Elmira vs. St. John Fisher
Game Details	Saturday, Oct. 7 | Pine Valley, N.Y. | 1 p.m.
Game Coverage	Live Stats: Stats Link
St. John Fisher Links	Roster | Schedule | Stats

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College field hockey team will host the reigning Empire 8 Conference champions, the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College, on Saturday, October 7, when the Soaring Eagles begin a season-long four-game homestand at the Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, New York. The league match is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.

LAST TIME OUT
The Purple and Gold dropped a non-conference bout to SUNY Geneseo by a 4-2 final score on Saturday, September 30, in Geneseo, New York. The Knights dominated time of possession, as they outshot Elmira, 32-to-5, and earned 17 penalty corners to EC's one. Despite the lopsided stats, the Soaring Eagles remained competitive, as they were able to make their few offensive chances count. Atu Machika '18 scored the first goal for Elmira, as she was able to bury a rebound past Geneseo's starting goalkeeper, Mia Ludwig, at the 22:59 minute mark for her first goal of the year. EC freshman Janie Kempf '21 also got on the scoreboard, as she knotted the score at 2-all at the 45:41 mark with her team-leading sixth goal of the season. The tie was short-lived, however, as the Knights tallied the game-winning goal 2:15 later. In cage, Tina O'Donnell '20 recorded 12 saves, which increased her season total to a team-leading 58.

BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Standout junior forward Atu Machika '18 made her presence known last weekend against Geneseo, as she finished the contest with a season-high three points (1g-1a). That's the most points for the Machinga, Malawi, native since September 28, 2016, when she scored one goal and posted a pair of assists to propel EC to a 4-0 victory over Keuka College. The three-time Empire 8 All-Conference selection is tied with Emily Selbert '20 for third on the team with four points, just behind Kempf (12) and Alison Mariano '18 (7).

PRIDE OF NEW WOODSTOCK
Elmira head coach Lauren Silva had lofty expectations for Janie Kempf '21 prior to the 2017 season, and it is safe to say the freshman hasn't disappointed. A native of New Woodstock, New York - a small hamlet that sits a brief 10-minute drive south of Cazenovia, New York - leads the team in goals with six  and is tied for the seventh-most in the Empire 8 heading into today's matchup with St. John Fisher. The first-year forward has also been a vital source of energy on offense and in the midfield, and leads all Soaring Eagles with 685 minutes played.

SCOUTING ST. JOHN FISHER
One year removed from posting an unblemished 8-0 record inside Empire 8 Conference play, capturing their first-ever E8 title and making a run to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, the Cardinals are once again the class of the conference in 2017. St. John Fisher enters today's contest with a 10-1 overall record and is first in the league standings at 4-0. The lone loss on the docket for Fisher came at the hands of then-No. 11 Skidmore by a 2-1 score in overtime in the season-opener. On Wednesday, SJFC, which received votes in the most recent NFHCA Top 20 Coaches Poll, defeated No. 17 University of Rochester, 3-2, in overtime. The Cardinals have outscored their opposition 40-to-10 and pace the E8 with 3.64 goals per game. Fueling the offense has been Emily Markarian and Bre Socker, who sit one-two on the conference leaderboard in points and goals. Markarian (14g-3a-31p), a senior who earned NFHCA All-America Second Team honors in 2016, ranks seventh in the nation in goals per game (1.27) and 10th in points per game (2.82). Socker (12g-2-26), a 5-foot-8-inch freshman forward, has tallied five game-winning goals, more than double the next-closest player in the E8. Ashley Maynard, a junior goalie who led all Division III keepers with a .879 save percentage last season, is once again the conference's leader in that category with a .853-percent clip in 2017.

SERIES HISTORY
The Soaring Eagles and Cardinals have met every year since St. John Fisher's inaugural season in 2011. Although Elmira won the first-ever bout on its home field at the Murray Athletic Center by a 2-0 score in 2011, the Cardinals have won five in a row over EC and are 2-1 all-time at the MAC.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Soaring Eagles will remain at the Murray Athletic Center to challenge Wells College in a non-conference bout on Tuesday, October 10. The contest versus the Express is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.