Elmira at Hartwick | Elmira vs. Keystone
Game Details	Saturday, Sept. 9 | Oneonta, N.Y. | 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10 | Pine Valley, N.Y. | 1 p.m.
Game Coverage (Hartiwck)	Live Video: Video Link | Live Stats: Stats Link
Game Coverage (Keystone)	Live Stats: Stats Link
Hartwick Links	Roster | Schedule | Stats
Keystone Links	Roster | Schedule | Stats

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College field hockey team will open Empire 8 Conference play on Saturday, September 9, when the Soaring Eagles trek to Oneonta, New York, to face the Hawks of Hartwick College. The league bout is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start at Hartwick's Wright Stadium. Then on Sunday, September 10, EC will return home to host non-league foe Keystone College at the Murray Athletic Center at 1:00 p.m.

O'DONNELL SHINES IN SECOND CAREER START
Despite the fact that Tina O'Donnell '20 saw limited time in the cage for EC during her debut season in 2016, the sophomore goalie looked like an experienced veteran in the 2017 opener against Scranton. The Kutztown, Pennsylvania, native made just her second collegiate start and played an entire 70:00 minutes for the first time in her career, while racking up a career-high 22 saves. Her 22 stops were the most by an Elmira goalie since 2010, when then-freshman Lauren Thomas '14 set a program single-game record with 35 saves. O'Donnell's save total also ranks as the fourth-most in a single game in all of Division III through the first week of the season.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. HARTWICK
The Hawks have witnessed the majority of the success in the battle of the beaks, as Hartwick has won 16 of the 18 all-time meetings against the Soaring Eagles. EC's first win over the Hawks came in 2004, one of just three teams to hand NCAA Tournament-bound Hartwick a loss that season. The most recent triumph came in the 2015 season, when the Purple and Gold edged the Hawks 3-1, thanks in part to Julie Hockenberger '18 and her 16 saves in goal that afternoon.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Hartwick is coming off a tremendous 2016 campaign, in which it turned a 5-10 overall record from the year prior into a 13-5 mark and a berth into the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. It marked the first winning season for the Hawks since 2009, but they were ousted from the postseason conference tournament in the semifinals by Washington and Jefferson. The Hawks began 2017 the same way they started last season, with wins over RPI and Keuka, but dropped their most recent contest on Wednesday to SUNY Oneonta in overtime by a 2-1 final score.. The 2016 Co-E8 Rookie of the Year, Maria Stalder, has started her sophomore season off on the right foot with six points (2g-2a). Senior forward Claudia Stone leads the team in points with 10 (4g-2a) and has scored at least one goal in each game this year.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. KEYSTONE
The history between the Soaring Eagles and Giants is brief, as today's contest will be just the fourth all-time meeting in the series. Elmira has won the previous three bouts versus Keystone, but the series hasn't been that one-sided. All three meetings were decided by a single goal, including a 2-1 EC victory in La Plume, Pennsylvania, the last time the two teams met in September of 2015. In that game, now-senior Megan Brain '18 scored the game-winning goal and classmate Julie Hockenberger '18 held Keystone without a goal through the first 35:00 minutes with two saves.

SCOUTING THE GIANTS
The Giants entered the 2017 season following a 6-11 overall record and a 3-4 mark inside the Colonial States Athletics Conference (CSAC) last fall. The six wins were the most for Keystone since matching that feat with six victories in 2013. The team returned all four All-CSAC honorees from a year ago, which included First-Teamers Shelby Croasdale and Emily Hawkins. Kayla Bain, a junior forward, earned All-CSAC Second Team accolades even though she led the team with 30 points on 13 goals and four assists a year ago. Despite handing Houghton a one-goal defeat in 2016, the Highlanders avenged the loss by beating the Giants by the same score in the 2017 season opener, with Bain tallying the lone goal for Keystone. Before making the trip to the MAC to face EC, Keystone will Bryn Athyn on Saturday afternoon in their second game of the young season.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Purple and Gold will continue their non-league schedule with a road trip to Oswego, New York, to face the Lakers of Oswego State on Wednesday, September 13, at 4:00 p.m.