The second game of the 2017 season will serve as Elmira's home opener, as the Purple and Gold welcome the Wolves of Keuka College for a 1:00 p.m. showdown on Saturday, March 4. The non-conference tilt is set to take place at the turf field at Notre Dame High School, located on the Southside of Elmira, New York. Live stats will be provided for Saturday's contest.
  With a one-sided 6-0 victory over Buffalo State last Sunday, the Elmira women are on their way to the ECAC West Tournament title game. The second-seeded Soaring Eagles will travel to face top-seeded, and No. 1 ranked, Plattsburgh State on Saturday, March 4, at 3:00 p.m. Ticket information will be made available in the coming days, however, for those unable to attend Saturday's title game, there will be live video, stats and audio available to follow along at home.
  Elmira's road tour continues this Wednesday, March 1, when the Purple and Gold make the short trip to Keuka Park, New York, to face the Wolves of Keuka College. The mid-week match is set for 7:00 p.m. at the KC Gymnasium and will be just the second all-time meeting between the two programs.
  The Purple and Gold have enjoyed a two-week break from competition, but will look to get back into the swing of things this Saturday, March 4, when Elmira hosts non-league rival Oswego State at the Murray Athletic Center. Doubles action is slated to begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. and will be followed by six singles matches.  
  Elmira flexed its muscle in Sunday's conference semifinal game against third-seeded Buffalo State, downing the Bengals at the Murray Athletic Center by a 6-0 final score to advance to the ECAC West Championship Game on Saturday, March 4, against Plattsburgh.
 
Meg Lahey '19 and Maddy Jerolman '19 tallied in the first and second periods, respectively, for the Purple and Gold to take a 2-0 lead heading into the final intermission. An offensive surge opened the flood gates in the final frame, as EC exploded for four goals to solidify the victory. Louisa Lippiatt Durnell '18 scored twice for Elmira in the third, the first of which came on the power play. Maddie Evangelous '19 added a shorthanded goal in the third, while Tude punched in her second of the season to round out the afternoon's scoring. Kelcey Crawford '18 got the start in net and turned away 19 shots en route to her sixth shutout victory of the year.
 
  The Soaring Eagles went 2-2 last week against non-conference competition, starting with a mid-week match against Ramapo before ending at the two-day SUNY Poly Invitational. Elmira dropped a tight four-setter to the Roadrunners of Ramapo, as all four sets were decided by three points or less. Then at the SUNY Poly invite, EC opened action with a straight-set win over Wilkes and wrapped-up day two of the invitational with a loss to Rivier and a thrilling five-set victory against Arcadia.
 
Ryan McDonough '18 and Matthew Buffum '18 paced the Purple and Gold with 47 and 40 kills, respectively. McDonough averaged 3.13 kills per set and racked up six service aces, 40 digs and eight total blocks. Buffum produced a 2.67 kills per set average, while totaling three service aces, eight digs and 11 blocks. Several Soaring Eagles logged career highs during week including: Buffum's 19 kills against Ramapo; Matt Straney '20 and his seven blocks against Ramapo; Ryan Branigan '19 and his 21 digs against Arcadia; McDonough's 17 digs against Arcadia; Mark Kawecki '17 and his 16 digs against Arcadia; Jeremy Best '19 and his six blocks against Arcadia.
 
  In a wild back-and-forth season-opening matchup against Neumann University, the Elmira men would come up just short on the road by an 11-9 final score to the Knights. Neither side led by more than two goals at any point during the contest, but both teams also held two-goal leads during the contest.
 
After a 4-4 first half, Elmira opened the third quarter with back-to-back goals in a 2:08 span from Joe Greene '17 and Seth Amstein '19, giving the Purple and Gold a 6-4 advantage with 7:21 left in the quarter. However, the Knights went on to score five of the next six goals to reclaim a two-goal lead, 9-7, with 11:03 remaining in regulation. Tallies from Nevin Olney '18, Neumann's Sergio Plesati, and EC's Anthony LaRusso '17 made it a one-goal game with 2:39 on the clock. Unfortunately for Elmira, another goal by the Knights concluded the afternoon's scoring and sealed a two-goal win for Neumann. Elmira's Cameron Prior '17 made 19 saves en route to an Empire 8 Goalie of the Week accolade.