SECTION 4 BOYS' SOCCER: EXPRESS TOP ITHACA FOR FIRST SECTIONAL TITLE IN EXPRESS PROGRAM HISTORY (24 PHOTOS) (2024-11-02)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
ITHACA — A penalty kick in the second half was the difference as the Elmira boys’ soccer team claimed the first boys’ soccer sectional title in Express history on Saturday afternoon, 1-0 over Ithaca.

Spencer Wheeler connected on a penalty kick with 23:48 left in the game after Ithaca was called for a hand ball in the box.

The sectional title is the first in program history for the Elmira Express. The win came over an Ithaca team that beat the Express twice this year. The Express also beat Corning in the semifinals after the Hawks topped them twice in the regular season.

“As a team we knew those last two games we held with Ithaca and we knew we could beat them,” Wheeler said. “It was just coming in here and playing the game we know how to play, playing together and just getting it done.”

In the first half Ithaca’s Oliver Klemm had a scoring chance with a sliding shot that was stopped by Sean Hanrahan in the corner with 24:30 left in the half.

“Our defense was spot on,” Wheeler said. “Sean was impeccable. We would not be here if it wasn’t for our defense.

“Being a part of it (the title) is really something special. Especially transferring here (from Bath Haverling), my first year here to win that, it felt really good.”

In the second half Ithaca’s Main Abdallah had a shot just over the crossbar with 11:20 left and Chase Smith of Elmira had a short header that was saved with five minutes left.

Ithaca’s Jaeyoon Ann was just wide on a hard blast following a scramble off a corner in the final two minutes of the game.

Ithaca had a 6-5 edge in shots in the game.

“Incredible,” Elmira coach Derek Hamilton said of the win. “John and Gilbert run a great program, they’re always good. We know regardless of what happens in the regular season they’re going to be close games. They’re well organized, you’ve just got to come in and bring your best. I think we were able to find more consistency today. We defended incredibly today. WE have all season, but today was a special effort.”

A big key for the Express was having some time to prepare for the game. In weeks where the Express played three times in a week they were 2-4. In weeks where they were able to game plan Elmira wa s9-1.

“Great team defending,” Hamilton said. “Obviously good one-v-one defending, great team defending. We always had a second defender there. We were never leaving people stranded in defensive situations, and it took a collective effort. It wasn’t just two or three players, it was literally all 21 players we brought today.

“Put a corner kick play in yesterday and executed it perfectly.”

For Elmira coach Hamilton his assistants, Steve Mastronardi and Tom Kirchoff were big assets this year.

“It really is something special and feels amazing, especially since it is the first title for Express soccer,” Wheeler said. “Beating Ithaca after they beat us twice felt amazing. Especially going into it, knowing that we could play with them and beat them.”

Elmira’s players are happy all the hard work this year has paid off.

“It feels amazing,” Luca Capilli said. “Our team worked so hard for months to reach this moment and we finally did it. I think that the team played great all around. We had minimum mistakes and we played great defense for 90 minutes.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better performance from our team. It feels amazing that we beat them after losing in two very close games. People say it’s hard to beat a team three times and we proved that two times in a row (beating Corning in the semifinals). Now we’re off to states.”

The game is something that the players will always remember.

“It is a really special moment that will be remembered forever, we have some guys on our team that haven’t won the final in four or five years,” Dom Capilli said. “It just feels great to get them what they deserve.

“I am very proud of how our team played on both sides of the ball, it was a team effort we needed everyone on the pitch today to get the win. It is definitely a little extra special losing to Corning and Ithaca in the regular season, but beating them both when it really mattered.”
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PHOTOS BY SHEILA SUTTON. . . TEAM PHOTO PROVIDED, FINAL PHOTO PROVIDED.


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