Elmira College (1-4, 0-2 Empire 8) vs. Houghton College (2-4, 0-0 Empire 8)
Tuesday, March 29, 2016 | 4:00 p.m. | Elmira, NY - Campus Field
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's lacrosse team is home on Tuesday, March 29th, at 4:00 p.m. to host the Highlanders of Houghton College in Empire 8 Conference action at Campus Field.

Last Time Out
Utica College defeated the Soaring Eagles, 16-8, in the 2016 Empire 8 Conference Opener at UC's Charles A. Gaetano Stadium last Saturday. The Pioneers generated the majority of their offense off of the draw, as they held a significant 17-to-9 advantage in draw control victories. In fact, nine of Utica's 16 goals were scored on the possession immediately following a successful draw. This allowed the Pioneers to go on runs of 5-0 to open the game and 7-0 to blow it open at 16-3 in the second half. EC didn't go down without a fight, however; Moorea Spoljaric '16 led the Soaring Eagles on a five-goal run to end the game. Spoljaric netted four of those goals and finished with a game-high five points.

Wargo Returns
Lindsay Wargo '17 returned from illness and made the first appearance of her junior campaign against the Pioneers last weekend. The junior netminder posted over 46 minutes of relief goaltending for the Soaring Eagles and recorded five saves. The Madison, CT, native is expected to resume her role as the team's starter and provide a major boost to an EC defensive corps that is last in the Empire 8 Conference with a 16.60 goals-against average. As a sophomore, Wargo played every minute between the pipes for Elmira, averaging 9.7 saves per game.

Much-Needed Depth
After playing the first three games with only one substitute on the bench, the Soaring Eagles were pleased to welcome back Kyra McDonald '18, Sarah Hughson '18, and Kelcey Crawford '18 after winning the NCAA Division III Third-Place Trophy with the nationally-ranked EC women's ice hockey team. The multi-sport standouts will be leaned upon for more depth in the midfield and defensive units. Crawford has shown few signs of rust in her first two games back, as she has already accumulated nine ground balls, five caused turnovers, and three draw controls. Against Utica, Hughson netted her first goal of the year to go along with three ground balls and three caused turnovers.

All-Time Series
Elmira and Houghton has met every season since 2013, with the Soaring Eagles holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. The Highlanders earned their lone series victory last season by a score of 11-9 despite six goals and seven points from Moorea Spoljaric '16.

Scouting Houghton
A relatively new program, Houghton added women's lacrosse for the 2013 spring season and has had to endure the accompanying growing pains. The Highlanders have a combined 12 wins in their three-plus seasons, including a single-season best five in 2015 (5-10 overall). Despite their youth, the Highlanders boost the talented junior duo of Jennifer Zacchigna and Chandler Jones. In 2015, Zacchigna scored a team-high 45 goals while Jones earned 49 assists and 72 points overall. Currently, Zacchigna sits fourth in the E8 in goals with 3.17 per game, while Jones leads the league with 5.67 points and 3.83 assists per game. Head coach Amanda Zacchigna, Jennifer's sister, is in her second season at the helm after graduating from Houghton in 2014. Her squad has a 2-4 record, coming off of back-to-back losses to SUNY Oswego (18-2) and Baldwin Wallace University (15-5).

Up Next
The Elmira women head to Keuka Park, NY, for a non-conference contest against the Keuka College Wolfpack on Wednesday, April 6th, at 4:00 p.m.