ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team earned its second consecutive victory on Saturday afternoon, as the Soaring Eagles dispatched the visiting Fighting Tigers of SUNY Cobleskill by a final score of 7-5 at nearby Notre Dame High School.

The Soaring Eagles (2-2) were forced to fend off a late charge by the feisty visitors from SUNY Cobleskill (0-1), who were determined to not go away quietly. It was a fairly even game throughout, as Elmira outshout the Fighting Tigers, 18-to-11. EC's defense wreaked havoc on SUNY Cobleskill all afternoon, as the Purple and Gold forced the visitors into 43 turnovers.

Six different players found the back of the net for the Soaring Eagles, led by sophomore Sam Shaw '22, who finished with two markers. James Mayer '20 and David Keisler '20 rounded out EC's multi-point producers, as the two seniors each finished with one goal and one assist. Cameron Lambert '21, Isaac Gottheil '22, and Sam Crary '23 rounded out Elmira's goal scorers with a goal apiece.

On the defensive side of the ball, EC was led by senior standout Cam Brickey '20, who controlled the flow of the game from the midfield. The Cuba, New York, native tallied a whopping 13 ground balls and caused a team-best five turnovers. Austin Spiridilozzi '20 locked down the space in front of the Purple and Gold's goal with four caused turnovers and eight ground balls.

The Soaring Eagles got on the board first, as Shaw whipped a shot past SUNY Cobleskill's Christopher Roman on a set play following a timeout with 8:10 on the clock. Mayer doubled EC's lead a little over seven minutes later with a solo effort. The Fighting Tigers had the final say in the opening quarter, however, as Kieran Tierney managed to beat Jacob Mattice '21 with 1:42 on the clock.

Elmira dominated the second quarter with a 9-to-5 advantage in shots. EC's defense forced SUNY Cobleskill into a game-high 12 turnovers during the frame, which allowed the Soaring Eagles to control the flow of the game for a majority of the quarter. Gottheil pushed Elmira ahead, 3-1, just 2:35 into the third quarter with his first goal of the season. As both sides continued to duke it out in the midfield, Shaw broke through the Fighting Tigers' defense with a little under three minutes left to play to make it a 4-1 game.

SUNY Cobleskill potted the first two goals of the second half, to cut EC's lead to 4-3. The Purple and Gold responded in turn just 43 seconds later, as Lambert buried a feed from Keisler to put EC back ahead by two goals heading into the final quarter of play.

Crary started the final quarter off with a bang, as the rookie netted a man-up goal with 12:06 on the clock to give the Soaring Eagles a commanding 6-3 edge. As time continued to wind down, SUNY Cobleskill launched a comeback effort with goals from James Glass and Giovanni Bevaqua, which cut EC's lead to 6-5. Keisler took the game into his hands with 40 seconds left to play, as the senior scored his first goal of the season off of a combination play with Mayer to seal the victory.

In Their Own Words...
Head coach Brendan Gorman shares his thoughts after Elmira earned its second win in a row...
"We're a team that is still learning how to win and we made the second half harder than we needed to. I'm proud that the team was able to pull together enough to come away with a hard-fought win. What we learn in these close games will help us down the road for sure."

News and Notes

• Elmira improved to 2-1 all-time against the fighting Tigers.
• The Soaring Eagles won back-to-back games for the first time since 2016.
• EC outshot SUNY Cobleskill, 38-29.
• Elmira matched its season-high with 23 successful clears.
• Crary has scored in every game to start his collegiate career.
• Shaw registered his third multi-goal outing of the season.
• Keisler and Gottheil each produced their first goals of the year.
• Keisler upped his team-best assist total to three.
• Brickey's 13 ground balls marked a career-high.
• Brickey forced a season-best five turnovers.
• Mattice recorded six saves in goal.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles close out their season-long four-game homestand on Wednesday, March 11, when they host Wells at Notre Dame High School. The contest is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start.