ELMIRA, N.Y. -- As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Elmira College women's soccer team is doing its part by hosting its Paint the Field Pink Game on Saturday, October 14, when the Soaring Eagles take on Utica College at 12:00 p.m. at Campus Field.
PAINT THE FIELD PINK
The Soaring Eagles are doing their part to raise awareness and funds by dedicating Saturday's contest as their Paint the Field Pink Game. In addition to painting the stripes that outline the field in pink, Elmira will also be sporting special pink jerseys. There will be a $2 admission fee for the match, but EC students that wear pink will be granted access to the contest for free. There will also be a 50/50 raffle, with all proceeds from the raffle, and admission charges, to be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
LAST TIME OUT
The Elmira women came up short against Marywood University, 4-1, in non-conference action last time out. Elmira's offense generated 15 shots in the contest, the second-highest total of the season for EC, but was only able to place four of those shots on goal. The Pacers scored twice in the opening half, with goals in the 8th and 31st minutes of action, and doubled their lead in the second stanza with tallies in the 47th and 75th minutes. Marywood looked to ride out its four-goal lead to the final horn, but Elmira's
Sara Kazerouni '18 would find the back of the net in the closing minutes of regulation to trim the Pacer lead to three. Following a
Jordyn Rousselle '18 shot that rattled off the crossbar, Kazerouni was in good position to follow up the rebound and smash the ball into the open net for her second goal of the season. Rousselle was credited with an assist on EC's lone goal of the game, her team-leading third helper of the 2017 campaign.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
With the tail-end of the 2017 season in full swing, the Empire 8 Conference postseason picture is starting to take shape. Hartwick, Stevens and Nazareth, all of whom are ranked within the top-10 in the East Region, seem to have positioned themselves to be locks for the top three seeds in the tournament. However, the fourth and final postseason spot is still up for grabs between the remaining six conference affiliates. Alfred currently holds down the fourth spot with a 1-1-2 record, but Houghton, St. John Fisher and Utica all have one E8 win, while EC and Sage both have a tie in league play, setting up an exciting conclusion to the 2017 regular season.
SERIES HISTORY
Elmira and Utica will meet for the 32nd time this afternoon. The all-time series, which dates back to the 1986 season, has been controlled by the Soaring Eagles, who boast a 22-9 record against the Pioneers. The Purple and Gold won six in a row from 2010-15, but saw their win streak snapped last season, when the Pioneers beat EC in Utica by a 4-1 score.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Utica College possesses an overall record of 4-7-1 with a 1-2-0 mark against Empire 8 Conference competition entering this weekend's match-up at Campus Field. The Pioneers have dropped three of their last four games in shutout fashion, all of which came on their home turf at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium. The lone exception was a 2-1 overtime victory on the road against St. John Fisher College on October 7. The win marked just the third time this season the Pioneers have tallied multiple goals in a game. Outside of a convincing 5-0 defeat of Morrisville State in September, Utica has scored just six goals in its remaining 11 outings. Abby Reilly (3g-0a) and Jenna Mazza (2g-2a) lead the offense with six points apiece, but neither have registered a point in the past four games. In goal, UC has relied upon sophomore keeper Allison Wagner, who led the Empire 8 in saves (132) and saves per game (9.43) as a rookie in 2016. This year, Wagner paces the league in save percentage (.875) and ranks second in saves per game (9.33), trailing only Elmira's
Rachel Grampp '18 (9.64).
UP NEXT
Elmira returns to action on Wednesday, October 18, when they travel to face the Highlanders of Houghton in Empire 8 action at 7:00 p.m. The Soaring Eagles are back at to Campus Field on Saturday, October 21, when EC hosts Sage in E8 play at 12:00 p.m.
