SECTION 4 BOYS' SOCCER: CORNING PREPARING FOR SEASON WITH MIX OF OLD AND NEW (15 PHOTOS) (2025-08-21)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
CORNING — The Corning boys’ soccer team are back, preparing for another season with a good mix of youth and experience heading into the year.

“It’s nice,” Corning coach Chad Freelove said. “What’s really nice is to have that extra week (of practice) this year. We have that extra week to prepare so hopefully, knock on wood, we’ll be able to alleviate any of those early season injuries.

“We will be strong again I think. We have a lot of young players who are going to have to step in and take new roles this fall, but also return a lot of players who have been with the team the last few years. It’s a nice mix of good, veteran experience and some young players who can play the game who are going to come up.”

One player the Hawks have to replace is last year’s leading scorer, Taylor Freelove, who suffered an injury this summer and will miss the season.

For Chad Freelove the loss hits extra hard as it’s his son who will miss the year.

“You figure out who the goal scores will be,” Freelove said. “To be 100% honest, it’s tougher as dad than it is as coach. As coach we pick up the pieces and find the next guy. As dad, it’s tough to not see him out there doing the thing he loves.

“But, there are a lot of guys I think can fill that void. It’s not going to be a role one guy can fill. It’s going to be a role that we need 4-5 guys to pick up that slack.”

While Taylor Freelove won’t be on the field this year, he still will try and make an impact as a leader on the team.

“He will be (involved with the team),” Chad Freelove said. “That’s a big thing for him. He wants to know he can still be a part of the team, so he’s going to root his teammates on and help them in any way he can.”
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PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES

PHOTO GALLERY FROM PRACTICE:


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