Announcement
Andrew Legare, alegare@stargazette.com @SGAndrewLegarePublished 6:57 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2017 Updated 1:21 a.m. ET Oct. 27, 2017
Soccer success is nothing new for Elmira, but this year's cumulative effort has been a step above for the four varsity teams in the city.
Elmira High School's boys and girls will play for Section 4 Class AA championships Saturday while the two teams at Elmira Notre Dame try to continue streaks of section supremacy. The combined record of Elmira's teams this season is 48-11-5.
All five Section 4 boys finals will be played Saturday at the Wright National Soccer Campus in Oneonta. Notre Dame takes on Oneonta at 10:30 a.m. in the Class B final and Elmira faces Ithaca at 1:30 p.m. for the Class AA title.
The other boys finals: Marathon vs. South Kortright at 10:15 a.m. in Class D, Vestal vs. Maine-Endwell at 1 p.m. in Class A, and Seton Catholic Central vs. Lansing at 1:15 p.m. in Class C.
Notre Dame's girls will try for a third consecutive sectional crown in Class C when they meet Trumansburg at 2:30 p.m. at Norwich High School. That will follow the noon Class B final between Waverly and Chenango Forks.
The Class AA girls final featuring Elmira and Corning caps the busy day of soccer, with a 7 p.m. start at Waverly Memorial Stadium. The game was originally set for 7:30 because it was scheduled to follow the Class A game between Vestal and Maine-Endwell, but that was moved to Thursday. Vestal won, 2-1, in overtime.
Admission at Oneonta is $6 for adults and $4 for students, senior citizens and children 10-and-under. Admission at the other sites is $5 for adults and $3 for others.
Notre Dame vs. Oneonta boys
Last year, these teams went through two 40-minute halves and extra time without a goal in the sectional final, leaving them as co-champions. Notre Dame ended up earning the trip to the state tournament with a 3-2 victory during penalty kicks, then fell by a 1-0 score to Syracuse Westhill in a state quarterfinal to see its 57-game unbeaten streak end.
The top-seeded Crusaders (14-1-1) aren't scoring at the same clip they have in some recent seasons, but they've allowed six goals in 14 games, with two of their wins coming by forfeit against a Waverly program that didn't field a team because of a lack of players. Notre Dame's loss came to Lansing, 1-0, in the Interscholastic Athletic Conference Large School final.
Goalie Caleb Colucci made a brilliant save Wednesday to help preserve a 1-0 semifinal win over Chenango Forks. Colucci has started much of the season in place of the injured Declan Sharma, a standout in last year's sectional final.
Second-seeded Oneonta (13-2-1) advanced to Saturday's final with a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Whitney Point and a 2-0 triumph against Owego in the semifinals.
Brian Adams was head coach for Notre Dame for the previous 10 years and is now an assistant for Kostas Varkatzas, who was previously the assistant coach. Adams made the move because of commitments related to his job but has, at times, run the team because of Varkatzas' schedule away from soccer.
"It's incredible," Adams said of returning to the sectional final. "We're a small school playing in Class B. I think we enjoy the opportunity to get there. We're definitely looking forward to that. They're not afraid no matter who they're playing. They're going to get a game whoever they face."
Elmira vs. Ithaca boys
This will be the second trip to the sectional final for the combined Elmira team, which started in 2011 following the sports mergers of Elmira Free Academy and Southside. In the 2013 Class AA final, Ithaca was a 5-0 winner over the Express.
Second-seeded Elmira (10-4-1) and top-seeded Ithaca (12-3) split two regular-season meetings. The Express won, 2-0, at Ithaca on Sept. 11 before the Little Red earned a 5-3 road win over Elmira on Oct. 4 after leading, 5-0.
Ithaca had a bye into the title game. Elmira held on for a 5-3 semifinal win over Corning on Wednesday after leading, 4-0, at the half.
The Little Red is seeking a fifth consecutive sectional title and is ranked 12th in the state in Class AA by the New York State Sportswriters Association. Elmira is not ranked.
"To split with them, that was a good result for us," said Derek Hamilton, who guided EFA to two Section 4 titles before becoming coach of the Express. "We know they're going to come with the best that they have and we're going to have to match that intensity and that skill level to get to that point. Certainly not afraid to play them, but we know it's going to take a good effort to get a victory against them."
Notre Dame vs. Trumansburg girls
Steve Weber is in his 32nd season as Notre Dame's coach and this will be the Crusaders' 20th appearance in a sectional final during that time. Notre Dame has won eight Section 4 titles.
A young roster has grown up for the Crusaders, who are led by 26-goal scorer Laurel Vargas, a junior forward who was a First Team all-state pick last season.
"We've had a lot of players step in and continue to improve all season," Weber said. "We’ve more than exceeded our expectations so far."
These teams last met in 2016, with Trumansburg beating Notre Dame, 3-0, in the finals of the Lady Crusader Tournament. Trumansburg's loss this year came by a 1-0 score to Waverly in the IAC Large School final. Two of Notre Dame's losses came to Waverly.
Third-seeded Notre Dame has played perhaps its best soccer in the postseason, earning a 5-0 quarterfinal victory over Newark Valley and a 6-2 semifinal win against second-seeded Unadilla Valley. Vargas had four goals and two assists in those two games.
Top-seeded Trumansburg (15-1-3) advanced with a 1-0 quarterfinal win over Unatego and a 2-0 semifinal victory against Lansing.
Elmira vs. Corning girls
Top-seeded Elmira (12-3-2) is gunning for a fourth sectional championship in the last five years and a second straight one. The only other Class AA team to win a title during that stretch was Corning, with a 3-1 victory over Elmira in 2015.
Second-seeded Corning (8-4-3) played the Express extremely tough during the regular season, earning two ties by scores of 1-1 and 0-0.
The Express is led by senior Kendra Oldroyd, who scored twice Tuesday in a 3-0 semifinal win over Horseheads. Oldroyd has an Elmira City School District record 103 varsity goals, including 28 this season.
Oldroyd's keys to winning another title?
"Just playing the way we know how to play and keeping the mentality straight," she said.
Express coach Zach Sarno said Elmira's troubles have come when the girls don't finish their scoring chances, which plagued them in both games against Corning. The Express didn't score until midway through the second half against Horseheads, so that's another area of focus.
"We're going to have to be better off the get-go on Saturday," Sarno said. "We were well-prepared (Tuesday), but we got our legs stuck a little bit in the first half and we've got to be a little better. ... When you get to a championship game, bottom line is you have to be at your best. There's no room for anything less than playing a full 80 minutes."
Corning's defense was typically sharp Tuesday in a 1-0 semifinal win over Ithaca. The Hawks have surrendered 15 goals this season and have shut out three of their last four opponents.
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