Score: Elmira College 2, Nazareth College 0
Records: Elmira (2-6-1, 1-1-0 E8), Nazareth (4-3-1, 1-1-0 E8)
Location: Golden Flyer Stadium – Rochester, N.Y.
 
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A 16-shot differential in favor of the Golden Flyers of Nazareth College did little to deter the efforts of the Elmira College men's soccer team, who went on the road to pick up a crucial 2-0 victory in Empire 8 Conference play this afternoon. The win was EC's first within league play, improving the Soaring Eagles' conference record to 1-1-0.
 
Elmira opened the contest by taking the first three shots of the game, the final of which put the Purple and Gold on top, 1-0, in the 12th minute. Senior captain Tony Barraco '18 set up the scoring play with a nice cutback, which created space for a pass to rookie Michael Courtney '21, who one-timed a shot from eight yards out into the back of the net for the score. The goal was the first of Courtney's brief collegiate career, while the assist was Barraco's first of the 2017 campaign.
 
The Soaring Eagles were held to just one shot for the remainder of the opening half, while Nazareth closed out the half with six shots. Of Nazareth's six attempts, just one made its way on goal, which EC's Jacob Liese '20 snuffed out to maintain the team's 1-0 lead entering the halftime break.
 
Nazareth upped the pressure in the second half with a whopping 16-2 lead in shots, but once again Elmira was able to make the most of its limited chances in the opening minutes of the half. In the 53rd minute, Donte Donegal '18 utilized a cutback move in Nazareth's defensive third to set up a pass across the mouth of the goal to fellow senior, Brendan Wise '18, who finished the play with a left-footed strike to put the Purple and Gold on top, 2-0.
 
From that point on, the Golden Flyers launched an all-out attack, which yielded 14 shots. However, Liese and the EC back line proved to be up to the challenge, once again denying Nazareth on each attempt. Elmira's defense limited Nazareth to just three shots on goal during that time, all of which were stopped by Liese, who finished the match with five saves in a winning effort.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Kevin Brenner reflects on today's 2-0 win…
"Tremendous job by the players today. They stuck to the game plan and our week of training leading up to today's game truly showed. Great job by the attacking players finishing on their chances and also a quality performance from the defending players to keep a clean sheet. It's  not easy to get wins in this conference, let alone on a the road against a very good Nazareth team. Full credit to the players today."
 
News and Notes

• Elmira picked up its first road win of the season and first Empire 8 victory as well.
• The Soaring Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak and a six-game winless streak.
• EC earned its first win over Nazareth since 2012.
• Elmira won its first conference game since September 17, 2016.
• Liese was credited with his first win of the season and first of his two-year EC career.
• It was also Liese's first clean sheet of his collegiate career.
• Courtney scored the first collegiate goal of his EC career.
• Wise scored his first goal as a Soaring Eagle and his first since 2013, when he logged one for his previous team, Clarkson University.
• Barraco and Donegal logged their first assists of the season.
• Barraco has 10 assists in his EC career, just one shy of cracking the program's top-10 leaderboard.

 
Up Next
Elmira returns to action next Saturday, September 30, when the Soaring Eagles host the Saxons of Alfred University. The Empire 8 Conference contest is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at EC's Campus Field.