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HS Roundup: Express boys rally for first win
Two goals from freshman Noah Sperduto lifted the Elmira boys soccer team to its first win, 2-1, over Corning.
Freshman Noah Sperduto scored the first two goals of his varsity career in the second half Thursday night as the Elmira boys soccer team rallied for its first win, 2-1, over Southern Tier Athletic Conference foe Corning at Corning Memorial Stadium.
Sperduto scored the tying goal with about 20 minutes left, then netted the winner with eight minutes to go off a feed from Jasio Ziembicki. Express head coach Derek Hamilton described it as a “fantastic” goal, with Sperduto beating two defenders off the dribble before finishing.
“He had great composure in the box,” Hamilton said.
Paul Milliken added an assist for Elmira, which improved to 1-3.
“We have such a young team that I think the win does more for us than simply getting three points,” Hamilton said. “It lifts our spirits and shows we can play with anybody.”
Cam Metarko scored for Corning (2-2).
Elmira Scoring - Sperduto (2-0), Paul Milliken (0-1), Ziebecki (0-1)
Corning Scoring - Metarko (1-0)
Shots/Corners - Elmira (11-1), Corning (9-3)
Saves - Elmira (Baldwin - 8), Coring (Ekstrom - 9)
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Elmira outlasts Corning, 2-1
CORNING - The Hawks had the lead at halftime, but Elmira had the lead when the final horn sounded in its 2-1 win over Corning Thursday at Memorial Stadium.
In a game played in rain and drizzle, the Hawks grabbed the lead in the first half on a Cameron Metarko goal.
“The ball bounced off their keeper and he was there to finish,” Corning head coach Steve Mastronardi said.
According to Mastronardi, the wet conditions didn’t factor in the outcome.
“The rain made it slippery, but we’re not using that as an excuse,” he said. “The rain didn’t play the pivotal role.”
Elmira keeper Luke Baldwin’s 17 saves was the difference, Mastronardi said.
“We had opportunities, but just didn’t finish tonight,” he said. “Their keeper made some nice saves when he needed to.”
In the second half, Elmira (1-3) got its tying goal off the foot of Gavin Wise. Then with 10 minutes remaining, Noah Speduto got into a one-on-one situation with Corning’s keeper and made it pay off.
Erik Ekstrom tallied four saves for the Hawks.
Corning (2-2) will travel to Binghamton for a 7 p.m. contest on Tuesday
Elmira Looking To Build Off of Youth
BOYS SOCCER: Crusaders move to 'B' after state title
All-Leader boys soccer: Express Places Two On All-Leader Team
svargo@the-leader.com
Posted Jan. 21, 2016 at 9:42 PM
Johnny Beecher Elmira Forward Fr.
Beecher made an impact for the Express as a freshman – scoring seven goals and dishing out five assists – even after starting the season on defense.
For his efforts, Beecher was named to the STAC All-Conference team.
“Johnny was often the biggest, strongest player on the field,” Elmira head coach Derek Hamilton said.
Logan Brimmer Elmira Forward Sr.
Brimmer netted seven goals and handed out four assists for the Express.
“Logan has elite quickness and works well in tight spaces on the pitch,” Elmira head coach Derek Hamilton said.
Brimmer finished with a All-STAC West team honor.
Elmira Places One Player on All-Conference; Five on All-Division
Andrew Legare, alegare@stargazette.com @SGAndrewLegare
Five members of New York state Class AA semifinalist Ithaca have earned selection to the Southern Tier Athletic Conference Metro/West all-conference team for boys soccer.
Picks for the Little Red were senior defenders Mason Wolff and Jared Brooks, junior midfielder Alex Patz and senior forwards Pierre Clavel and Tristan Cornell-Roberts.
Joining them on the all-conference team were Corning junior goalie Erik Ekstrom, Corning junior defender Jake Grano, Horseheads junior defender Isaac Pastel, Vestal senior defender Matthew Furminger, Corning junior midfielder Cameron Metarko, Horseheads senior midfielder Alejandro Nunez, Vestal sophomore midfielder Parker McKnight, Elmira freshman forward Johnny Beecher and Maine-Endwell senior forward Shea Osovski.
West all-division picks were Elmira senior goalie Owen Mason, Elmira junior defender Dan Dimon, Corning junior defender Ben Terwilliger, Horseheads senior defender Joseph Heft, Ithaca senior defender Eric Denbow, Elmira senior midfielder Andrew Field, Elmira sophomore midfielder Gavin Wise, Horseheads junior midfielder Matthew Burlew, Ithaca senior midfielder Andrew Araneo, Corning sophomore forward Isaac Cornfield, Elmira senior forward Logan Brimmer, Horseheads sophomore Matthew Gibbons and Ithaca junior forward Phyo Zay Htet.
Selections were made by the league's coaches.
High school roundup: Elmira, Horseheads boys tie
Andrew Legare, alegare@stargazette.com @SGAndrewLegare
Horseheads came within inches of advancing to the Section 4 Class AA boys soccer tournament.
The Blue Raiders hit the crossbar twice Tuesday afternoon and settled for a 1-1 tie on the road against Elmira High School. Horseheads finished 5-8-1, leaving the Raiders one victory shy of the .400 winning percentage needed to qualify for sectionals.
"They've been a great group to coach. They gave me their best every time in practice and in games," Horseheads head coach Mark Mucci said. "I'm just sad their season had to end this way. We needed to win and not to tie — two crossbars, and then we couldn't get a rebound when it's sitting there on the goal line."
Horseheads trailed 1-0 when it struck its first crossbar of the day, but Matt Burlew came back with a goal within a minute later off a corner kick to make it a 1-1 game with 36 minutes, 29 seconds left.
In overtime, Elmira goalkeeper Owen Mason got his fingertips on a hard blast that ended up striking the crossbar and bouncing down in front of the net. Mason finished with nine saves, and Horseheads goalie Tyler Morehouse had seven.
"It's tough," Mucci said. "We've had several games this year that have been one-goal games where we've hit multiple crossbars or posts."
Dan Dimon scored off a Shawn Shaylor assist to give Elmira a 1-0 lead with 36 seconds to go in the first half. The Express, which was eliminated from the postseason before Tuesday, finished with a 4-8-2 record. Elmira had six one-goal losses and five overtime games.
"I can't remember the last time we played a game that really meant nothing to us," Express head coach Derek Hamilton said. "But I thought the kids played with a ton of pride today. ... I feel bad for Horseheads because we kind of eliminated them, but we're not the prototype program to lay down either."
Elmira Scoring - Dimon (1-0), Shaylor (0-1)
Horseheads Scoring - Burlew (1-0)
Shots/Corners - Elmira (9-5), Horseheads (10-7)
Saves - Elmira (Mason - 9), Horseheads (Morehouse - 8)
