By: Provided by Elmira Athletics
ELMIRA, NY -- The Elmira College men's lacrosse team extended its win streak to three consecutive games on Wednesday night, as the Soaring Eagles took down Wells College, 9-7, in a non-conference battle at nearby Notre Dame High School.
With the victory, the Soaring Eagles improved to 3-2 overall, pushing the team above the .500 mark for the first time since opening the 2016 campaign with four wins in the first seven contests. Additionally, the three-game win streak is the longest the Elmira men have pieced together since beginning the 2012 season 3-0.
In another close matchup, senior midfielder James Mayer '20 played his finest game of the season. The Baldwin, New York, product not only provided a spark on the offensive side of the field with a team- and season-high four goals, Mayer won a career-high 12 faceoffs, helping EC win the battle at the X for just the second time this season.
The Soaring Eagles also received multi-point efforts from senior attackman David Keisler '20 (2g-1a) and fourth-year LSM Cam Brickey '20 (2a). John Broyles '20, Cameron Lambert '21, and Sam Shaw '22 each netted one goal to round out Elmira's point-getters.
EC never trailed against the Express (0-2), thanks to a hot start in the first quarter. The Soaring Eagles kicked-off the game with five consecutive goals, and it looked as if Elmira would run away with the contest. Mayer's performance at the faceoff dot played a crucial role in the early run. After the Soaring Eagles' second and fourth goals, Mayer won the draw and needed less than a minute to tickle the twine.
Down 5-0, Wells made things interesting with a three-goal run that began with a transition goal in the final seconds of the first quarter. At 9:32 in the second period, the Express received their second goal from Nathan Ramsey, this time on a man-up opportunity, as Wells slashed the Elmira lead to 5-3. However, the Soaring Eagles ended the half with three in a row, including another from Mayer, as he won the draw himself and sliced directly to the goal to make it 7-3.
The Express were down, but not entirely out. Wells ended the game with four of the last five goals, including a natural hat trick from Quinten Battle. The visitors took advantage of Elmira's undisciplined play in the second half, as the Express netted two of their goals on man-up opportunities. In total, EC was flagged eight times in the second half, but Mayer once again came up with a clutch goal with a man-down in the fourth to put EC up 9-6 with 6:59 remaining in regulation.
In Their Own Words...
Head coach
Brendan Gorman after the Soaring Eagles closed out their third win of the season...
"We came out hot, playing smart lacrosse. I wish we had kept that up in the second half, but I give all of the credit to Wells for making some adjustments and fighting their way back in it. Happy to come away with another win."
News and Notes
- The Soaring Eagles have won three consecutive contests, tying the team's longest win streak since the 2012 season.
- EC's 12 faceoff wins are the most in a game since collecting 14 on March 29, 2017, in a win over Houghton.
- Mayer, who logged all 12 of the faceoff wins, set a new single-game career-high at the X.
- Mayer also posted season highs with four goals and eight ground balls.
- Keisler posted his third consecutive multi-point game with a season-high three points.
- Brickey's two assists and seven caused turnovers both mark single-game season-highs.
- Brickey led all Soaring Eagles with 10 ground balls against the Express.
- Lambert finished third on the team with seven ground balls, a career-high.
- Austin Spiridilozzi '20 continued his solid defensive effort with four caused turnovers and five ground balls.
- In goal, Jacob Mattice '21 recorded a dozen saves, his third game of the 2020 season with double-digit stops.
Up Next
Elmira is scheduled to visit Neumann University in Aston, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, March 14. The opening draw against the Knights takes place at 1:00 p.m.