ONEONTA -- Elmira Free Academy found itself facing a one-goal halftime deficit after Johnson City scored with four seconds remaining in the first half.
But this season has been one big comeback for the Blue Devils, who went out and put up two goals in a dominant second half to secure a 2-1 victory in the Section 4 Class A championship game at the Wright National Soccer Complex on a chilly Saturday afternoon.
Dan Earley scored the tying goal off a rebound on a corner kick with 33 minutes, 30 seconds left. Dakota Yerkes then headed in the winner off a free kick with 9:07 left. Nick Lian assisted on both goals.
The victory gave the top-seeded Blue Devils (11-6-1) their first sectional championship since 2006 and earned them a berth in a state regional game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at SUNY Purchase against Section 1 champion Byram Hills.
Not bad for a team that was once 4-6 this season.
"The important part of the season is the second half," EFA head coach Derek Hamilton said. "If somebody was to tell me that you were going to start off 4-6 and win a sectional championship, I'll trade that every single year."
Johnson City, the No. 2 seed, ended up with a 9-4-3 record.
"I'm proud of my guys. We did well to get here and we gave it our best," Wildcats head coach Hristos Dimitriou said. "We had a chance, we were leading. Unfortunately, we couldn't avoid the two set-play goals."
Johnson City went into halftime riding a big wave of momentum after Jeremy West beat Academy goalie Luke Ford to a 50-50 ball and slipped the shot into the net. It was somewhat of a fluky goal, though perhaps it was an appropriate conclusion to the half.
"Those first 40 minutes, I thought Johnson City kind of took it to us. We really didn't play our game," Hamilton said. "We were a little hesitant. I don't know what the reasoning was, but we kind of put it together in the second half after switching some things tactically at the break."
Academy had a huge edge in possession time during a physical, sometimes testy second half. Academy was rewarded when Earley booted in a shot just in front of the net following a rebound off a corner kick off the foot of Kail Burfield.
It remained a 1-1 game for the next 24 minutes, with the action including far more fouls than shots, including yellow cards on each team.
"I thought it was a well-played game by both teams," Dimitriou said. "It was very physical, which took a little bit away from the quality of play. They do have a very physical team."
A breakthrough for offensive purists among the crowd finally came with 9:07 remaining, when Lian sent a free kick toward Yerkes that ended up in the back of the net.
"I pointed to Nick earlier and I told him I was at the far post," Yerkes said.
"It came right to my head. Actually, it popped out of the goalie's hands and I saw the net wide open and I just tried to bang it home."
The Wildcats were unable to come up with any real scoring chances in the second half and finished with five shots, with the only one on target the goal by West. Hamilton said much of that had to do with the presence of two players in particular on the back end.
"Nick Lian and Kevin Kucharski have been two of the best defenders, not only on our team, but in the entire conference as well," Hamilton said. "We just kind of lean on those two players. I can't recall a ball in the entire second half that either of them lost. They're on another level."
