Elmira is back in the NCAA Division III Women's Ice Hockey Championships for a fifth consecutive season, as the Soaring Eagles secured one of the two Pool C bids into this year's national tournament. The Elmira women will make the trip to Adrian, Michigan, to face the second-ranked Bulldogs of Adrian College in the NCAA First Round on Saturday, March 11. This weekend's postseason game, which will be a rematch of last season's NCAA first-round game, is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. and will take place at Adrian's Arrington Arena.
  The anticipation for the 2017 women's lacrosse season has been building, but alas, the first game of the year is finally upon us. Elmira will travel to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to face the Warriors of Lycoming College in the 2017 season opener on Wednesday, March 8, at 4:00 p.m. Three days later on Saturday, March 11, the Purple and Gold will host Keuka College at 1:00 p.m. for EC's home opener on Corning Community College's turf field, located in neighboring Corning, New York.
  After facing five consecutive non-league opponents, the Soaring Eagles resume their United Volleyball Conference (UVC) schedule this week with a trio of matches on the road. Elmira makes the two-hour drive to Rochester, New York, to face Nazareth College at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8. Then on Saturday, March 11, the Elmira men trek down-state to face conference foes SUNY New Paltz and Bard College. Both matches will take place at New Paltz's Hawk Center – EC will take on the Hawks at 11:00 a.m. and will conclude action with a 1:30 p.m. showdown with the Raptors of Bard.
  EC will look to shake off a pair of season-opening setbacks this Saturday, March 11, when the Purple and Gold travel to face the Mules of Muhlenberg College. Saturday's contest will take place at Muhlenberg's Frank Marino Field at Scotty Wood Stadium in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The opening faceoff is set for 1:00 p.m. After an extended break from competition, the Elmira men return to the diamond for a pair of non-league doubleheaders this weekend. The Soaring Eagles head to New Rochelle, New York, to battle the Beavers of the City College of New York at Salesian High School, with a start time of 12:00 p.m. Then on Sunday, the Purple and Gold clash with Penn State Abington in an 11:30 a.m. doubleheader at Alverthorpe Park in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.
  The 2017 competition schedule for the Elmira women begins with a trip to Hempstead, New York, to compete in the STUNT Tournament, hosted by Hofstra University. Teams take the floor starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Hofstra University Fitness Center. The STUNT Tournament marks the first of four consecutive competitions leading up to the 2017 NCA College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida.  
  Despite a strong second-period effort from the Elmira women, the Soaring Eagles would fall just short in EC's last-ever ECAC West Championship Game to top-seeded Plattsburgh State, 2-1. The Cardinals struck for the game's first goal on a controversial play, as it looked as though a Plattsburgh skater punched the puck into the net at the 16:44 mark. Elmira responded well in the second stanza with a game-tying tally by Shannon Strawinski '19 on assists from Sarah Hughson '18 and Louisa Lippiatt Durnell '18.
 
The Purple and Gold created a handful of additional quality scoring chances in the second period, but Plattsburgh's Camille Leonard made 12 of her 21 saves to keep the contest leveled at 1-1. Elmira looked to pull ahead in the final frame, but an EC penalty set the Cardinals up for a power-play score 3:06 into the third. The Plattsburgh strike would hold up through the end of regulation, as the Cardinals captured their fifth consecutive league championship.
 
  The Soaring Eagles tasted victory for the third time in the last four matches by ousting the Wolves of Keuka College in straight sets (25-21, 25-18, 27-25) in Keuka Park, New York, on Wednesday, March 1. As a team, EC attacked at a rate of .287, the team's fourth-best hitting percentage of the season, while compiling 41 kills, the most for the Purple and Gold in a three-set match in 2017. In the third set, the Wolves pulled ahead by as many as three points early, including an 8-5 advantage, but EC responded to knot the score at 10-all. The Soaring Eagles broke away with five unanswered points, which gave them a 22-18 cushion, but Keuka answered with a rally of its own to draw the set even at 24-24. Kills by Matthew Buffum '18, Dan Symer '19, and Jeremy Best '19 secured both the set and match for Elmira.
 
Buffum led the Elmira offense, as the junior middle blocker recorded match highs with 14 kills and a .813 attack percentage, while accumulating a team-leading four blocks. Henry Cleveland '20 finished with six kills, followed by Symer and Mark Kawecki '17 with five apiece. Best dished out 32 assists, a figure that tied his previous career high for helpers in a three-set match, to go along with three kills and three blocks.
 
  In the first home contest of the 2017 season, which was played at nearby Notre Dame High School on Sunday afternoon, the Soaring Eagles were defeated by Keuka, 15-4. Despite the lopsided score, the non-conference matchup looked fairly even in the first quarter. Nevin Olney '18 dodged and spun his way through a handful of Wolves to tally the game's first goal. The visitors responded to score the next two goals and entered the second quarter with a 2-1 advantage. Keuka, however, pulled away in the second stanza by outscoring EC, 5-0, as part of a nine-goal run that bridged the first and second half.
 
Olney and Anthony LaRusso '17 each posted two points on one goal and one assist, while midfielders Colby Runk '18 and David Keisler '20 each netted their first career goals. Sophomore long pole Kevin Schutt '19 collected a team-high six ground balls. First-year defender Donato Cipriano '20 hauled in five ground balls and caused four turnovers. Senior Cameron Prior '17 saved 19 shots in 54:16 of playing time between the pipes.
  In Elmira's only match of the fall, the Soaring Eagles dropped a 6-3 decision to on the road against Oswego State. However, on Saturday, EC avenged that loss with a 7-2 triumph over the Lakers. The Soaring Eagles opened the non-conference match by sweeping all three doubles matches, including an unblemished 8-0 victory by Theo Tran '20 and Patrick Tracey '18 at the top flight. The pair also grabbed singles wins at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. First-year netter Tran picked up his first career singles victory by overcoming a setback in the first set to defeat John Stanford, 4-6, 6-2, 10-2. Tracey dropped just one game to Oswego's Jon Matros en route to a 6-0, 6-1 win. Elmira's No. 3 doubles duo of Anthony Colavito '20 and Yaniv Kogan '18 also swept their matches in both singles and doubles play – Colavito, Kogan, Tran and Tracey were all double-winners for the Soaring Eagles.