ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's soccer team will be in search of its first Empire 8 Conference victory of the season this Saturday, September 23, when the Soaring Eagles travel to face the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College. The E8 bout is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at Nazareth's Golden Flyer Stadium in Rochester, New York.
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles opened the week with a rare Monday evening matchup against a tough squad from the College at Brockport. Elmira hung with the Golden Eagles for most of the contest, much of that having to do with EC's no-nonsense defense that held Brockport to its worst shots on goal percentage of the season (.222). Despite Elmira's strong defensive efforts, Chris Aherne was able to break through for the game-winning score for Brockport in the 83rd minute, solidifying a 1-0 setback for the Purple and Gold.
Jacob Liese '20, Elmira's starting goalkeeper, made three saves between the posts to bring his season total to 25.
SCOUTING NAZARETH
The Golden Flyers look to be on the rise in 2017 with an impressive 4-2-1 overall record and a 1-0-0 mark inside the Empire 8 Conference heading into this weekend's match. Nazareth enters Saturday's contest riding high on a five-game unbeaten streak, which included four consecutive wins until its most recent result, a 0-0 double-overtime tie against RIT on September 19. Three of Nazareth's wins came in the form of shutouts and the Golden Flyers boast four total shutouts on the season. Nazareth and Elmira have three common opponents in Brockport, D'Youville and RIT. The Golden Flyers went 1-1-1 against those opponents, while the Soaring Eagles posted a 0-2-1 record. Three players have two-or-more goals on the year for Nazareth, including the team's leading scorer Matt Basbarre, who will look to add to his three-goal total. Basbarre is also Nazareth's point leader with six, although Mitchell Fors is not far behind with five points on two goals and one assist. Josh Crespo and Christopher Rowland are close behind with four points each. Defensively, Brian Wilkin has seen the lion's share of minutes in goal for the Golden Flyers. He has started in all seven contests and has produced 38 saves, a 0.86 goals-against average and an .864 save percentage. Wilkinson currently leads the Empire 8 Conference in goal-against average and is second in the league in save percentage.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Elmira and Nazareth have a rich history that features 34 all-time matchups dating back to 1980. The Golden Flyers hold an 18-12-4 edge in the all-time series, although the last two meetings resulted in overtime draws. EC will be searching for its first win in the series since 2012, when the Purple and Gold edged Nazareth, 3-2, at Golden Flyer Stadium. Nazareth's last win occurred in 2014, when it bested EC by a 5-1 final score at Campus Field.
LOOKING AHEAD
Elmira continues conference play the following Saturday, September 30, when the Soaring Eagles welcome Alfred University to Campus Field for a 1:00 p.m. bout.
