Second-Half Surge Leads Elmira College Women’s Soccer to 7-1 Win over Wells
Score: Elmira College 7, Wells College 1
Records: Elmira (1-3-1), Wells (1-3-0)
Location: Wells Turf Field – Aurora, N.Y.
AURORA, N.Y. -- Seven unanswered goals, including five in the second half, turned out to be the difference tonight, as the Elmira College women's soccer team rolled past Wells College, 7-1. Highlighting the win was second-year forward Taylor Hanson '21, who registered her first career hat trick to help the Soaring Eagles clinch their first victory of the 2018 campaign.
Hanson finished with six points on three goals, both of which were career highs for the Chatham, New York, native. Lily Kronick '21 chipped in with a pair of goals, including the game-opening score, as she also logged career highs in points (4) and goals. Other goal scorers included Nicole Hanselman '20 and Taylor Wilms '22, both of whom registered the first collegiate goals of their careers.
An assist accompanied four of Elmira's seven goals, as Adrianna Cornell '22, Megan Bacon '22 and Zoya Katta '21 all were credited with at least one assist. Katta finished the match with two assists. All three players registered their first career point and assist.
Senior goalkeeper Meghan Ray '19 was credited with the win, the first of her collegiate career, after making one save in 71:01 of action. Cassidy Buchman '22 came in for relief duty and made two saves in the final 18:59 of regulation.
Elmira held a decisive advantage in shots, 26-9, as well as shots on goal 18-4. The Purple and Gold also owned an 8-3 lead in corner-kick opportunities.
Tonight's match did not begin as well as it ended, as the Express of Wells jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Mackenzie Maloney in the 25th minute.
The Express' lead only lasted 18 minutes, as Kronick equalized for the Purple and Gold in the 43rd minute with her first career goal. Setting up the score was Cornell, which sent the Elmira women into the halftime break knotted at 1-1.
There is no doubt that Kronick's goal kick-started Elmira's offense, as the Soaring Eagles went on to score six additional goals in the second half as part of a 7-0 run that led EC to the lopsided victory.
EC's second-half surge began with Hanselman, who scored what would eventually be tonight's game-winning goal in the 56th minute. The tally was the first of three Elmira goals in a 4:31 span, as Hanson and Wilms added goals in the 58th and 60th minutes, both of which were assisted by Katta.
The scoring frenzy continued with another cluster of goals in a 6:26 span, starting with Kronick, who scored her second of the game in the 69th minute. Hanson closed out the scoring with back-to-back goals in the 70th and 75th minutes to complete her first career hat trick and seal a six-goal win for the Purple and Gold.
In Her Own Words...
Head coach
Kaitlyn Mallernee reflects on Elmira's offensive outburst in the second half...
"The change came from keeping the play simple. We were making things happen in the first half but had to be reminded at halftime to keep everything simple and work the ball around. Everything merely came together from there, along with the consistent intensity and hunger to see the back of the net."
Coach Mallernee speaks on how important it was to get a win after several close games this season...
"The win was long overdue after working hard in two overtime games and a couple of losses. All this week I continued to remind them to trust the process, and if we train at a high level of intensity then we will perform at a high level of intensity. And we did just that. We came together at training to trust each other and that's essentially what allowed us to capitalize on the win. This win solidified how trust, working together, and competing at a high level works, providing us with the extra confidence in not only individual players but confidence as a team."
Coach Mallernee on what tonight's win does for Elmira moving forward...
"This win gives us the confidence in our team above self mentality. We train with high intensity together and we compete with high intensity together. This win was a team effort, all around; the 11 on the field at a time remained a unit while the bench continued to support with maximum effort and communication. Now, we enjoy this evening's win and tomorrow we move forward to our next match this weekend."
News and Notes
- Elmira secured its first win of the 2018 campaign.
- Elmira picked up its first road win since the 2015 season.
- The seven goals are the most EC has scored since a seven-goal performance against Utica on October 20, 2010.
- The last time Elmira scored more than seven goals dates back to October 15, 2006, when EC produced eight against Morrisville.
- Hanson registered her first career hat trick and first multi-goal game of her career.
- Hanson has four goals in EC's last three games.
- Kronick logged her first career goal, as well as her first multi-goal game.
- Welms and Hanselman also produced their first career goals.
- Katta, Bacon and Cornell were all credited with their first career assists and points.
- Ray was credited with the first win of the her collegiate career.
Up Next
The Elmira women will eye another victory this Saturday, September 15, when they welcome the Fighting Tigers of SUNY Cobleskill to Campus Field for a 12:00 p.m. non-conference match.