Elmira College (4-6, 1-3 Empire 8) vs. Nazareth College (8-5, 3-2 Empire 8)
Friday, April 22, 2016 | 5:00 p.m. | Campus Field - Elmira, NY
Live Coverage | Twitter: @ECSoaringEagles

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's lacrosse team returns to Campus Field for the first time in nearly a month on Friday, April 22nd, when the Soaring Eagles host Nazareth College at 5:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
The Purple and Gold played to a 0-2 mark in a busy weekend against nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College and non-conference opponent SUNY Canton. On April 16th, the 17th-ranked Cardinals defeated EC 19-2 on their home turf at Growney Stadium. The following afternoon, the 'Roos used a nearly-flawless first half performance to hand the Soaring Eagles a 15-7 loss. Senior Moorea Spoljaric '16 paced Elmira in the two-game set with six goals, followed by Hayley Baker '19 with two tallies. Against SUNY Canton, Spoljaric filled out the stat sheet with nine ground balls, six caused turnovers, and five draw controls. Lindsay Wargo '17 played all 120:00 minutes in goal for EC, finishing the weekend with a combined 22 saves.

Powell Prowling the Midfield
Senior Laura Powell '16 made a name for herself as an everyday starter on the defensive side of the ball in her first three seasons as a Soaring Eagle. This year, however, head coach Alexa Tardif has shifted the fourth-year talent to the midfield to take advantage of her athleticism on both ends of the field. Not only has she continued to provide shutdown shifts on the backend – she ranks second on the team with 17 caused turnovers – Powell has seen her scoring grow exponentially in her new-found role in the offensive zone. As a result, the Watertown, NY, native is third on the team in points with 10 and leads the squad with seven assists. This scoring surge comes after entering her final year with only three goals and one assist in 50 career starts.

Home Sweet Home
As Dorothy stated in the 1939 American classic The Wizard of Oz, there is no place like home. That statement holds true for the Elmira women as well, who have fared better at home than on the road. In three home contests this season, EC boasts a 2-1 record, but is only 2-5 in road games. Additionally, the offense has produced at nearly twice the rate at home, a whopping 13.67 goals per home game versus 7.14 goals per away tilt. EC also clears the ball at a much higher rate when at home (.778) than on the road (.604).

Record Watch

• Moorea Spoljaric (161) needs five more goals to tie the all-time record, held by Katya Outwater '07 with 166 career goals.
• Spoljaric (189) needs 21 more points to equal Outwater's program record of 210 career points.
• Spoljaric (133) needs nine more ground balls to take sole possession of ninth place all-time.
• Spoljaric (126) needs three more draw controls to move into fifth place.
• Laura Powell (67) needs four more caused turnovers to move into fifth place and six more to take sole possession of fourth place in program history.
• Lindsay Wargo (3) needs one more victory to move into a tie for sixth-place in single-season history.

Series History
History has not been kind to the Soaring Eagles against Nazareth. Since 2000, the Golden Flyers have won all 18 meetings between the two programs. This includes a pair of victories in the first round of the 2005 and 2006 Empire 8 Conference Tournaments. Naz has scored double-digit goals in all 18 games, while EC has done so only twice.

Scouting Nazareth
The Golden Flyers enter the weekend just outside the Empire 8 Tournament window, sitting fifth in the league with a 3-2 conference record and an 8-5 overall mark. Those two league losses have come against Ithaca College on April 2nd, and to nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College on April 13th. Last time out, the Golden Flyers edged Stevens Institute of Technology 10-9 in overtime. The Naz offense is very balanced, featuring three 20-goal scorers and seven double-digit scorers. Haley DeVona and Kate Rothrock lead the attack with 38 points apiece. DeVona paces the team with 29 goals and Rothrock has a team-high 13 assists. The tandem of Brianna Rizzari and Mackenzie Corbett has split time in goal, while the former has performed slightly better in her seven starts. Rizzari leads Naz's starting duo with an 8.61 goals-against average, .489 save percentage, and 64 saves in 466:46 minutes.

Looking Ahead
The Elmira women will have little time to rest down the final stretch of the 2016 regular season. The Soaring Eagles play four times during a seven-day span, beginning on Sunday, April 24th, when EC travels to Alfred University for the penultimate road game of the year against the Saxons at 1:00 p.m.