ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team continues Empire 8 Conference play tonight, as the Soaring Eagles travel to Rochester, New York, to take on the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Fisher's Growney Stadium.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Elmira suffered a 21-1 setback on the road to Alfred in E8 action last weekend. The Saxons shutout EC in the first half, 8-0, before Nevin Olney '18 put the Purple and Gold on the scoreboard with his 13th tally of the season early in the second half. However, Alfred would go on to score 13 unanswered goals en route to the win. Elmira's Cameron Prior '17 made 12 saves in 60 minutes of action for the Purple and Gold.
 
CONFERENCE LEADER: With 12 saves against the Saxons, Elmira's standout goalie Cameron Prior increased his season total to 135 stops. His 135 saves are second only to Houghton's Jorge Medina within the Empire 8 Conference, however, Prior's 16.88 saves per game average is head-and-shoulders above every other goalie in the E8. Not only is the 16.88 goals per game average tops in the league, it also ranks as the sixth-best average in the country.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: St. John Fisher could not have asked for a better start to the 2017 season, as the Cardinals picked up five wins in their first six games. Since that time, Fisher has gone 2-5 with three of those losses coming against league opponents and enters tonight's bout with two consecutive setbacks. Despite the five losses, Fisher has been competitive in a handful of those games, as three were decided by two goals or less, while two went into overtime. The Cardinals have a proven knack to score when playing a man-up and boast the conference's second-highest extra-attacker scoring percentage (.435). Fisher is led on offense by a pair of upperclassmen in Andrew Rosso and Nick Papayanakos, who boast 40 and 32 points respectively. The two natives of Central New York are tied for the team lead in goals scored with 27 apiece, while Rosso paces the Cardinals with 13 assists. Tanner Swan has gotten the lion's share of minutes between the posts with 12 starts. The senior netminder is 6-5 on the year with 131 saves and an 8.56 goals-against average, a mark that ranks second in the Empire 8.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Since their first all-time meeting back in 2002, the two feathered foes have met 15 times entering tonight's contest. The Soaring Eagles opened the series by winning the first five meetings, but the Cardinals have controlled things ever since and head into tonight's bout riding a 10-game winning streak against Elmira.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: Elmira is back in action this Saturday, April 22, when the Soaring Eagles host the Ducks in Empire 8 Conference action. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at EC's Campus Field.