Elmira College (1-3, 0-1 Empire 8) at Utica College (4-3, 0-0 Empire 8)
Saturday, March 26, 2016 | 1:00 p.m. | Utica, NY - Charles A. Gaetano Stadium
Live Coverage

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's lacrosse team will continue Empire 8 Conference play on the road with a visit to Utica College on Saturday, March 26th, at 1:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
The EC women were handed a 22-1 loss in their Empire 8 opener at Ithaca College on Wednesday afternoon. The Bombers scored 15 times in the first half while holding the Soaring Eagles scoreless in the period, swinging momentum in IC's favor from the get-go. Elmira's only score came from Moorea Spoljaric '16. As she often does, Spoljaric won the opening draw control of the second half and took it the length of the field in only 15 seconds for the score. Goaltender Payton Rusin '18 made a season-high 12 saves.

Streak Remains Intact
Although the Elmira offense was nearly shutout in the conference opener against Ithaca, senior Moorea Spoljaric '16 managed to keep her consecutive game scoring streak alive. Her lone tally against the Bombers made it 21 straight games with a goal. The streak dates all the way back to her sophomore season. Despite the subpar performance, the Saugerties, NY, native still leads the league in scoring with 4.75 goals per game.

Send In The Reinforcements
Now that the NCAA Division III women's ice hockey season has concluded – with EC taking home a third-place finish – student-athletes Kelcey Crawford '18, Sarah Hughson '18, and Kyra McDonald '18 have traded their skates for crosses. The much-needed depth came in time for the start of the conference schedule, as all three made their debuts against Ithaca. Crawford didn't waste time showing off her potential on the backend, causing three turnovers and picking up three ground balls in her first contest of the season.

Series History
The Soaring Eagles and Pioneers have met 15 times since 2001. In that span, Utica holds a 10-5 advantage in the series. The last EC victory over the Pioneers was in April 20, 2013, when the Purple and Gold earned a slim 6-5 road victory.

Scouting Utica
The Pioneers have strung together four consecutive seasons with above-.500 records, but were the first team left out of last season's Empire 8 Tournament. Utica enters Saturday's contest with a 4-3 mark. Three of those wins have come by two goals or less, including its most recent victory over Morrisville State (10-8) on March 23rd and an overtime defeat of SUNY Potsdam (8-7) on March 19th. After a banner freshman campaign that concluded with E8 All-Conference Second Team honors, junior Rebecca Plunkett has established herself as the main offensive threat. Plunkett, who has been billed with the task of replacing now-graduated IWLCA All-Region honoree Megan Kane, leads the team with 21 goals, only seven goals shy of her total from all of last season.  In goal, senior Kells Casey has started five games and boasts a 3-2 record, a 9.11 goals-against average, and a .432 save percentage.

Up Next
Elmira College returns home after a two-game road trip to host Houghton College in Empire 8 Conference action at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 29th, at 4:00 p.m. on Campus Field.