Score: Elmira College 11, Houghton College 8
Records: Elmira (2-4, 1-2 Empire 8), Houghton (2-5, 0-1 Empire 8)
Location: Elmira, NY - Campus Field

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's lacrosse team held off a late second-half surge from the visiting Highlanders of Houghton College to earn its first Empire 8 Conference victory of the season by a final score of 11-8.

The first half was all Elmira, as the Soaring Eagles broke an early 1-1 tie with six straight goals to take what would prove to be a much-needed 7-1 cushion into the halftime intermission. Moorea Spoljaric '16 was once again a force to be reckoned with in all phases of the game, including another fiery performance in the offensize zone. The fourth-year scoring machine recorded a point on each of EC's first eight goals. She tallied the first four scores and broke a 1-1 tie with a natural hat trick of free position goals.

Spoljaric showed off her tremendous stick skills on her second goal, which gave the Purple and Gold the lead for good. Off the free position restart, she cut through the slot towards the left side of the net, and just when it appeared she was going to continue past the goal and reset the offense, the senior captain flicked an underhand shot inside the near post, beating Houghton goalie Kourtnie Franklin on her stick side.

After scoring four straight goals, Spoljaric earned assists on consecutive goals from Marisa Carr '18, feeding the second-year attacker in the slot. Carr bounced both goals low past Franklin, the latter at the 7:56 of the opening half to extend the lead to 6-1. Spoljaric picked the top-left corner of the net on a deep shot from the eight-meter arc to conclude scoring in the first half.

Spoljaric, Sarah Hughson '18 and Kylie Connell '17 pieced together a 3-0 run in a span of 1:46 to push the Elmira lead out to a game-high eight goals at 11-3 with 19:36 remaining in regulation. While it appeared the Soaring Eagles would cruise to victory, the Highlanders had other plans. Houghton threatened the lead with a 5-0 run inside the final 10 minutes. Meghan Oswald, Torri Sperl, and Chandler Jones swung the momentum in Houghton's favor with three goals in 35 seconds, bringing the visitors within five at 11-6. First-year head coach Alexa Tardif quickly signaled for a timeout and settled her team down. Although the Highlanders did scored twice more inside the final two-and-a-half minutes, the EC lead proved to be too large to overcome.

In Their Own Words
Head Coach Alexa Tardif on her team's performance against Houghton...
"We came out strong. The girls were able to set the tone of the game and put up a few goals early. Coming into the second half we felt good, but then Houghton picked up its momentum and it was able to close the gap. I thought we were able to hold strong, possess the ball, and utilized smart decisions to come away with the win.

Coach Tardif on Lindsay Wargo's first start of the season in goal...
"I think she had a great game, both her saves and her clears out to her teammates. They were awesome. Overall, I thought she played very well and her performance will be pivotal for us moving forward."

Coach Tardiff on Moorea Spoljaric's eight-point outing...
"She played very well today. She made very smart decisions, did not force the ball, and did a great job finding her teammates when they were open."

Turning Point
After Elmira racked up 11 goals and an eight-goal lead in the game's first 40:24, Houghton head coach Amanda Zacchigna subbed out Franklin in favor of backup goalie Alison Clark. The decision sparked a near comeback for the Highlanders, as Clark held the Soaring Eagles scoreless for the remainder of the contest. Meanwhile, Houghton began a 5-0 rally in the final 10 minutes of regulation, but after it scored three-in-a-row from 9:15 to 8:35, EC settled down and ended the bleeding. The Soaring Eagles were able to disrupt the flow of the Highlander offense throughout the next six-plus minutes, including a pair of key caused turnovers by Ali Barber '16. The visitors tallied two more scores before the game was through, but did not have enough time to mount a comeback.

Inside the Box

• Elmira outshot Houghton 19-to-7 in the first half and 31-to-22 overall.
• EC finished with a 27-to-18 advantage in ground balls.
• The Soaring Eagles had a slight advantage in draw controls, 11-to-10.
• Spoljaric led all scorers with six goals and eight points.
• The fourth-year midfielder also had three ground balls, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers.
• Hughson and Carr each scored twice.
• Hughson added a game-high-tying six ground balls to go along with three draws and two caused turnovers.
• Connell scored one goal and Laura Powell '16 earned one assist to round out Elmira's scoring.
• Jennifer Zacchingna and Oswald each registered a hat trick for Houghton.
• Defender Elizabeth Modesto led the Highlanders with five ground balls.
• Wargo made 11 saves in her first start of 2016 to improve to 1-0.
• Franklin took the loss, giving up 11 goals in just over 40 minutes of playing time.
• Clark held EC scoreless in 19:36 relief minutes and made three saves.

News and Notes

• Elmira earned its first Empire 8 Conference win of the season and is now 1-2 in league play.
• EC improved to 3-1 all-time against the Highlanders.
• Spoljaric moved into a two-way tie with Lindsey Mitchell '12 for second place in program history with 147 career goals.
• The Saugerties, NY, native has now scored at least once in 23 consecutive games.
• The senior captain also moved into ninth-place all-time in career assists with 26.
• Carr's two goals represented a season high.
• With two goals and two points, Hughson earned her first career multi-goal and multi-point outing.
• Wargo moved into a two-way tie with Morgan Gaydos '05 for sixth place in program history with 190 career saves.

Up Next
Elmira College returns to action on Wednesday, April 6th, to take on the Keuka College Wolfpack at 4:00 p.m. in non-conference action.