Score: Utica College 4, Elmira College 0
Records: Utica (7-6, 4-3 E8), Elmira (2-11, 0-5 E8)
Location: Murray Athletic Center – Pine Valley, N.Y.
 
PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- The Elmira College field hockey team continued Empire 8 Conference play with a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Utica College on Saturday afternoon at the Murray Athletic Center.

The contest started off tight, as neither team was able to get a real offensive chance for the first 16:56. The defensive struggle was broken up in the 17th minute when Sabrina Whitehouse opened the game's scoring with her sixth goal of the year. Whitehouse took a pass from Sydney Scaccia in the circle and spun to shoot the ball past EC's starting goalkeeper, Tina O'Donnell '20.

The Soaring Eagles' best chance in the opening half came midway through the 35th minutes, as both Megan Brain '18 and Janie Kempf '21 were able to get shots on the visitor's cage. Unfortunately for Elmira, Utica's keeper, Samantha Whitehouse, stopped both strikes to secure a 1-0 Pioneers' lead heading into the halftime break.

Utica started the second half with a new offensive intensity, as it recorded three shots in the first 3:25 of the half. The last of the shots put the Pioneers up 2-0, as a Josie Sgarlata strike bounced off of O'Donnell's leg padding and found the back of the cage in the 39th minute.

Unable to slow down Utica's offense in the second half, Elmira owned a 6-to-14 disadvantage in shots in the final 35 minutes. This increased offensive pressure would yield two more goals, as tallies in the 45th and 59th minutes put the road team up 4-0 late in the contest.

The Soaring Eagles had a few chances in the final five minutes to get on the scoreboard, as they posted five shots on goal in that time period. The best chance of those five shots came off of the stick of Atu Machika '18, whose 66th-minute strike got past Whitehouse, but was stopped at the last minute by Scaccia for the defensive save. The four remaining shots on goal were all stopped by Whitehouse to preserve the shutout for the senior.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira's record falls to 2-11 overall.
• In conference play, EC drops top 0-5 on the season.
• The Soaring Eagles posted 10 shots in today's game, nine of which were on goal, which accounts for the team's highest shots on goal percentage of the year (.900).
• O'Donnell recorded seven saves in the matchup, which raised her team lead in the category to 79.
• Katie Carroll '18 tallied a team-leading three shots on goal in today's game, the third-most that she has posted this season.

 
Up Next
EC's season-long four-game homestand will come to a close with a non-conference bout against Bryn Mawr College on Monday, October 16. The contest is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Murray Athletic Center.