ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Coming off of its first Empire 8 Conference victory of the 2017 campaign, the Elmira College women's lacrosse team will flock to Hoboken, New Jersey, for a conference contest against Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday, April 19, at 3:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Soaring Eagles tasted victory for the third time in their last four games on Saturday, April 15, in a lopsided 14-4 victory over Alfred University on Campus Field. The Purple and Gold received a career effort from freshman
Rachael Goetz '20, who tallied a game- and season-high six goals. Goetz netted the game's first two goals to give EC a lead it would never relinquish. After Alfred's Miranda Gilbert cut the lead back down to one at 3-2, the Soaring Eagles scored eight in a row. Goetz,
Kelsey Quail '17, and
Rachel Grampp '18 each scored twice during the momentous run, which all but secured the blowout victory. In the final 5:15 of regulation,
Mae Dinh '18 tallied her second goal of the afternoon and Goetz deposited two more to reach the final score. In addition to her three points (2g, 1a), Quail collected a career-high eight draw controls and goalie
Lindsay Wargo '17 surrendered a season-low four goals while making eight stops.
GOETZ GETS GOING: Goetz had one of the finest afternoons by an Elmira freshman in recent memory on Saturday. She went off for a season-high six goals – her fourth multi-goal performance of the year – to lead the Soaring Eagles past the Saxons. On the season, she leads the Soaring Eagles with 17 goals and is second in points with 19. Not only did her six goals tie the team's single-game high for 2017, but it marks the most by a freshman since the program's all-time leading scorer,
Moorea Spoljaric '16, matched the feat against Hartwick on April 7, 2013.
GOALIE OF THE WEEK: On Monday afternoon, Wargo was recognized by the Empire 8 as the Goalie of the Week after Saturday's victory. The Madison, Connecticut, native made eight stops while limiting the Saxons to just four goals, the fewest she's allowed this season and the fewest she has surrendered in any game over her four-year in which she has played the entire 60 minutes. The senior netminder ranks second in the conference with 8.70 saves per game and has increased her career total to 339 saves, third-most in program history.
SCOUTING STEVENS: The Ducks enter their midweek matchup against the Soaring Eagles with a 10-3 overall record and an unblemished 5-0 mark inside E8 play. Stevens has won five of its last six games, with all of those victories coming against conference opponents. The lone loss in that span was against then-No. 2 The College of New Jersey by a 12-3 score. Since then, the Ducks have hosted and defeated both Nazareth College (11-8) and Utica College (12-8). The Stevens offense is led by an early favorite for the Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Award, attacker Kyra Bednarski, who has filled the void left by the graduation of former All-American and E8 Player of the Year, Erika Wilcox. Bednarski paces the team in points (60) and goals (39), and after being limited to a season-low one goal by TCNJ, she tied her season high with six versus Utica. On the opposite end of the field, the Ducks own the league's lowest team goals-against average (6.15), thanks to goalie Stephanie Schnelzer, who is second among qualifiers with a 6.45 goals-against average. Schnelzer, a reigning Empire 8 All-Conference First Teamer, has been named the E8 Goalie of the Week three times in 2017.
SERIES HISTORY: Since Stevens joined the Empire 8 Conference, the Ducks have maintained control of the series against Elmira. EC hasn't been able to beat its New Jersey rival in nine tries, including an 0-4 record when playing in Hoboken.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Soaring Eagles will continue their conference road trip on Saturday, April 22, when the Elmira women trek to Rochester, New York, for a 4:00 p.m. tilt against Nazareth College.
