ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Elmira College men's soccer will take on its final non-conference foe this evening, as the Soaring Eagles travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to take on the King's College (Pa.) Monarchs. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium.
LAST TIME OUT
Elmira was less than four minutes away from sealing an all-important Empire 8 win against the defending conference champion St. John Fisher Cardinals. However, a late goal by the Cardinals in the 87th minute proved to be the difference, as the two feathered foes played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw at Campus Field. St. John Fisher dictated much of the first-half play, but the Soaring Eagles flashed just how opportunistic they can be, as senior
Donte Donegal '18 scored on EC's first shot attempt of the contest in the 28th minute.
Michael Courtney '21 set up the goal with a one-time through ball that split a pair of defenders and placed Donegal inside 10 yards with a clear path to goal. Rookie netminder
Jacob Mattice '21 once again received the starting nod and made four saves in 110:00 of work. For his efforts, Mattice was crowned the Empire 8 Conference Defensive Player of the Week, marking the second time this season an Elmira goalkeeper has claimed the award.
SCOUTING KING'S
The Monarchs have already clinched a postseason berth into the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Tournament thanks to a 10-5-1 overall record and a 4-2-0 mark within league play. King's is coming off of back-to-back one-goal losses, both against conference opponents, which snapped the Monarchs' eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2). The majority of King's success has taken place away from its home pitch at McCarthy Stadium, as the Monarchs boast a 6-1-0 road record compared to an even 4-4-1 mark at home. Liam McLoughlin has shined in his freshman season for the Monarchs with a team highs in points (24) and goals (11). The rookie owns a trio of multi-goal games, including a pair of hat-tricks, but has been held scoreless over the team's last four contests. Close behind is August Axtman, who is second on the team in goals (8) and enters Wednesday night's contest with four tallies in his last four games. Defensively, Owen Geedey has played the lion's share of minutes in goal for the Monarchs. He owns a 10-5-1 record with 44 saves, a .745 save percentage and a 0.88 goals-against average.
SERIES HISTORY
Elmira and King's have faced each other 11 times dating back to the 1980 season. The Monarchs hold a slight 5-4-2 edge in the all-time series, but have not lost to the Soaring Eagles in six straight meetings (4-0-2). Elmira's last win in the series dates back to the 1991 season, when the Soaring Eagles clipped the Monarchs by a 1-0 final score at Campus Field.
LOOKING AHEAD
Elmira will turn its sights on what is undoubtedly the most important match of the year, as the Soaring Eagles look to clinch a postseason berth in a Friday, October 27, showdown with the Gators of the Sage Colleges. The opening kickoff for the E8 contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Albany College of Pharmacy's ACPHS Turf Athletic Field.
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's soccer team heads to Albany, New York, on Friday, October 27, for a must-win Empire 8 Conference bout against The Sage Colleges in the Soaring Eagles' 2017 regular season finale. The tilt is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Athletic Complex.
LAST TIME OUT
EC topped non-conference foe King's College (Pa.) on Wednesday evening in La Plume, Pennsylvania, by a 2-1 final score. Elmira stormed out to an early 1-0 lead in the bout with a goal in the 16th minute from
Brendan Wise '18. The Elmira, New York, native received a long pass from
Tony Barraco '18, before eluding a Monarch defender and tallying his second goal of the year. The Soaring Eagles doubled their lead with a Barraco strike in the 66th minute, when the Liverpool, New York, native tipped in a free kick from
Josh Broyles '21. A 78th-minute goal by King's reduced the margin to one point, 2-1, but that was the closest that the Monarchs would come. The freshman duo of
Jacob Mattice '21 and
Anthony Lipp '21 split time in net for Elmira, as the former made three saves in 45 minutes to earn the victory, and the latter stopped two shots in 45 minutes of relief.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The race for the final two spots in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament is a tightly contested one. Stevens Institute of Technology has sealed the No. 1 overall seed and will host the tournament and Nazareth College holds the second seed with 12 conference points. While Alfred University and Sage currently hold the final two postseason spots with 10 conference points, while Elmira and St. John Fisher are right on their tails, as they are tied with seven conference points apiece. EC must win Saturday's bout if it wants to get in the conference tournament, as a Purple and Gold win and an Alfred win or tie seals the fourth seed for Elmira. If both EC and St. John Fisher win their final games, there would be a four-way tie for the final two spots, which will be broken by each team's conference goal differential.
SCOUTING THE GATORS
Sage enters Friday's contest with an 8-5-2 overall record and a 3-2-1 mark in E8 play. The Gators currently hold the fourth and final spot in the league's tournament standings. In its most recent bout, Sage handed Alfred University a 3-0 loss in Alfred, New York. The Gators own the conference's most lethal attack this season, as they pace the Empire 8 in goals per game (2.07). Leading this potent offense has been junior forward River Seybolt, who paces the conference in points (2.07) and goals per game (0.93), both of which rank 25th nationally. Seybolt has recorded 31 points on 14 goals and three assists. The next closest player on the league leaderboard has 18 points this year. The product of Selden, New York, also took sole procession of Sage's all-time point's record this season. In goal, junior keeper Mike Chiaravalloti has also done a fantastic job, as he ranks second in the league in saves per game (5.75).
SERIES HISTORY
Elmira and Sage have squared off twice in the two programs' histories, with the Gators coming away with one-goal victories in both of those bouts. The most recent contest was for the 2012 ECAC Championship, which the Gators won by a 1-0 final score at Campus Field. Despite the two previous meetings, Friday's contest will mark the first contest between EC and Sage as E8 affiliates.
