Score: Elmira College 3, Morrisville State 2
Records: Elmira (5-7), Morrisville State (1-11)
Location: Murray Athletic Center -- Pine Valley, N.Y.

PINE VALLEY, N.Y. -- The Elmira College field hockey team never trailed on Saturday afternoon against Morrisville State and held off a late run by the Mustangs to clinch a 3-2 non-conference win on Class of 2019 Recognition Day at the Murray Athletic Center.

Prior to the contest, the Purple and Gold recognized their three graduating seniors – Mae Dinh '19, Matilda Kennedy-Butler '19, and Diane LeRoy '19 – and two-thirds of the trio registered at least one point to help guide EC to victory. Dinh produced the first multi-goal game of her career with two tallies, the first of which was assisted by LeRoy.

Dinh and Janie Kempf '21 put the Soaring Eagles ahead 2-0 with back-to-back goals in a span of three-and-a-half minutes. A pass from the right side of the arc from LeRoy found Dinh parked in front of the Morrisville goalie, and the senior from Clinton, New York, was able to turn and finish for the game's initial goal. Shortly thereafter, Kempf received the ball in the middle of the field with plenty of free space in front of her. The second-year forward carried the ball inside the arc, where she rifled a shot into the left corner of the cage to double Elmira's advantage.

In the 37th minute, Dinh logged her second goal of the day by collecting a rebound off the pads of Morgan Dueber, as the Morrisville keeper sprawled the deny Kempf of her second score.

EC's 3-0 lead never vanished, but the Mustangs did not go down without a valiant fight. Morrisville's Grace Hanehan responded 1:33 later to cut the deficit to two goals. In the 60th minute, Elmira goalkeeper Tina O'Donnell '20 thwarted a promising run by the Mustangs with a pair of saves just seconds apart. However, following a penalty corner insert in the 61st minute, Brianna Fischetti was able to find the back to the cage to make it a one-goal contest.

The Soaring Eagles had chances to widen the gap to a comfortable lead in the following minutes, with the best such opportunity coming on a hard-hit shot from the top of the arc by Kempf in the 63rd minute. In the 65th minute, EC earned a penalty corner and was able to get the ball to the goal line, but not past Dueber, who laid out to preserve her team's chance at a comeback.

Although Morrisville advanced the ball deep into the Elmira zone in the closing seconds, an untimely foul turned the ball over to the Soaring Eagles as time expired.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Lauren Silva on getting the win on Class of 2019 Recognition Day...
"It's always a great feeling to honor the seniors with a win on senior day."

Coach Silva when asked about the performance of senior Mae Dinh...
"Mae played wonderfully today. She played her positioning on offensive corners perfectly, and added to her drive to score. She was able to capitalize on two different occasions."

News and Notes

• Elmira improved to 5-7 overall in 2018 after winning four of their last five contests.
• Five wins are tied for the most by the Soaring Eagles since 2015 (5-12).
• The win is the first for EC over Morrisville State in the all-time series.
• Dinh and Kempf are tied with Kennedy-Butler for the team lead in goals with four this season.
• Dinh and Kempf are also tied for the team lead in points with nine apiece.
• O'Donnell is tied for fifth in for the most wins in a single season by a goalie with five.
• Kempf moved into ninth place in program history for career goals with her 13th.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles are back in action at the Murray Athletic Center on Tuesday, October 16, when they host Keuka College in the final non-conference game of the year. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.