Announcement
High school roundup: Elmira, Horseheads boys tie
Andrew Legare, alegare@stargazette.com @SGAndrewLegare
Horseheads came within inches of advancing to the Section 4 Class AA boys soccer tournament.
The Blue Raiders hit the crossbar twice Tuesday afternoon and settled for a 1-1 tie on the road against Elmira High School. Horseheads finished 5-8-1, leaving the Raiders one victory shy of the .400 winning percentage needed to qualify for sectionals.
"They've been a great group to coach. They gave me their best every time in practice and in games," Horseheads head coach Mark Mucci said. "I'm just sad their season had to end this way. We needed to win and not to tie — two crossbars, and then we couldn't get a rebound when it's sitting there on the goal line."
Horseheads trailed 1-0 when it struck its first crossbar of the day, but Matt Burlew came back with a goal within a minute later off a corner kick to make it a 1-1 game with 36 minutes, 29 seconds left.
In overtime, Elmira goalkeeper Owen Mason got his fingertips on a hard blast that ended up striking the crossbar and bouncing down in front of the net. Mason finished with nine saves, and Horseheads goalie Tyler Morehouse had seven.
"It's tough," Mucci said. "We've had several games this year that have been one-goal games where we've hit multiple crossbars or posts."
Dan Dimon scored off a Shawn Shaylor assist to give Elmira a 1-0 lead with 36 seconds to go in the first half. The Express, which was eliminated from the postseason before Tuesday, finished with a 4-8-2 record. Elmira had six one-goal losses and five overtime games.
"I can't remember the last time we played a game that really meant nothing to us," Express head coach Derek Hamilton said. "But I thought the kids played with a ton of pride today. ... I feel bad for Horseheads because we kind of eliminated them, but we're not the prototype program to lay down either."
Elmira Scoring - Dimon (1-0), Shaylor (0-1)
Horseheads Scoring - Burlew (1-0)
Shots/Corners - Elmira (9-5), Horseheads (10-7)
Saves - Elmira (Mason - 9), Horseheads (Morehouse - 8)
