Women's Soccer | 9/4/2021 6:39:00 PM
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's soccer team picked up their first win of the season over visiting Hilbert College in a thrilling 1-0 match which saw Adrianna Cornell '22 poke a free kick from Claire Elfring '25 past the goal line as time ran out in the first overtime period. The home opener for the Soaring Eagles was full of strong defensive efforts by both teams, as head coach
Esther Webb picked up her first win in the Purple & Gold.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 1, Hilbert 0
LOCATION: Elmira, N.Y.
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (1-1, 0-0 E8), Hilbert (0-1, 0-0 AMCC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The ball lived in the middle of the pitch for most of the first half as both teams looked to string passes together. The effort was surely focused on the defense side as the Soaring Eagles were only able to test the Hilbert goalkeeper Tahlia Kosek once mid-way through the half. Hilbert mustered two shots with one forcing Elmira keeper Nevaeh Winston '25 into action.
The second half was much busier for both keepers as each was forced to save four shots on goal. Elmira was able to generate seven total shots over the course of the half while Hilbert had just six. With 30 minutes to play, an increased sense of urgency on the defensive side of the ball for the Soaring Eagles pressure created four shots on the offensive end over a six-minute span. In the 83rd minute, Elmira had one more chance to produce a winner when Rachel Bortnick '25 ripped a shot at the bottom right corner of the net, but Kosek was able to push it out of bounds.
Headed to overtime, it looked as though a second overtime would be needed to decide a winner. Then, with just 15 seconds remaining, Elmira won a free-kick from 25 yards out in which Claire Elfring '25 put a strong shot on goal that forced the keeper to jump for the save. After the ball fell right down in front of Cornell, she wasted no time to slip it past the Hilbert keeper as the final buzzer sounded.
UP NEXT:
On Tuesday, September 7, EC will head to SUNY Delhi for a matchup against the Broncos at 4:00 p.m.