Southern Tier Athletic Conference

Corning: The Hawks finished second in the STAC West and were also Section 4 Class AA runners-up. Ithaca, a state semifinalist, stood in Corning's way for both championships.

Key figures back from Corning's 5-7-2 team include seniors Erik Ekstrom, Cam Metarko, Connor Nazarczyk, Trevor Kohli, Jacob Grano and Ben Terwilliger.

Other players of note include senior Mike Crouse, along with juniors Zach Dejneka, Connor Lin, Ian Howard and Gage Grottenthaler.

"Our focus will be finishing, being creative in the final third, organization on defense and mental focus," head coach Steve Mastronardi said. "Our expectation is to improve as the season progresses."

He said goalkeeping and defensive organization are among the team's strengths.

"This is a great group of players that have been working hard and learning, reviewing many concepts. STAC will be ultra-competitive as always, with many quality teams."

Elmira: Express head coach Derek Hamilton has a young team following a 4-7-3 record last season. Elmira opened this season with two losses.

"With such a young squad, the maturation process is going to have to be quick," Hamilton said. "Players acclimating themselves to the speed of the varsity game will determine our success this season. Our strength likes in the back of our formation. If we can make teams work to earn their goals, we should be a formidable opponent.

"We should be stout defensively, with a quality back four and goalkeeper that's difficult to beat. We have some quality midfielders that can dictate the speed of the game."

Veterans for Elmira include senior defender Paul Milliken, senior midfielders Chris Knuth and Walker Moss, junior defenders Nate Forrest and Pat Milliken, junior midfielder Gavin Wise, junior forward Jasio Ziembicki and sophomore goalie Luke Baldwin.

Junior defender Alex Hill, senior midfielder Cody Wright, freshman forward Noah Sperduto and junior midfielder Zane Benjamin are new to the team.

Hamilton is hoping Elmira will find its groove by the time the season reaches the stretch run.

"I would like to see a group of close individuals that have continually improved their performance throughout the season and are playing their best soccer heading into the sectional tournament," he said.

"Our youth and inexperience needs to improve quickly. We only return three seniors from last year's squad."

Horseheads: The Blue Raiders are coming off a 5-8-1 season they're hoping to build on this fall.

Isaac Pastel, a STAC Metro/West all-conference defender, returns for his senior season. Senior midfielder Matt Burlew and junior midfielder Matt Gibbons were both STAC West all-division picks last season. Also returning are senior midfielder Jordan McCreary, senior forwards Nick Juan and Kellen Boyles, senior defender Evan Kuhl and senior goalie Tyler Morehouse.

"We have a strong senior presence on the team," head coach Mark Mucci said. "They keep the team focused and provide leadership for the younger players on the squad."

Varsity additions include midfielders Jarid Smith and Connor Thorpe, along with defender Zach Church.

Mucci said the team needs to improve technically and tactically as the season progresses.

"It's a tight-knit group that works hard for each other and supports each other," he said. "Their work ethic in the offseason was outstanding as the team as a whole came into tryouts well prepared for the season ahead.

"We need to maintain discipline and our organization on defense and trust our teammates to do their jobs. We need to be smart with the ball and maintain possession so we can limit the chances by our opponents."

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter @SGAndrewLegare.