Elmira District Boys Soccer

EFA boys hold off Horseheads Star-Gazette September 22, 2006 Less than a month ago, the Elmira Free Academy boys soccer team lost 11-0 to Horseheads. On Thursday, the Blue Devils gained a measure of redemption. Make that two measures of redemption. The Blue Devils raced to a 3-0 lead then held off a Horseheads comeback bid in a 4-2 victory over the Southern Tier Athletic Conference West leaders. "It's absolutely huge," EFA coach Derek Hamilton said. "I couldn't tell you the last time Elmira Free Academy beat Horseheads, especially in a year where Horseheads is probably going to be the best team we see all season." Academy (5-3-1, 4-3-1) took a 1-0 lead on Tyler Sampsell's penalty-kick goal. The lead became 2-0 later in the half when Kevyn Rustici scored off a header that followed Shane Scott's flip throw-in. The Blue Devils extended their lead to 3-0 when Mike McGinnis scored off the rebound of a Matt Morrisey shot that hit the post. But that safe three-goal lead with 15 minutes to play became a precarious one-goal edge after Steve Welles scored two goals within a five-minute span for the Blue Raiders (7-2-1, 6-1-1). "I was extremely worried," Hamilton said. "Once a comeback starts, it usually doesn't stop." Hamilton said the Horseheads players showed great character in coming back. He said his kids did the same, holding off the Blue Raiders despite playing the final several minutes down a player because of a red card. Rustici finally cemented the win with his second goal, with only 6.2 seconds left. "We showed a ton of heart today," Hamilton said. "Even when things weren't going our way, we kind of made things happen for ourselves." The EFA players got an added boost from a loud home crowd. "Our crowd was like a 12th man today," Hamilton said. "They were absolutely fantastic."