ELMIRA, N.Y. -- With four Empire 8 Conference matches left on the 2017 docket, this weekend's league bout between Elmira College men's soccer and Utica College will undoubtedly have a significant effect on the tournament landscape. The Soaring Eagles battle the Pioneers at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 7, on Utica's home turf at the Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
LAST TIME OUT
Two quick goals in succession for the home Thoroughbreds of Skidmore proved to be more than enough offense to hand the Soaring Eagles their second consecutive loss. Elmira surrendered goals in the 15th and 22nd minutes, which sent EC into the halftime break with a 2-0 deficit. It looked as though Elmira cut the Skidmore lead in half in the 55th minute, but EC's goals was called back due to offsides. The missed opportunity would haunt the Elmira men, as the Thoroughbreds added another goal in the 60th minute to secure a 3-0 victory. All three Elmira goalies got into the match:
Jacob Liese '20 made three saves in the first half,
Anthony Lipp '21 turned away two shots in the second half and
Jacob Mattice '21 made his first collegiate appearance with 22:21 minutes of action.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
After suffering three consecutive losses, the Utica men look to be back on track after their most recent contest, a 4-1 victory over visiting SUNY Canton. The win over the Roos improved Utica's overall record to 6-7, however, the Pioneers are still searching for their first win within league play (0-3). Saturday's game will mark the end of a three-game homestand for the Pioneers, who have amassed a 3-3 record on their home turf this season. Alex Purcell and Thoms Muller share the team lead in goals with four apiece. However, Julian Fonseca has been the sparkplug to the Utica offense with a team-leading 16 points on three goals and a conference-high 10 assists. As a team, Utica has scored 19 goals this season, with Fonseca having a hand in 68.4-percent of the team's goals. According to the most recent NCAA statistical rankings, Fonseca is fifth in the nation in total assists. Defensively, Jonathan Side has been UC's go-to option between the posts with 811:51 minutes. He is 3-5-0 on the year with 53 saves, a 1.44 goals-against average and an .803 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
The Soaring Eagles and Pioneers have met 24 times dating back to 1985 and have faced each other annually since the 1999 season. Elmira owns a 16-8-0 lead in the all-time series and heads into the matchup with two consecutive victories over the Pioneers, including a 6-1 win on Campus Field a year ago.
LOOKING AHEAD
Elmira continues its conference schedule on Saturday, October 14, when the Soaring Eagles open a three-game homestand at Campus Field, starting with E8 foe Stevens Institute of Technology. The league bout is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
