Elmira District Boys Soccer

By Andrew Legare alegare@stargazette.com Star-Gazette November 8, 2006 If you go •What: New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A boys soccer quarterfinal game •When: 2 p.m. today •Where: Hudson Valley Sportsdome in Milton, N.Y. (between Middletown and Poughkeepsie) •Who: Elmira Free Academy (9-6-3) vs. Goshen (16-1-1) •Online: www. hudsonvalleysportsdome.com These days at Elmira Free Academy, the football team is creating quite an uproar. Not the team that plays American football, the one that plays the sport everyone else in the world calls football. On Saturday, the Elmira Free Academy boys soccer team beat Owego Free Academy 1-0 to win the Section 4 Class A championship, its first sectional title in 17 years. This afternoon, the Blue Devils face Section 9 champion Goshen in a Class A state quarterfinal game at the Hudson Valley Sportsdome, which is between Middletown and Poughkeepsie. Game time is 2 p.m. The Blue Devils will get a proper sendoff before making the long bus ride up there, with an early breakfast followed by a parade through the school as their classmates stand in the hallways and wish the players well. EFA head coach Derek Hamilton credited EFA principal Scott Williams with doing a "phenomenal job" for the team, but Williams isn't the only one hoping Academy does well. "We're getting all kinds of support," Hamilton said. "I must get 20 e-mails a day saying congratulations or wishing us luck. I can't go through the hall without a student I don't know or teachers wishing us something positive." After a slow start, it's been almost nothing but positives for EFA, which has posted a 9-4-1 record since losing to Section 4 Class AA finalists Horseheads and Vestal to start the season. The Horseheads game was an 11-0 loss and it got the attention of an EFA team that thought it had a shot at being pretty good this fall. "I think it was a reality check for us," Hamilton said. "The first game you get beat up 11-0 and you start to not necessarily second-guess yourselves, because it is the first game, but you think to yourselves that if you don't play well you'll continue to get beat. ... It really lit a fire under us." Hamilton said things started clicking during the second game, a 4-3 loss to Vestal. Academy trailed 3-0 in that game before essentially getting its season going. Hamilton said his team has "tremendous heart" and is a close group, two attributes that have helped the Blue Devils rebound from tough games and overcome tough moments throughout their season. Among Academy's other strengths are depth, defensive stubbornness and goalkeeper Bobby McGinnis, who made 10 saves to shut out Owego in the sectional final. "Bobby McGinnis is phenomenal," Hamilton said. "He's one of the hardest-working kids on the team. He's not a captain, but he's definitely a team leader. He stays focused 100 percent of the game and makes some saves that leaves the other team scratching their heads." McGinnis and his teammates could be up against their stiffest test today. Goshen, playing what amounts to a home game, is ranked No. 4 in the state in Class A, five spots ahead of the Blue Devils. The teams have a common opponent in Owego, which lost 2-1 to Goshen last month after leading at halftime. One variable could be the venue itself. The Sportsdome is an indoor facility with an artificial surface that Hamilton said is only 60 yards wide, narrower than a typical field. A win would put EFA in the state semifinals Saturday against Section 1 champion Byram Hills. In a lot of ways, the hard part is over for the Blue Devils. "The pressure is less for this game than it has been for the last couple," Hamilton said. "Being the No. 1 seed in sectionals, you're considered the favorite. This one against 16-1-1 Goshen, the pressure is off. But we're expecting to play very well against them."