ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's lacrosse team will continue play inside the Empire 8 Conference with a home matchup against the Hartwick College Hawks on Tuesday, April 24. The Soaring Eagles will host the Hawks on Campus Field at 4:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles suffered a 14-10 defeat to The Sage Colleges on Saturday, April 21, at nearby Ernie Davis Academy in the first all-time meeting between the two schools. Elmira opened the contest by scoring three of the first four goals. However, a 6-1 run by the Gators swung the momentum in favor of the road team, as Sage took a 7-4 lead into the halftime break. EC began a comeback in the second stanza, cutting the deficit to just three, 13-10, with 3:35 remaining in the regulation. The rally came up just short, as the Soaring Eagles were held scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Louisa Lippiatt Durnell '18 led the way for Elmira with a single-game career-high four points (2g-2a).
Sarah Hughson '18 also had a stellar outing, as she scored three goals to go along with a career-high 11 caused turnovers.
Rachael Goetz '20 (2g),
Rachel Grampp '18 (1g-1a) and
Kelcey Crawford '18 (2a) rounded out EC's multi-point scorers.
CRAWFORD CAUSES CHAOS
It's hard to miss
Kelcey Crawford '18 when she's roaming the defensive end of the field for the Soaring Eagles. Not only is she a vocal leader on the field, but the fourth-year defender is aggressive, tenacious, and as quick as they come. Her no-nonsense style of play has allowed the Purcellville, Virginia, native to climb into second place in the Empire 8 Conference in both ground balls per game (4.00) and caused turnovers per game (2.50). In just eight games, she has taken over the team lead in ground balls with 32 on the year, increasing her career total of 136. With just five more, Crawford would tie Emily Zimmerman '11 (141) for 10th-place all-time in program history.
SERIES HISTORY
Today's tilt will mark the 19th all-time meeting between the Soaring Eagles and Hawks. Hartwick owns a slim 10-8 advantage in the series after defeating Elmira by a 10-5 final score last season. EC's last victory dates back to the 2014 season, when the Soaring Eagles scored three consecutive goals to close out regulation play to clip Hartwick, 15-14. Between 2008 and 2014, EC went on a roll with seven straight wins over the Hawks.
SCOUTING HARTWICK
After beginning the season with seven wins in their first 10 games, the Hawks have cooled off as of late. Hartwick had a five-game win streak snapped with two consecutive losses and enters today's bout with a 7-5 record. The two aforementioned losses were against No. 19-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology (19-4) and Utica College (12-8), which dropped Hartwick's E8 record to 3-3. The offense features the league's top goal scorer, senior attacker Ashley Warner, and the leader in assists, sophomore attacker Hailey Pooler. Warner has scored a whopping 4.67 goals per game, while Pooler has dished out 3.42 assists per game.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Soaring Eagles conclude the road portion of their 2018 schedule against No. 20 St. John College on Saturday, April 28. The opening draw between Elmira and the nationally-ranked Cardinals is set for 1:00 p.m. at Growney Stadium in Rochester, New York. Then on Sunday, April 29, the Purple and Gold will return to Campus Field for Class of 2018 Recognition Day and the regular-season finale versus SUNY Canton at 1:00 p.m.
