ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's soccer team is set to challenge newly-joined Empire 8 Conference affiliate The Sage Colleges on Saturday, October 21. The 12:00 p.m. bout at Campus Field will be the first all-time meeting between these two programs.
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles fell in Empire 8 Conference action to Houghton College by a 2-0 final score on Wednesday evening in Houghton, New York. Despite a 6-to-2 disadvantage in shots in the first half, EC was able to keep the game knotted at 0-0. The Highlanders' finally broke through the Elmira defense in the 52nd minute, and a 64th-minute strike gave the home team a 2-0 lead that the Purple and Gold were unable to overcome. In the first start of her career, sophomore
Ali DeSalvatore '20 made 10 saves. Offensively,
Jordyn Rousselle '18 posted a team-leading two shots, one of which was on goal.
SHAKING UP THE LINEUP
The Purple and Gold have started to shake up their lineup of late, which has given multiple players a chance to see more time on the pitch. DeSalvatore has seen minutes in five games this season and made her first career start against Houghton. Fellow sophomore
Tatiana Ivery '20 has also seen an increase in her playing time recently, as she played a season-high-tying 56 minutes versus the Highlanders. Rookie
Lily Kronick '21 has started the last two contests for the Soaring Eagles, the first two starts of her career.
SCOUTING THE GATORS
After beginning the season with a 4-3 record in its first seven games, The Sage Colleges has hit some rough waters of late, as it is winless in its last six contests heading into Saturday's bout. After this winless streak, the Gators are 4-8-1 overall and 0-4-1 inside conference play. In its most recent result, Sage fell to Houghton, 1-0, at home at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Athletic Complex. The Gators' current struggles coincide with their recent three-game road trip, a stretch in which they went 0-3-0. On the season, Sage is 1-4-0 away from Albany, New York, while its home record stands at 3-4-1. Despite this downturn, the Gators remain one of the most lethal offenses in the conference with their league-leading 2.31 goals per game. At the forefront of this attack has been junior Samantha Trimblett. The forward from Monroe, New York, is fourth in the E8 in both points (1.31) and goals (0.54) per game. Also making noise in the conference is Trimblett's classmate, Dominique Puglisi, who ranks fourth in the E8 in assists (0.50) and eighth in points (0.90) per game. In her 10 appearances this year, Puglisi has recorded nine points on five assists and two goals.
SERIES HISTORY
Not only is tomorrow's contest the first meeting between Elmira and Sage as E8 affiliates, it is their first-ever matchup. The Gators join Marywood and Ramapo as the three teams that the Soaring Eagles will meet for the first time in 2017.
GRADUATING SENIORS
In a pre-game ceremony, Elmira will recognize the graduating members of the team as a part of its Class of 2018 Recognition Day. Rousselle,
Rachel Grampp '18,
Kerri Clark '18,
Kate DeLellis '18,
Amy Sullivan '18,
Sara Kazerouni '18 and
Lindsay Proulx '18 will all be acknowledged for their contributions to the women's soccer program during their collegiate careers. The duo of Kazerouni and Rousselle have been known for their scoring, as they have finished in the top three in points for the Purple and Gold in each of the last three years. Grampp paces the Empire 8 this year in saves per game (9.42), her lone collegiate season playing soccer. Proulx (1,157:00), Clark (1,128:00), DeLellis (1,054:00) and Sullivan (1,051:00), have all been staples in the Soaring Eagles' lineup in 2017, as all four are in the top six of EC's minutes leaders.
UP NEXT
Elmira returns to action on Tuesday, October 24, when it welcomes St. John Fisher College to Campus Field for a conference matchup. The E8 bout is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. and will serve as the Soaring Eagles final home game of 2017.
