E8 Wins for Elmira, Hartwick, Ithaca and Naz
ELMIRA 3, STEVENS 1
After falling behind late in the first half, the Elmira College women's soccer team (3-3-2, 1-1-1 E8) rallied in the second half behind a two-goal effort by
Sara Kazerouni '18, resulting in a convincing 3-1 victory over visiting Stevens Institute of Technology (5-4-0 1-1-0 E8).
Although all three of Elmira's goals came in the second half, the Soaring Eagles did have two quality scoring opportunities in the first half. EC nearly scored the game's opening goal in the ninth minute of play when, on a set piece from 30 yards out,
Kimi Girmus '16 saw her shot carom off the far-side post. Then, less than 10 minutes later,
Danielle Fournier '15 had a one-on-one opportunity with the goalie but would be tripped up on the play and was not able to put a shot on frame.
Stevens scored the game's first goal when they were awarded a penalty shot at the 39:31 mark. Raba Nassif buried the penalty kick in the right side of the net, just barely beating
Gabe Carmona '18 who dove in the right direction only to see Nassif's shot sneak by her.
The Ducks of Stevens nearly took a 2-0 lead when Carly Bean, sister of former EC women's soccer play Mikayla Bean '14, snapped a header that missed wide left. A little over a minute later, Sandi Komar had an opportunity to give the Ducks some cushion but her header attempt sailed high, keeping it a one-goal game.
Elmira's Kazerouni subbed into today's game for the first time at the 69:51 mark. The move to bring her in may have been the best move Coach
Ashley Bingaman made as the first-year talent drastically changed the outcome of today's game in just 13 minutes of action.
Kazerouni tied the game at the 75:43 mark when she received a pass from
Amy Sullivan '18 and proceeded to beat her defender, allowing her to bury a shot over the goalie's head for Elmira's first goal. Then, at the 82:49 mark, Kazerouni used her speed to once again to beat her defender and the scenario played out the same as she once again beat the Stevens keeper high for the score, putting EC ahead 2-1.
With the game coming to a close, senior
Mackenzie Donohue '15 put an exclamation point on today's win as she made good on a free kick from 24 yards out, burying the shot in the 89th minute to give Elmira a 3-1 lead and eventually the win.
Carmona, Elmira's goalkeeper, picked up the win today as she made eight saves. She now has 61 saves on the season.
HARTWICK 1, ALFRED 0
A header goal from freshman
Casey Boucher deep into the first half was all the scoring Hartwick would need as the Hawks came away with a 1-0 shutout win over Alfred University Saturday on Elmore Field. Hartwick (5-2-1) remains in second place in the Empire 8 Conference at 2-0-1 behind only nationally ranked Ithaca.
Hartwick held a sizeable advantage in shots for the match, out-shooting the Saxons 23-6. This included an 11-1 margin in the second half when the Hawks already held the lead.
The game's lone goal came off a corner kick for the Hawks, one of nine on the day.
Kylie Thayer served the ball from the left corner where Boucher was waiting inside the six-yard box. Her near-post header left AU keeper Sammy Jo Shanahan no chance and the Hawks were in front. It marked Boucher's team-leading fifth goal of the season and Thayer's team-best fourth assist.
Hartwick had additional chances in both the first and second half. Shanahan was strong in both halves to keep the margin at one goal, finishing with a total of 11 saves.
Cami Cleaveland had four shots on target which were handled by Shanahan. Boucher and
Allie Ricci each registered two shots on target.
Hartwick keeper
Alley Maurer was called upon to make three saves on the day. She was active throughout the contest making plays which didn't show up on the score sheet. Maurer punched away several services into the box and also came out to stuff Patricia Banahene on a breakaway in the first half. The clean sheet was the first for Maurer at 'Wick.
ITHACA 2, HOUGHTON 0
The Ithaca College women's soccer team recorded its sixth shutout of the season Saturday, as the Bombers earned a 2-0 conference victory over Houghton on the road. The win improves Ithaca's record to 7-1-0 overall, with a mark of 3-0-0 in the Empire 8.
Juniors
Sarah Woychick and
Kelsey King scored for the Bombers, while junior goalkeeper
Beth Coppolecchia stopped two Houghton shots for the shutout win. Ithaca outshot the Highlanders by a 21-6 margin, with 11 of the Bombers' shots going on goal.
Woychick got the scoring started in the opening frame, as she scored on a feed from King in the 39th minute. Woychick's tally marked her third point of the season, and first collegiate goal.
After taking a 1-0 lead to the half, Ithaca scored again in the second frame to put the Bombers ahead, 2-0. King converted on a feed from sophomore
Jess Demczar in the 64th minute, marking her team-leading fifth goal of the season.
King's insurance tally marked the final goal in the contest, giving Ithaca the 2-0 victory.
NAZARETH 3, ST. JOHN FISHER 0
Nazareth defeated host St. John Fisher 3-0 in a women's Empire 8 Conference soccer game on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Flyers, ranked 20th nationally in the most recent Division III poll conducted by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, received goals from freshman
Paige Sullivan, junior
Courtney Malia, and senior
Kaitlyn Sowyrda.
With the victory, Nazareth improves to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in Empire 8 games. Following the loss, Fisher drops to 2-8 overall and 0-1 in conference contests.
Sullivan put the Golden Flyers on the board 29:55 into the first half after receiving a ball from Malia. It was Sullivan's second goal of the season. The Cardinals' goalie, Brooke Seavitt, made four saves in the opening period to keep Fisher within one goal going into the second half.
Nazareth scored twice in a 9:32 span midway through the second to seal its victory. A little over seven minutes into the half, Malia converted a penalty kick opportunity to stretch the Golden Flyers' lead to two goals. It was Malia's first goal of the season and also the first of her collegiate career. With 26:08 to play in regulation, Sowyrda added Nazareth's third goal as she scored an unassisted tally for her first goal of the season.
The Golden Flyers finished with a 17-11 advantage in total shots and a 6-0 advantage in corner kick chances. Sophomore
Allison Dobles and junior
Mackenzie Dunphy combined to blank Fisher. Dobles played the opening 71:07 and finished with two saves to earn the victory. Dunphy took over for the final 18:53 and recorded three saves. Seavitt had eight saves in the loss.