Elmira District Boys Soccer

Top-Seeded Blue Devils Face Owego This Afternoon in Oneonta.
November 3, 2007
By Andrew Zivic
sports@stargazette.com
Star-Gazette

If you go:

•What: Section 4 Class A boys soccer championship game

•Who: Elmira Free Academy (12-5-1) vs. Owego Free Academy (15-3)

•When: 2 p.m. today

•Where: National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta

•Admission: $6 (free for those under 10 and 65 and over).

Elmira Free Academy and Owego Free Academy meet for the second straight year in the Section 4 Class A boys soccer championship game, which is set for a 2 p.m. start today at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta.

EFA won last year's meeting 1-0 during an unexpected run to the state tournament. The Blue Devils, ranked 12th in Class A by the New York State Sportwriters Association, entered this year's sectionals with much higher expectations as the No. 1 seed. Coach Derek Hamilton knows that tempering those expectations is a key for his team to continue its season.

"Last year we were so happy to be where we were at. We took it one game at a time," Hamilton said. "This year, we're doing everything we can to not look ahead."

Hamilton said his team can't look past Owego, which is 15-3 and has been in six of the last seven sectional finals. The Indians beat Johnson City, the state's 10th-ranked Class A team, in the semifinals.

On defense, the Blue Devils (12-5-1) must focus on Mike Spadine and Nick Gregg, the top offensive players for Owego. Spadine has 21 goals and nine assists; Gregg is second on the team with 15 goals.

Owego's coach, Jason Luke, said his team has to finish if it hopes to dethrone Academy.

"Last year we had some chances and weren't able to finish and that obviously hurt us," Luke said.

While the teams each have dangerous scorers, they play similar styles of possession soccer. The Blue Devils try to possess it in the midfield with senior Joey Burin and junior defenseman Michael McGinnis.

"We're planning on trying to take over the central midfield and hopefully force them into mistakes," Hamilton said.

For Owego, playing EFA this year gives the Indians a chance to beat the team that ousted them from the playoffs last year.

"It's definitely extra motivation," Luke said. "It's nice to be able to play them again, and hopefully this time we're victorious."

The winner moves onto the state playoffs and the loser is done. A loss for EFA would be the last game for its 11 seniors.

"You always want to advance as far as possible because they (seniors) put the time in for the last four years," Hamilton said. "You have to focus on the game at hand, or you are likely to get beat."