Announcement
Burfield's first goal the game-winner
Elmira Free Academy sophomore Kail Burfield scored his first varsity goal with 9:03 remaining in the second half, giving the host Blue Devils a 1-0 victory over SV in the STAC final.
Brian Poppleton made six saves for EFA (9-7-2), which won its first STAC title since joining the league in 1999.
"For the program as a whole, from where we came from when I first started here four years ago, this is huge," EFA coach Derek Hamilton said. "This goes to the kids who put the time and effort into this program. They've established a winning mentality, and I couldn't be prouder of these 19 guys."
In a thrilling back-and-forth contest which featured several momentum swings, it was a surprise goal that proved to be the difference.
With the match scoreless, EFA sent a corner kick from the right side toward the box.
An SV defender attempted to clear the ball, but it went straight to Burfield, who briefly set himself before firing a hard 30-yard shot from the middle into the right side of the Sabers' net for the game-winner.
"All my friends joke with me because I'm bad at volleys," Burfield said. "So I took a chance, I didn't try to volley and just kicked it as hard as I could at the goal."
Said Hamilton of Burfield's game-winner: "We knew Kail had an absolute cannon on his right leg, but what he's struggled with all season was that first touch, getting the ball in position to strike it.
"He hit a laser, it didn't get more than two feet off the ground. You hate to see a game won or lost on a bad goal, but we earned that one, it was a fantastic shot."
Burfield's goal came a little over a minute after Poppleton made a phenomenal save that prevented SV (13-4-1) from taking a 1-0 lead.
On the play, SV's Ronnie Graham received a pass inside the box and sent a header toward the upper left side of the EFA net.
It looked like a certain goal, but a leaping Poppleton managed to deflect the ball the ball away to keep the match scoreless.
"That was the key play of the game," SV coach Al Mydlinski said of Poppleton's save. "That was in the net. He made a save and that denied us a goal.
"Other than that, I thought the game was battled up and down the field, and both teams had numerous opportunities."
SV entered Monday on a nine-match winning streak, including a 1-0 semifinal victory over defending champion Vestal on Friday.
But the Sabers were far from sharp early on. EFA controlled much of the play in the first half, outshooting SV, 7-5, with seven corner kick opportunities to the Sabers' one.
SV played significantly better in the second half, garnering the majority of the scoring opportunities.
"I thought we played very well in the second half," said Mydlinski, who scolded his team at halftime for its poor first-half play. "We just didn't put one in and they did."
