Announcement
Ithaca blanks Elmira to win Section 4 Class AA boys soccer title
www.stargazette.com - Staff Report - 8:34 PM, Nov 2, 2013
ONEONTA — It was too much Amir Omar for Elmira.
The Ithaca junior forward scored three goals Saturday to lead the Little Red past the Express 5-0 in the Section 4 Class AA boys soccer championship at Wright National Fields.
Ithaca (12-3) moves on to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association playoffs. The Little Red will face the Section 1 champ at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday at a site to be determined.
“We put the trophy in the trophy case,” Ithaca senior midfielder and co-captain Nicholas Gualtieri said. “This feels great.”
Gualtieri collected a goal and an assist in the second half. Mason Wolff added a second-half goal that made it 3-0.
Omar scored twice in the first half off assists from Tristan Cornell-Roberts to give the Little Red a 2-0 lead at intermission. Cornell-Roberts finished with three assists.
Ithaca coach Gilbert Antoine said the game went as he planned it after he spoke with several key players before the game, including Omar.
“We needed some players to deliver,” Antoine said. “This is a young team.”
Elmira (8-8-1) had the best chance to score early when Kyle Johnson took the ball down the right side. His kick was stopped, and a follow-up header sailed over the net.
Shortly after Omar’s first goal at the five-minute mark, Johnson fed Andrew Field, whose shot from the middle was blocked by an Ithaca defender.
Johnson later had a good opportunity in close that Little Red goalie Geoffrey Twardokus made a save on. Twardokus turned away four tries to earn the shutout.
Elmira coach Derek Hamilton believes his team did not play badly. The Express finished with a 10-7 edge in shots.
“I don’t feel the game was as lopsided as the final score,“ he said.
Hamilton also cited Gualtieri as the Express’ key tormenter.
“He was their catalyst. They filter the ball through him,“ Hamilton said.
Gualtieri said his job is to set up the scorers, though he made it a 4-0 game with a goal with 20 minutes to play. A short while after he assisted on Omar’s third goal to close out the offense.
“We work the offense through the midfielders,” Gualtieri explained.
Ithaca was able to handle the wet grass field at the former National Soccer Hall of Fame site. Antoine said he worked his team on grass to get them used to the slower surface than the artificial turf the Little Red usually competes on.
Meanwhile, Hamilton recalled how the Express overcame a slow start to reach its first sectional boys soccer final since Elmira Free Academy and Southside merged their sports programs for the 2011-12 school year.
“I‘m proud of these guys,“ he said. “We were 2-4-1 at one point.“
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Top-ranked Ithaca tops Elmira, 5-0
By Shawn Vargo svargo@the-leader.com - Posted Nov. 2, 2013 @ 8:01 pm
ONEONTA – Led by a hat trick by Amir Omar, Ithaca downed Elmira 5-0 to win the Section IV, Class AA championship Saturday at Wright National Fields.
Omar opened the scoring with his first goal early in the contest, before leading a three-goal second half by the Little Red (12-3).
"I don’t think we lacked for effort," Elmira head coach Derek Hamilton said. "We didn’t play poorly. Ithaca just capitalized on the opportunities they had and we didn’t."
In the game’s opening 10 minutes, Omar got to a through ball and found the back of the net to give Ithaca a 1-0 lead.
"That put us behind the 8-ball early," Hamilton said. "Before that, I felt like we had four or five opportunities to take the lead in the first 10 minutes. Their keeper made some great saves."
Midway through the opening half, Mason Wolff got loose on the left side of the field, drew Express keeper Pat Coster out of the net, then got off a shot that got through and went in before another Elmira defender could keep it from crossing the goal line.
Along with Omar’s two scores in the second half, the Little Red also got a goal from Nick Gaultieri.
While it wasn’t a story-book ending for the Express (8-8-1), the team closed out the season in strong fashion to reach the title game.
"I’m proud of this team," Hamilton said. "We started the season at 2-4-1. A lot of teams would have cashed in their chips at that point. This group went out and won six of its last nine games.
"They played their best soccer at the end of the season."
Elmira, the second seed in the tournament, reached the finals with an overtime win over Horseheads in its semifinal game. The Express outshot Ithaca 10-7 and Coster was credited with two saves in the title game.
