Elmira College (2-2, 0-0 Empire 8) vs. No. 13 Nazareth College (5-2, 0-0 Empire 8)
Saturday, March 26, 2016 | 1:00 p.m. | Campus Field - Elmira, NY
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team will look to extend its current two-game win streak when the Soaring Eagles host Nazareth College on Saturday, March 26th, at 1:00 p.m. on Campus Field.

Last Time Out
The Purple and Gold evened their season record at .500 with a 10-3 win over SUNY Cobleskill on March 19, 2016. The Soaring Eagles held the Fighting Tigers scoreless in both the first and third quarters, while giving up only one goal in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the offense quickly built a 3-0 lead in the opening period and tacked on four more tallies in the third to give EC a 7-1 advantage. Skyler Pradelski '16 continued his recent run of impressive play with Elmira's first two goals, both of which were assisted by Anthony LaRusso '17. Wyatt Katsos '17 scored twice in the third quarter, while both he and Pradelski completed their hat tricks in the fourth. In goal, Cameron Prior '17 stopped 14 shots and his three goals allowed marked the fewest he's surrendered when playing at least 50 minutes.

Back-to-Back
With wins over Cazenovia College and SUNY Cobleskill last week, the Soaring Eagles have pieced together a two-game win streak. Although brief, the streak marks the first time since 2012 that the EC men have won consecutive games. That year, the Soaring Eagles won the first three games of the season against La Roche College, Shenandoah University, and Keuka College.

Goalie of the Week
Prior has excelled between the pipes for the Soaring Eagles since taking over the starting job at the end of the 2015 season. The Malden, MA, product backstopped Elmira to victories over Cazenovia College and SUNY Cobleskill with a 6.50 goals-against average, a .740 save percentage, and 37 saves. In the 11-10 win over the Wildcats on March 16th, Prior turned in his third straight game with 20-plus saves. Three days later, he blocked 14 shots and held the Fighting Tigers to three goals. For his efforts, the 6-foot-5 junior earned the second Empire 8 Men's Lacrosse Goalie of the Week award of his career. Prior enters Saturday's game with the second-most saves per game in the nation with 20.50 and ranks sixth in save percentage at .672.

O'Neill Improving At The X
First-year midfielder Blake O'Neill '19 has seen his minutes increase with each game through the early portion of the 2016 schedule. His increased responsibilities include a larger role in the faceoff circle for the Soaring Eagles. In his last two games, the Fort Myers, FL, native has won 14-of-23 faceoffs, equaling a success rate of 60.9-percent. As a result, Elmira has seen a significant jump in the team's overall percentage of draw wins, as EC boosted its faceoff percentage from 26.2-percent in the first two games of the season to an even 50.0-percent in last week's wins over Caz and SUNY Cobleskill. The ability to win possession at the X has been a major key to success for the Soaring Eagles in recent years; five of the team's six wins in the past two seasons have come in games with EC winning over 50.0-percent of the faceoffs.

Series History
Since the start of the new millennium, Nazareth has had complete control over the series. The Golden Flyers have captured all 15 meetings between the two programs since the 2001 season, including a 7-0 mark on the road.

Scouting Nazareth
A perennial Empire 8 Conference powerhouse, Nazareth has a storied lacrosse tradition and is well on its way to defending its 2015 E8 Tournament title. Winners of six of the last 12 league championships, the Golden Flyers are once again ranked in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Coaches Top-20 Poll at No. 13. Naz opened the season with four straight wins before suffering losses to then-No. 6 York College and No. 13 Denison University. The Golden Flyers responded by defeating Hamilton College 14-12 on Wednesday. Returning USILA Second-Team All-American Luke Wooters, Jr., leads the squad with 28 assists and 49 points. Senior Troy Haefele, Jr., an Honorable Mention All-American last season, paces Naz with 23 goals and is second with 37 points. Luke Longo is the third returner with All-American accolades from a year ago, and comes in with 30 ground balls, six caused turnovers, and four points.

Up Next
The Elmira men will continue the conference portion of the 2016 schedule with a road trip to Houghton College on Wednesday, March 30th. The Soaring Eagles and Highlanders with face-off at 7:00 p.m.