Score: SUNY Geneseo 4, Elmira College 2
Records: SUNY Geneseo (5-5), Elmira (1-9)
Location: College Stadium – Geneseo, N.Y.
 
GENESEO, N.Y. -- After surrendering a pair of first-half goals to SUNY Geneseo, the Elmira College field hockey team rallied with two goals of its own to tie today's non-conference contest at 2-2 in the second half. Unfortunately, Elmira was unable to complete the comeback, as the Knights of Geneseo marched away with a 4-2 win on their home field at College Stadium in Geneseo, New York.
 
The Knights outshot Elmira by 27 in today's contest, 32-5, and generated 17 penalty corners compared to just one for EC. Despite the lopsided numbers, the Soaring Eagles remained competitive in today's non-conference contest from start to finish, making the most of their limited offensive opportunities.
 
Geneseo tested EC's starting goalkeeper, Tina O'Donnell '20, right out of the gates by peppering the second-year keeper with 11 shots in the first 17 minutes of regulation play. O'Donnell did a solid job weathering the attack, but the Knights were able to break through at the 14:35 and 17:04 marks on goals from Morgan Maley and Giovanna Fasanello, giving Geneseo a 2-0 lead.
 
Elmira's offense was limited to just one shot in the first 22 minutes of the first half, but the Soaring Eagles showed how opportunistic they can be in the attacking third of the field when given the chance. EC was awarded a penalty corner at the 22:18 mark, and following a blocked shot 30 seconds later, Atu Machika '18 cut the Geneseo lead to one with her first goal of the season at the 22:59 mark. Machika's goal was unassisted and came off of Elmira's lone penalty corner of the contest.
 
The final 12 minutes of the first half did not generate a goal, as a total of four shots were taken by both teams during that stretch, three of which were blocked and the other turned away by O'Donnell.
 
In the first eight minutes of the second half, Geneseo launched four shots, but three of those attempts missed wide and O'Donnell came up with another big save to keep it a one-goal game. Geneseo's missed opportunities would cost them, as EC rookie Janie Kempf '21 leveled the contest at 45:41 with her team-leading sixth goal of the year. Kempf's game-tying goal was assisted by Machika, who ended today's contest with a season-high three points (1g, 1a).
 
With the score knotted at 2-2, it looked as though Elmira might push through for a game-winning goal. However, the Knights ended all hopes of a comeback win, as Gabriella Clare put Geneseo back on top, 3-2, at the 47:56 mark.
 
From that point on, Elmira was held without a shot, while Clare padded the Geneseo lead with another goal, this one at the 56:46 point of the second half. Clare's back-to-back goals, paired with a strong defensive performance down the stretch, handed the Knights a 4-2 victory.
 
EC's O'Donnell finished today's non-conference tilt with 12 saves in her first start since September 16 against Washington and Jefferson College. It was the third double-digit save outing of the year for the Kutztown, Pennsylvania, native.
 
News and Notes

• Today's game marks the end of a season-long four-game road tour for the Soaring Eagles.
• Kempf scored her team-leading sixth goal of the 2017 campaign.
• Kempf's six goals are the most by an Elmira freshman since Ashley Palmer '16 logged six during the 2012 season.
• Kempf's six-goal total is the most by an Elmira player since Alli Gilbert '16 logged eight in 2014.
• Machika scored her first goal of the season.
• Machika's three points are a season high for the senior.
• For the third time this season O'Donnell has produced double-digit saves.
• The 12-save total is the second-highest output of the year for O'Donnell.
• O'Donnell increased her save total to a team-high 58 for the season.

 
Up Next
Following a season-long four-game road tour, the Soaring Eagles return to their home field at the Murray Athletic Center on Saturday, October 7, to face the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College. The Empire 8 Conference bout is slated for 1:00 p.m. and will be the first of a season-long four-game homestand.