Score: Elmira College 16, Houghton College 5
Record: Elmira (1-4, 1-1 E8), Houghton (1-7, 0-2 E8)
Location: Notre Dame High School - Elmira, New York

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team tallied 12 goals in the second half of Wednesday's Empire 8 Conference tilt against Houghton College to break a halftime stalemate and earn its first victory of the season by a score of 16-5. Leading the late charge was Anthony LaRusso '17, who had a career day with six second-half goals and a career-high seven points.

The two sides played an evenly-matched 30 minutes to begin the game, as the Soaring Eagles and Highlanders both netted a pair of goals in each quarter, entering the halftime intermission knotted at 4-all. However, in the second half, EC outshot its conference counterpart (26-to-8), gather more ground balls (31-to-12), won the battle at the X (10-to-5), and was perfect on clears.

Elmira needed only 1:08 in the second half to break the tie. On EC's first possession of the half following a Houghton turnover, Colby Runk '18 raced down the field to successfully clear the ball, before dishing it off to Nevin Olney '18, who buried his fourth goal of the game passed Highlander goalie Jorge Medina.

That goal sparked the beginning of a dominate 9-0 run for the Soaring Eagles, one that bridged the third and fourth quarters, putting the game out of reach for good. Following Olney's tiebreaker, third-year midfielder Jacob Magnoli '18 brought the Elmira faithful to their feet with back-to-back goals, the first two tallies of his collegiate career.

LaRusso single-handedly turned the game into a rout from there. The senior registered all of his game- and career-high six goals in the final 15:16 of action, beginning with consecutive scores a mere 12 seconds apart to cap off the third quarter. After LaRusso posted his first goal with just 16 ticks left in the period, Kevin Schutt '19 secured the ground ball just outside the offensive zone on the ensuing faceoff, and the second-year long-stick middie quickly dumped it over the top of the Houghton defenders to LaRusso. The fourth-year attacker hauled in the pass and beat Medina low, increasing the lead to 9-4.

Just over a minute into the fourth, Wyatt Katsos '17 ripped a bullet of a shot from the left slot to give the Soaring Eagles a six-goal cushion. LaRusso then light up the scoreboard with a natural hat trick, scoring three in a row in a span of 3:04. The senior duo connected for EC's 12th goal, as Katsos fed LaRusso in the slot and the pride of North Conway, New Hampshire, deked out Medina on the doorstep of the crease.

Houghton's Cole Chapman finally snapped the Highlanders' nearly 30-minute long scoreless drought to reduce the deficit to 13-5.

In the final seven-and-a-half minutes, Elmira received three more goals, one each from LaRusso, Joe Greene '17, and Sal Magliocco '17, with the latter marking the first of Magliocco's lacrosse career.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Preston Chapman on what fueled his team's offensive success in the second half …
"They were sharing the ball and making the extra pass, and we shot the ball much better in the second half. Anthony LaRusso, in particular, answered the challenge that we gave him at halftime and stepped up."
 
Coach Chapman on the EC defense allowing just one goal after halftime…
"(Goalie Cameron Prior) and the defense played outstanding for the entire game. Being able to hold Houghton to just one second-half goal can be attributed to our performance on the faceoff and our ability to cause turnovers. The defensive performance really helped offense succeed on the other end."

Coach Chapman on using the momentum from the victory heading into Saturday's matchup with SUNY Geneseo…
"This win is one that we can definitely build on. Getting a win today was something that we talked about all week and the guys answered the call. The team should be proud of its effort, while realizing that it is going to need a bigger one on Saturday."

Turning Point
Elmira broke the halftime tie and built a three-goal lead, 7-4, by scoring a trio of goals to start the third quarter, but it was LaRusso's back-to-back scores in the final seconds of the period that all but solidified the win. The Soaring Eagles needed only 12 seconds to find the back of the net, win the ensuing faceoff, and score again, with the second goal coming just four seconds before the period expired. Giving up consecutive goals in such a short time frame wiped away any wind that may have been left in the Highlanders' sails on the breezy afternoon.

Inside the Box Score

• Elmira finished with a hefty advantage in shots, 49-to-29.
• The Soaring Eagles performed well in the faceoff circle, winning 14-of-22 draws.
• EC dominated in the ground ball category, besting the Highlanders 51-to-33.
• Elmira finished the game 15-for-20 on clear attempts, while Houghton went 11-for-27.
• The Soaring Eagles went 1-for-6 on man-up opportunities, while the Highlanders finished 3-for-5.
• LaRusso paced all players with seven points and six goals.
• Olney was next for EC with four points, all of which were goals.
• Katsos posted three points on two tallies and one assist.
• Runk and Magnoli also recorded multi-point efforts, the former with a pair of assists and the latter with two goals.
• Cameron Prior '17 made eight saves between the pipes for the Soaring Eagles.
• Schutt picked up a game-high nine ground balls.
• Jordan Robertson '17 recorded a game-high three caused turnovers.

News and Notes

• Elmira improves to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in Empire 8 play on the season.
• The Soaring Eagles remain unblemished in matchups against the Highlanders, owning a perfect 5-0 all-time record.
• Elmira's 16 goals are a new season high and the most that it has tallied since a 22-3 triumph over Alfred State on April 26, 2014.
• EC's 14 wins in the faceoff circle are a season high.
• LaRusso set new career highs in both points (7) and goals (6).
• With seven points LaRusso took sole possession of first place on EC's scoring leaders with 12 points on 10 goals and two assists.
• Seven points are the most by a Soaring Eagle in a single game since David Evert '14 and Brady Richards '14 notched eight and seven, respectively, against Alfred State on April 26, 2014.
• Olney's four tallies are a new career high for the third-year attackman.
• Schutt's nine ground balls are a season high and the second-most of his career.
• Runk's seven ground balls are a new career high for the junior midfielder.
• Magnoli and Magliocco each scored the first goals of their respective careers.
• Jonathan Moller '20 earned his first career point with an assist.

Up Next
The Elmira men will look to for a second consecutive win on Saturday, April 1, when the Soaring Eagles visit SUNY Geneseo for a non-conference contest at 1:00 p.m.