ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Lutho Mlunguza '23 tallied three first-half goals to lead the Elmira College men's soccer team past Keuka College, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon in a key Empire 8 matchup.   
 
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 4, Keuka 2
LOCATION: Elmira, NY | Campus Field
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (9-7-0, 3-4-0 E8), Keuka (2-10-2, 0-5-1 E8)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Mlunguza put the Soaring Eagles ahead in the 14th minute of action as he received a pass from Moustapha Camara '23 to beat the Keuka goalkeeper. The Purple & Gold stayed on the offensive attack as Mlunguza found the back of the net for a second time in the 18th minute. He would complete the hat trick by scoring in the 44th minute off an assist from David Rojas '22 to make it 3-0.

In the second half, Elmira would extend its lead to 4-0 as Tony Valencia '22 scored his first goal of the season in the 52nd minute. The Wolves would score their first of two goals in the match via a penalty kick in the 53rd minute as Suleman Say beat EC goalkeeper Giovanni Garufi '22. Nicolas Leone trimmed the deficit to 4-2 for Keuka in the 75th minute with an unassisted goal.

Garufi finished with six saves in net for Elmira while earning the win. EC's offense tallied 10 shots on goal as Mlunguza paced the Soaring Eagles with four total. Camara added a pair of assists in the match for Elmira, while Anthony Esce, Jr. '22 finished with one.
 
UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold return to action with a non-conference matchup against SUNY Geneseo at Campus Field on Tuesday, October 26 at 3:00 p.m. Elmira hosts St. John Fisher at Campus Field to close the regular season on Saturday, October 30 at 1:00 p.m.