Score: Lycoming College 18 – Elmira College 9
Records: Lycoming (1-1), Elmira (0-1)
Location: Shangraw Athletic Complex – Williamsport, Pa.
 
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- The Elmira College women's lacrosse team opened the 2017 campaign on the road this evening in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, as the Soaring Eagles clashed with the Warriors of Lycoming College in a non-conference bout. Despite a strong second-half performance, the Elmira women were unable to erase a double-digit first-half deficit, as the Purple and Gold fell by an 18-9 final score.
 
The two adversaries traded goals in the first 1:30 of action, as Leanne Shaw struck for Lycoming and Kelsey Quail '17 tallied for the Soaring Eagles, both scoring unassisted. Lycoming outscored Elmira 4-to-2 over the next 11 minutes to take a 5-3 lead with 17:34 to play in the opening half. Macy Huntley '19 and Rachael Goetz '20 tallied for the Purple and Gold, while Quail picked up assists on both Soaring Eagle goals, giving the senior midfielder three points in the opening half of her first collegiate game since the 2015 season.
 
Lycoming's two-goal lead ballooned to a 13-goal advantage, as the Warriors scored 12 unanswered goals in a 25:52 span, which bridged the first and second halves. Kelly McGinniss fueled the Warrior run during that stretch with four goals, including the team's lone free-position tally of the evening.
 
Hayley Baker '19, a 2016 Empire 8 Conference Honorable Mention selection, ended the run at the 17:30 mark with her first goal of the season on a free-position attempt. Baker's goal sparked a 6-to-1 run down the stretch for Elmira, pulling the Purple and Gold to within single-digits of the Warriors for the first time since the eight-minute mark of the first half. Mae Dinh '18 and Goetz each found the back of the cage twice during the run, while Quail produced her second goal of today's season opener.
 
The two goals from Goetz upped her total to three tallies on the evening, making the Lake View, New York, native the first EC freshman to score thrice in a debut game since the 2006 season. Sarah Young '09 was the last Soaring Eagle rookie to do so, when she found the back of the cage three times against Morrisville State in the 2006 season opener.
 
Unfortunately for Elmira, the late rally came too late in the contest, as the time ran out on EC's comeback hopes and resulted in an 18-9 loss in its first game of the 2017 campaign.
 
Turning Point
Elmira trailed by just two goals in the opening half, 5-3, but a 12-0 run by the Warriors that spanned nearly 26 full minutes sunk EC's hopes of a season-opening win. Looking at the stat sheet, draw controls and turnovers were fairly even during the Lycoming run – EC turned it over 12 times compared to Lycoming's nine, and draw controls were in favor of the Warriors 9-to-5 – but the real discrepancy during this time frame was the shot attempts by both teams. Lycoming outshot Elmira 21-to-3 during the run, putting 12 of its attempts in the net. Of Elmira's three shots, two came on free positions but neither was able to find the mark, as Lycoming's Nicole Gerling made one stop and the other sailed wide.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Lycoming outshot Elmira 36-to-20 and held the lead in shots on goal as well, 26-to-14.
• EC committed 19 turnovers, while Lycoming gave it away 18 times.
• The Warriors led in ground balls, 21-to-16, and in draw controls, 18-to-11.
• Clear attempts were fairly successful for both teams; Lycoming went 16-for-18, while EC was 14-of-19.
• EC went 4-for-7 on free-position attempts, while the Warriors were 1-for-3.
• Quail paced the Purple and Gold with four points on two goals and a team-high two assists.
• Quail was also the team leader in ground balls with four, while also collecting three draw controls.
• Goetz produced a team-high three goals and scooped one ground ball.
• Dinh finished with two goals, two ground balls and tied for the team lead in draw controls with four.
• Baker and Huntley each registered two points on one goal and one assist apiece.
• Baker also collected three ground balls and tied for the team lead in draw controls with four.
• Lindsay Wargo '17 made eight saves in 60 minutes of action.
• Lycoming Gerling got the win after making three saves in 30 minutes of work.
• Casey Martindale came in for relief duty in the second half and stopped two shots.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira dropped its season opener and fell to 0-1 on the year.
• Lycoming's all-time series record against Elmira improved to 7-2.
• Goetz became the first Elmira freshman to score three goals in a debut game since Sarah Young '09 tallied thrice in her rookie debut against Morrisville State (3/21/06).

 
Up Next
Elmira returns to action this Saturday, March 11, when the Soaring Eagles battle the Wolves of Keuka College. The non-conference tilt is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. on the turf field at Corning Community College in Corning, New York.