Elmira College (4-3, 1-1 Empire 8) at Hartwick College (2-6, 0-2 Empire 8)
Saturday, April 9, 2016 | 1:00 p.m. | Wright Field - Oneonta, NY
Live Coverage

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team, winners of four of its last five games, will look to continue its run of recent success when the Soaring Eagles visit Hartwick College in Empire 8 Conference action on Saturday, April 9th, at 1:00 p.m.

Defense Making a Difference
The EC defense has been the backbone in helping the Soaring Eagles win four of their last five outings. The "D" corps has limited the opposition to less than six goals in three of those victories, while holding Cazenovia College to 10 goals in the win on March 16th. Goaltender Cameron Prior '17 and Elmira currently boast a goals-against average of 9.57, which is almost five goals less than last season's average (14.46). If the season were to end today, the 9.57 goals-against average would mark the program's lowest for a single season since the 2006 squad surrendered an average of 9.64 goals per game. Holding the opposition to less than 10 goals has proven to be key for the Elmira men in recent years, as EC is 18-3 since 2010 when doing so; however, the Soaring Eagles' win over Caz is the only triumph in the last four seasons when allowing 10-or-more goals.

Series History
The Hawks hold a 10-3 advantage in the all-time series since 2003. Elmira's last two wins over Hartwick have come in overtime. EC beat the Hawks 9-8 on April 12, 2014, and by a final of 15-14 on April 17, 2010, both games ending in the extra period.

Scouting Hartwick
Hartwick has not witnessed a winning season since going 10-9 in 2011, and is off to yet another troubling start in 2016. The Hawks enter Saturday's contest with a 2-6 overall record and an 0-2 mark inside league play. On March 5th, Hartwick topped SUNY Canton 16-4, while squeaking out a 7-6 overtime victory against UMass Boston on March 19th. In conference, the Hawks suffered a 10-7 loss against St. John Fisher College on March 26th and an 11-5 defeat at the hands of Alfred University last time out on April 2nd. While they rank near the bottom of the E8 in scoring, the Hawks are one of five teams in the conference with a sub-10.00 goals-against average, coming in with a 9.63. Goaltender Mike Rourke has seen the bulk of the minutes between the pipes with six starts and 391:59 minutes. Despite a 2-4 record, Rouke sports a .589 save percentage and an 8.88 goals-against average. His brother, Kevin Rourke, paces the team with 18 caused turnovers, ranking him fourth in the E8 with a 2.25 per game average.

Up Next
The Elmira College men's lacrosse team continues its Empire 8 slate with a home contest against Alfred University on Saturday, April 16th, at 1:00 p.m.