Box Score Utica, NY (9/26/12) - The Utica College field hockey team lost its second Empire 8 contest Wednesday as it fell to visiting Elmira College, 4-2.  Sophomore Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) scored two goals in less than two minutes, but it was not enough and UC fell to 5-3 on the season.

Elmira opened the scoring in the 11th minute of the first half as junior McKenna Light scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season off an assist from Erin Duffy to put the Soaring Eagles on top, 1-0, early on. 

UC was able to cage the games next two goals, both from the stick of Steele-Norton, to give the Pioneers a much needed shot in the arm.  Steele-Norton's conference-leading 10th and 11th goals of the season were scored within 1:21 of each other in the first half. 

From that point forward Elmira goalie Lauren Thomas stood on her head, and despite out shooting the visitors by a huge margin (24-7), the Pioneers could not find the back of the cage. Thomas's stellar performance included 19 saves for the Soaring Eagles.
   
During this time Elmira hit a hot streak on the offensive end as well, netting three unanswered second half goals, as the Soaring Eagles improved to 2-4 overall on the year and 1-2 in the E8.

Four different Elmira players scored, while Duffy added two assists on the evening. 

Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport) and Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) were each credited with an assist on Steele-Norton's tallies. Olivia Cunningham (Bethlehem, NH/Profile) and Samantha Miller (Charlottesville, VA/Charlottesville High) each saw action in the cage for UC.  Cunningham stopped three shots for Utica.   

The Pioneers, who have now lost three of their last four games, return to action on Friday night when they travel to the University of Rochester to take on the Yellow Jackets at 7 p.m.

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