ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's soccer team will conclude the 2017 regular season with a road trip to Rochester, New York, as the Soaring Eagles face the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College on Saturday, October 28. The Empire 8 Conference finale will begin at 12:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles scored first against St. John Fisher during Tuesday afternoon's E8 bout at Campus Field but could not make the most of a pair of one-goal leads.
Sara Kazerouni '18 finished a cross from
Kerri Clark '18 in the 19th minute to give the Purple and Gold a 1-0 advantage. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Cardinals needed less than two minutes to level the score at 1-all. It was a similar situation in the second half. In the 57th minute, freshman
Lily Kronick '21 set up Clark with a long pass inside the box, earning her first career point with an assist on Clark's first-ever collegiate goal. That tally had EC up 2-1, but 32 seconds later, Fisher's Elise Olivo scored her first of two back-to-back goals. Olivo recorded the game-winner in the 64th minute, and the Cardinals added an insurance goal in the 80th minute to secure the 4-2 win. In another career first for Elmira, goalie
Meghan Ray '19 made six saves in her first-ever start between the posts.
BREAKOUT GAME
Clark has been a mainstay in the EC lineup since the start of the 2016 season, as she's started all but one game over the past two years. However, the Wading River, New York, native had the best game of her collegiate career against St. John Fisher last time out. Not only did the senior forward net her first goal, but her three-point outing marked her first multi-point game as well. Thanks to her standout performance against the Cardinals, Clark will cap off her final season with career highs across the board in goals (1), assists (2) and points (4).
SCOUTING NAZARETH
With an 11-4-1 overall record, the Golden Flyers are fighting for a chance to earn the top seed in the upcoming E8 Tournament. Nazareth is tied with both Hartwick and Stevens atop the standings with a 6-1-0 record against league opponents. With a head-to-head loss to the Hawks, the Golden Flyers would need Hartwick to drop its finale against Sage to earn home field advantage throughout the tournament. Naz is riding a five-game win streak heading into Saturday's contest, with four of those victories coming by a single goal, including 1-0 defeats of Alfred and Houghton in its last two games. The Golden Flyers rank third in the E8 in both scoring offense (1.813 gpg) and scoring defense (0.75 gpg). In her first season as the full-time starting goalie, sophomore Hannah Miller has been stellar between the posts. Her eight shutouts lead the Empire 8, while she's third in goals-against average (0.74) and tied for fifth in save percentage (.850).
ALL-TIME SERIES
Saturday's meeting between the Soaring Eagles and Golden Flyers will mark the 37th in the all-time series between the two conference rivals. Nazareth boasts a 31-5-0 lead in the series and has won 10 in a row, with EC's last win over Naz coming in 2006.
