Elmira College (4-4, 1-2 Empire 8) at St. John Fisher College (12-1, 4-0 Empire 8)
Saturday, April 16, 2016 | 12:00 p.m. | Rochester, NY - Growney Stadium

Elmira College (4-4, 1-2 Empire 8) at SUNY Canton Kangaroos (8-3)
Sunday, April 17, 2016 | 1:00 p.m. | Canton, NY - SUNY Canton Turf Field

Live Coverage

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's lacrosse team will put their three-game win streak on the line with a back-to-back weekend against No. 17 St. John Fisher College on Saturday, April 16th, and non-conference foe SUNY Canton on Sunday, April 17th.

Last Time Out
The Soaring Eagles continued their hot play with another non-conference victory on the road, beating Keuka College 11-7 on Wednesday afternoon. Elmira raced out of the starting gates to take a 4-0 lead, including goals from both Hayley Baker '19 and Moorea Spoljaric '16 within the first minute of the game. Spoljaric scored the next two goals off of free position restarts to complete the natural hat trick. However, the senior standout was carded twice in the first half and was forced to sit out the entire second half. With Spoljaric in the penalty box, the Wolfpack netted two power-play goals and came within two goals, 6-4, at halftime. Keuka trimmed the deficit to a single goal early in the second half, but Baker scored two in a row to extend the EC lead to 8-5. Later up by two, Elmira scored three unanswered tallies to give the Purple and Gold a game-high 11-6 lead. Sandwiched in the 3-0 run was breakaway transition goal from Kyra McDonald '18 on a play that started with a long pass from deep in the neutral zone from Hannah Rafalowski-Houseman '16.

Defense Dominating
The Elmira defense has been the driving force behind the Soaring Eagles' three-game win streak. While it is no coincidence that the streak coincides with the return of Lindsay Wargo '17 to her role as the starting goaltender, the junior has only needed to make three saves in each of her last two outings. EC limited both New England College and Keuka to a mere 12 shots, a season-low. Additionally, the Soaring Eagles caused 18 turnovers against the Wolfpack, the most since earning a season-high 22 in the thumping of Wells College back on March 19th. The starting defense corps – Kelcey Crawford '18, Laura Powell '16, Ali Barber '16, and Hannah Rafalowski-Houseman '16 – combined for 10 of the EC's forced turnovers, led by Barber with a season-high four. Midfielder Sarah Hughson '18, who has provided Elmira a significant boost on both ends of the field since the conclusion of the EC women's ice hockey season, paced the team with a career-high five caused turnovers.

Record Watch
Here's a look at some of the records that the Soaring Eagles are on the verge of eclipsing:

• Moorea Spoljaric (155) needs 11 goals to tie the all-time program record, held by Katya Outwater '07 with 166 goals.
• Spoljaric (37) needs five more goals to equal her single-season career high.
• Spoljaric (183) needs five points to tie Lindsay Mitchell '12 for second place.
• Spoljaric (117) needs three more draw controls to move into seventh-place all-time in program history.
• Both Laura Powell and Spoljaric (66) need five more caused turnovers to move into fourth-place.
• Lindsay Wargo (3) needs one more victory to move into a tie for sixth-place in single-season program history.
• Wargo (196) needs four more saves to become the sixth goalie in program history to at least 200 career stops.

Series History vs. St. John Fisher
Wins against St. John Fisher have been hard to come by for the EC women's lacrosse team. Since 2000, the Soaring Eagles are a mere 2-14 against their feathered foes from Fisher. Elmira defeated SJFC 11-8 in 2000 and in the first round 2006 Empire 8 Conference Tournament – EC's last appearance in the tournament – by a score of 13-8.

Scouting St. John Fisher
The Cardinals have been the toast of the Empire 8 since head coach Linda Michele took over in 2012. Her team has won the conference tournament and appeared in the NCAA Championship Tournament in each of her first four seasons at the helm. The Cardinals are well on their way to doing so again in 2016. SJFC was tied for 17th in the latest edition of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division III Top-20 Poll with a 12-1 record and 4-0 E8 mark. This season's success can be attributed to a well-rounded offense, which has three 20-goal scorers and six with double-digit points, as well as a lights-out defensive unit. On the back end, the Fisher's Hayley Peets leads the E8 with a 4.80 goals-against average.

Series History vs. SUNY Canton
Elmira and SUNY Canton have squared off in each of the last four seasons since the Kangaroos added the women's lacrosse program for the start of the 2012 season. EC holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Soaring Eagles have beaten the 'Roos by scores of 19-1 in 2012, 21-8 in 2013, and most recently, 16-7 in 2015. The only win on the ledger for SUNY Canton came in 2014 by a final of 14-13.

Scouting SUNY Canton
The Kangaroos boast some impressive numbers heading into Sunday's contest against Elmira. The 'Roos are 8-3 overall and have won five in a row. Midfielder Robyn Carroll returned for her senior season coming off of an 83-point season as a junior. She leads the squad with 53 goals and 68 points through 11 games. In her career, she ranks second among all active players in Division III with 5.81 points per game and is third in goals with 4.46 goals per game. Limiting Carroll's scoring opportunities will be vital for Elmira; she's averaging only 1.33 goals in SUNY Canton's three losses, but a whopping 6.13 goals in the Kangaroos' eight victories.

Looking Ahead
The Elmira women will return home to host the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College in Empire 8 action on Saturday, April 23rd, at 1:00 p.m. on Campus Field.