The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) announced its 2017 Hall of Fame inductee class last Friday evening, and among the 10 individuals to be enshrined is former EC women's ice hockey great Laura Hurd '05. Hurd will be inducted into the ECAC Hall of Fame on Friday, April 28, at the ECAC Hall of Fame Gala and Induction Ceremony, which will be held at the Matrix Conference & Banquet Center in Danbury, Connecticut. The cost to attend the induction ceremony is $175 per person, or $1,700 to reserve a table for 10. The deadline to RSVP and to purchase tickets is Friday, April 21.    After facing a trio of conference opponents a week ago, the Soaring Eagles return to their non-conference schedule this week. Elmira hits the road on Thursday, March 16, for a 7:00 p.m. tilt against D'Youville College, a team EC defeated by a 3-0 score earlier this season. The match against D'Youville concludes a stretch of nine consecutive road contests, as the Purple and Gold welcome the Bearcats of Baruch College to Speidel Gymnasium on Saturday, March 18, at 11:00 a.m.
  Winter weather forced a postponement to last weekend's game against Muhlenberg College, but the Soaring Eagles are eager to get back into the swing of things with a non-conference home bout this weekend. Elmira hosts the Tigers of SUNY Cobleskill this Saturday, March 18, at the turf field at Notre Dame High School. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
  The 39th season of EC softball season begins this Saturday, March 18, as the Soaring Eagles host the Mavericks of Medaille College. Elmira's highly-anticipated season debut is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. at Eldridge Park Stadium, located just a few blocks north of the EC campus.
  Elmira has enjoyed nearly two full weeks off of competition, but will look to pick up where it left off, as the Purple and Gold gear up for a pair of non-league matches. The Soaring Eagles open the week's action on the road on Friday, March 17, with a 4:00 p.m. showdown against the Wildcats of the Pennsylvania College of Technology. EC concludes the week the following day, March 18, with a 1:00 p.m. match at the Murray Athletic Center against the Knights of Neumann University.
  Frigid temperatures forced a cancellation to last weekend's doubleheader series in New Rochelle, New York and Abington, Pennsylvania. However, the lack of action has done little to dampen EC's excitement for this weekend's trip to Radnor, Pennsylvania, for the Cavalier Invitational, hosted by Cabrini University. The Soaring Eagles open the invite with two games on Saturday, March 18, beginning with a 9:00 a.m. showdown against the University of Valley Forge and an 11:30 a.m. clash with Wells College. EC concludes the invitational the following morning at 11:30 a.m. against the Cavaliers of Cabrini.
  Elmira took part in its first-ever STUNT Tournament over the weekend, facing the likes of Hofstra and Pace in Hempstead, New York. EC went 1-1 at the event, which will serve as a fine tune-up for this weekend's competition-opening, the Battle at the Capitol in National Harbor, Maryland. EC takes the mat on Saturday, March 18, at 4:33 p.m. and again on Sunday, March 19, at 5:09 p.m.
 
  In a wild nine-goal affair, the fifth-ranked Soaring Eagles fell to second-ranked Adrian in first-round action, 5-4, which eliminated Elmira from the 2017 NCAA Division III Championships. Elmira trailed by a goal in the opening 1:04 of regulation, but a goal from Sarah Hughson '18 with one minute left on the clock sent the game into the first intermission level at 1-1. The momentum from Hughson's tally carried over into the second period, as Meghan Fonfara '18 gave the Soaring Eagles their first and only lead of the contest on the power play at the 4:42 mark.
 
Special teams continued to be a factor in the playoff tilt, as Adrian struck for back-to-back power-play goals at the 8:26 and 14:39 marks, giving the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead heading into the final intermission. The back-and-forth nature of the contest continued in the third period with Rachel Grampp '18 tying things up at three apiece 9:46 into the final frame. Adrian responded four minutes later with what appeared to be the game-winning score, but a shorthanded goal by Maddy Jerolman '19 at 15:04 sent the playoff game into overtime. Despite multiple chances for EC in the overtime session, Adrian's Kaylyn Schroka provided the game-winning goal with exactly one minute remaining on the clock.
 
  Elmira resumed its United Volleyball Conference (UVC) schedule last week with a trio of league matches on the road. The Soaring Eagles opened with a straight-set loss to Nazareth on March 8, before heading to New Paltz, New York, for a pair of conference matches. EC fell to third-ranked SUNY New Paltz, 3-0, but wrapped-up the afternoon with a convincing 3-0 blanking of Bard.
 
Matthew Buffum '18, Ryan McDonough '18 and Dan Symer '19 all averaged 2.33 kills per set or higher for the week. Buffum led the group at 2.78 kills per set and hit a team-best .452 for the week (25k-6e-42ta), while registering four blocks. McDonough and Symer finished with 2.38 and 2.33 kills per set, respectively. Jeremy Best '19 produced 73 assists and a team-leading 20 digs (2.22 per set).
 
  It was a tough season-opening loss for the Soaring Eagles last Wednesday evening, as the Elmira women suffered an 18-9 setback on the road to Lycoming College. EC trailed by just two goals, 5-3, with 17:34 to play in the first half, but a 12-0 run by the Warriors that spanned nearly 26 full minutes sunk EC's hopes of a season-opening victory. Kelsey Quail '17 paced the Purple and Gold with four points on two goals and assists, and also finished with the team lead in ground balls with four. Freshman Rachael Goetz '20 had a solid debut with the Soaring Eagles, scoring thrice in her first collegiate game. The three-goal effort was the first by an Elmira freshman in a debut game since Sarah Young '09 found the back of the cage three times against Morrisville State in the 2006 season opener.
 
  Elmira competed in its first-ever STUNT Tournament on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, last Saturday. The EC women faced Hofstra and Pace in a four-quarter head-to-head format, which mimic most traditional collegiate sports. Elmira fell 21-7 to Division I Hofstra, before taking down Division II Pace by an 18-8 final score.