ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College field hockey team returns home to the Murray Athletic Center for the first time in 2016, as the Soaring Eagles host the Lakers of Oswego State on Wednesday, September 14th. The non-conference bout is set to begin at 4:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: The Soaring Eagles were defeated in their 2016 Empire 8 Conference opener on the road against the Presidents of Washington & Jefferson College. The Presidents scored four times in the first half en route to a 6-0 victory. Although the Purple and Gold were shut out, they had a handful of scoring chances in the second half. In the 45th and 46th minutes, Sarah McCaffrey '18 was awarded three penalty corners, but the ensuing shot attempts by Matilda Kennedy-Butler '19 and Julia Derco '17 were each blocked. Then again in the 58th minute, Derco had a shot saved following another pair of McCaffrey penalty corners. Defensively, starting goalie Julie Hockenberger '18 made 11 saves, while Tina O'Donnell '20 made four in 13:39 of relief for EC.

DEFENSIVE-MINDED DERCO: Last season Julia Derco '17 dazzled with her highlight-reel worthy goals. This season, the fourth-year talent has shifted her focus back to defense. Derco came up with four defensive saves against Washington & Jefferson, a career high for the Hackettstown, New Jersey, native. The four defensive saves account for her entire season total, a mark that ranks fifth in NCAA Division III Field Hockey. Last season Elmira made a total of three defensive saves, one of those coming from Derco.

SCOUTING OSWEGO STATE: The Lakers are off to a strong start in 2016 with a 3-0 record. All three victories have come on their home turf, including a pair of wins over Empire 8 Conference teams. Oswego edged Houghton 3-2 in overtime and Nazareth 1-0 in regulation in its first two games. Four different Lakers have tallied goals, led by senior forward Grace Rinaldi with three. Sophomore Katie Reynolds is tied with Rinaldi with a team-leading six points off of two goals and two assists. Junior Sarita Charap has built quite the wall between the pipes, limiting opponents to 1.02 goals per game. Charap is 3-0 with 15 saves on the young season.

SERIES HISTORY: Since the start of the 2002 season, the Soaring Eagles are 5-10 against the Lakers. However, at the Murray Athletic Center, EC only has two wins in eight tries. Elmira won four consecutive games from 2004 to 2007 by a combined score of 8-2. Last season, the Purple and Gold broke a seven-game skid against Oswego State by upsetting the Lakers on the road by a final score of 3-0. Now-senior defender Julia Derco '17 scored a game-high two goals in the victory, both on penalty strokes.

UP NEXT: The Elmira women will remain at home at the Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, New York, to host Empire 8 Conference foe, Houghton College, on Saturday, September 17th, at 1:00 p.m.