under new head coach
Alexa Tardif – by thumping the Express to the tune of a 21-11 win. Eight different Soaring Eagles registered at least one point and six different players scored a goal. Leading the charge for Elmira in all phases of the game was
Moorea Spoljaric '16. The standout senior posted one of the most impressive stat lines in program history: 11 goals, 11 caused turnovers, 11 draw controls and 10 ground balls. Her goal, point, and caused turnovers totals each established program single-game records, while she collected the most draws and ground balls in a game since 2012.
Hayley Baker '19 and
Kylie Connell '17 each scored a hat trick for EC, while the freshman attacker picked up three assists for a season-high six points.
Laura Powell '16 scored a career-high three points (one goal, two assists), while also tying her season highs with four draw controls and caused turnovers.
E8 Player of the WeekAfter a game as dominate as Spoljaric pieced together against Wells, it came as no surprise that the fourth-year midfielder was crowned the Empire 8 Conference Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week. It is the third time in her career that Spoljaric was honored by the E8 with a weekly award. Her 11 goals, points, caused turnovers and draw controls, and 10 ground balls are all career highs, while she set new program records for goals, points, and caused turnovers. Additionally, her 11 goals were only three shy of the NCAA Division III single-game record. One of the all-around best talents in the league, the Saugerties, NY, native leads the E8 in every major statistical category with the exception of assists per game. A force on both ends of the field, Spoljaric leads NCAA Division III with 6.00 goals per game and 5.67 caused turnovers per game.
Baker BlossomingHighly-touted first-year attacker
Hayley Baker '19 has continued to improve throughout each of the first three games of her career. In her last outing, the Braintree, MA, native recorded season highs with three goals and three assists. Her six points are the most scored by an Elmira freshman since Spoljaric recorded seven as a rookie in a win over Hartwick College on April 7, 2013. On the season, Baker ranks seventh in the Empire 8 in assists per game (1.33) and 10th in both goals (2.33) and points (3.67) per contest, leading all conference rookies in all three categories.
Series HistoryThe Ithaca College Bombers have held the upper hand in the series since the 2003 season. The two programs have met once in each of the last 14 seasons, but have only come up victorious once. The lone EC victory vs. Ithaca in that span came in 2006, as the Soaring Eagles defused the Bombers 10-7.
Scouting IthacaIthaca enters Tuesday's contest sporting a 3-2 record, including a 1-0 mark at home at Higgins Stadium. The two blemishes on the season have come against two of the best teams in the country: No. 1 SUNY Cortland and No. 3 Franklin and Marshall College. The Bombers return to Western New York after playing their last two games in sunny Orlando, FL, where they defeated Babson College 14-9 and Skidmore College 12-6. The offense is averaging 10.00 goals per game while the backend has surrendered an average of 11.00 goals per contest; however, against non-ranked opponents, IC is scoring 13.67 goals and giving up 7.33. Leading the Ithaca offense is Morgan Racicot with team highs across the board: 12 goals and eight assists for 20 points. Emily Ross has started all five games in goal for the Bombers, but her backup Kimberly Presuto has played the most minutes between the two. Presuto posted a slightly better stat line, with a 9.99 goals-against average, a 49.0 save percentage, and 25 saves.
Up NextThe Soaring Eagles will continue play inside the Empire 8 Conference on the road with a visit to Utica College on Saturday, March 23rd, at 1:00 p.m.