ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team plays in its final home contest of the 2017 season tomorrow afternoon, when the Soaring Eagles host the Pioneers of Utica College in Empire 8 Conference action. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at EC's Campus Field. Prior to the start of tomorrow's contest, Elmira will honor its seven graduating members of the Class of 2017.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Soaring Eagles faced their second straight nationally-ranked opponent last time out, as the Elmira men dropped a hard-fought 19-4 decision on the road to No. 10-ranked Ithaca College. Ithaca rattled off nine consecutive goals to open the contest, before Elmira's Nevin Olney '18 found the back of the cage with 3:49 on the first-quarter clock. It marked the 16th goal of the season for the third-year attacker. Following Olney's goal, the Bombers went on a 7-0 run that bridged the first and second quarters to take a hefty 16-1 lead. Senior Anthony LaRusso '17 ended the Ithaca run with back-to-back unassisted goals in the final minute of the opening half, as the product of North Conway, New Hampshire, tallied at the 59- and 48-second marks. The two goals from LaRusso set up a mini 3-0 run for the Soaring Eagles, as second-year defender Kevin Schutt '19 found the back of the cage just 10 seconds into the third quarter to trim the Bomber lead to 16-4. This was as close as Elmira would get, as Ithaca held EC scoreless for the remainder of the contest, while adding three insurance goals of its own.
 
GOOD GAME FOR GROUNDIES: Elmira scooped up 37 ground balls in the game against nationally-ranked Ithaca. The 37 ground balls is the highest total EC has accumulated since registering a season-high 51 against Houghton on March 29 of this season.
 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: After piecing together a nice five-game winning streak midway through the season, the Pioneers have collected two wins in their last five games, which included a 13-10 loss to E8 rival Hartwick College last time out. Utica's overall record stands at 9-6 on the year, which already matches the most wins the program has recorded. With a 3-4 league record, the Pioneers have been eliminated from E8 postseason contention. Brickman House leads the Utica offense with 58 points on 34 goals and a team-high 24 assists. His 58 points are tied for fourth most in program history, while his 24 helpers rank seventh in UC history. Dominic Castiglia is Utica's leading goal scorer with 42 tallies on the season, a mark that ranks second in the Empire 8 and is tied for fourth in UC's single-season history. Parker Smith has been a mainstay between the posts this season with 13 starts in 13 appearances. He has logged 711 minutes of action for the Pioneers and has racked up 154 saves to go along with a 13.15 goals-against average.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Elmira and Utica have squared off 17 times in their respective histories. The Pioneers hold a 10-7 lead in the all-time series and have won five consecutive games entering tomorrow's league bout. Elmira's last victory in the series dates back to the 2011 season, when the Purple and Gold clipped the Pioneers at Campus Field by an 11-7 final score.