Announcement
STAC West Boys Soccer Should Be Competitive Division
Posted by Derek Hamilton on
Aug 30 2007
at
05:00PM PDT
August 31, 2007
By Andrew Legare
alegare@stargazette.com
Star-Gazette
It's still August, but already the race for the Southern Tier Athletic Conference West boys soccer championship is rounding into an intriguing, competitive battle.
The division's top two teams from last year -- defending overall STAC champion Horseheads and defending Section 4 Class A champion Elmira Free Academy -- met on Saturday and Horseheads won a back-and-forth game 3-2.
Today's game between Horseheads and already 2-0 Corning, set for a 1 p.m. start at Corning Memorial Stadium, promises more excitement.
Area soccer fans can expect these types of games all season.
"We have four teams that can pretty much beat or lose to anybody on any given day," EFA coach Derek Hamilton said. "It says a lot for soccer in our area, especially our youth programs."
Said Corning coach Chad Freelove: "It's going to be really competitive in the West this fall compared to the last couple of falls. Things are a little more spread out between the teams. I think EFA has seven or eight seniors coming back, we have 15 seniors and Horseheads doesn't have as many seniors, but it's still Horseheads. They're always good."
Hamilton's team has one strike against it in its bid to stop Horseheads' stranglehold on division supremacy. The Blue Devils will get another shot at the Blue Raiders later this season, and Hamilton said games within the division should be the deciding factor as to who emerges with the title.
"The team that takes the majority of those division games is going to be victorious in the STAC West in the end," Hamilton said.
A look at the four STAC West boys soccer teams:
•Horseheads: The Blue Raiders are coming off a 15-3-2 season that saw them win the overall STAC title, finish as the Section 4 Class AA runner-up and earn a No. 15 ranking in the final New York State Sportswriters Association rankings. That's the good news. The bad news is only one starter from that team -- Rejean Archambeault -- returns this season. Another returner Horseheads is counting on is Brian Kawzenuk.
Among the 14 seniors lost to graduation were Andrew McIntosh, a second-team all-state selection and a member of the adidas East Region team.
With all the fresh faces, veteran coach Curt Grottenthaler said it's imperative those new players become acclimated to the speed of the varsity game.
•Elmira Free Academy: EFA bounced back from a 2-11-3 record two years ago to finish last season at 9-7-3 and win the Section 4 Class A championship. The Blue Devils' season ended with a 2-0 loss to Goshen in the state quarterfinals. EFA, which is 1-1 this season, finished with a No. 10 Class A state ranking last year.
Though Academy lost three all-division or all-conference players from that group, there's still plenty of talent on the team. Eleven players are back, including nine seniors.
Among the key returners are goalie Bobby McGinnis, who had six shutouts last season and was named to the all-division team. Also back are midfielder Joey Burin (five goals, five assists), forward Kevyn Rustici (10 goals) and defender Mike Chrabazcz, an all-division selection.
Academy doesn't have an easy road, with 12 of its 16 regular-season games against Class AA teams.
•Corning: No team in the division returns as many players as Corning, which has 17 players back from last season and 15 seniors on the roster. The Hawks were 6-8-4 last season and are already a third of their way to matching that win total this year.
Among the returners are junior goalie Craig Allen, junior midfielder George Baity, senior forwards Chris Davis, Justin Divens, A.J. Johnson and Jakub Mlejnek; senior defenders Jason Collins, Charles Devine, Greg Ginnan, Charlie McLaren and Stephen Dombrowski; senior defender/midfielder David Hoffman and senior midfielders Josiah Knowles, Ben Nix, Adam Shafer, Michael Solano and Chris Stratford.
•Southside: The Green Hornets are off to an 0-2 start as they face a tough schedule against the STAC West and some very talented teams in the conference's Metro division.
"We are very young, with two freshmen, two sophomores and four juniors in the potential starting lineup," Southside coach Steve Mastronardi said. "Talent is good and the team has been working hard. If we stay tight in the back and play solid defense, we will be OK."
Top returners for Southside include Mike Frame, Tyler Spencer, Mike Weaver, Joe Sullivan, RJ Woodard, Roger Staples and Kyle Murphy.
By Andrew Legare
alegare@stargazette.com
Star-Gazette
It's still August, but already the race for the Southern Tier Athletic Conference West boys soccer championship is rounding into an intriguing, competitive battle.
The division's top two teams from last year -- defending overall STAC champion Horseheads and defending Section 4 Class A champion Elmira Free Academy -- met on Saturday and Horseheads won a back-and-forth game 3-2.
Today's game between Horseheads and already 2-0 Corning, set for a 1 p.m. start at Corning Memorial Stadium, promises more excitement.
Area soccer fans can expect these types of games all season.
"We have four teams that can pretty much beat or lose to anybody on any given day," EFA coach Derek Hamilton said. "It says a lot for soccer in our area, especially our youth programs."
Said Corning coach Chad Freelove: "It's going to be really competitive in the West this fall compared to the last couple of falls. Things are a little more spread out between the teams. I think EFA has seven or eight seniors coming back, we have 15 seniors and Horseheads doesn't have as many seniors, but it's still Horseheads. They're always good."
Hamilton's team has one strike against it in its bid to stop Horseheads' stranglehold on division supremacy. The Blue Devils will get another shot at the Blue Raiders later this season, and Hamilton said games within the division should be the deciding factor as to who emerges with the title.
"The team that takes the majority of those division games is going to be victorious in the STAC West in the end," Hamilton said.
A look at the four STAC West boys soccer teams:
•Horseheads: The Blue Raiders are coming off a 15-3-2 season that saw them win the overall STAC title, finish as the Section 4 Class AA runner-up and earn a No. 15 ranking in the final New York State Sportswriters Association rankings. That's the good news. The bad news is only one starter from that team -- Rejean Archambeault -- returns this season. Another returner Horseheads is counting on is Brian Kawzenuk.
Among the 14 seniors lost to graduation were Andrew McIntosh, a second-team all-state selection and a member of the adidas East Region team.
With all the fresh faces, veteran coach Curt Grottenthaler said it's imperative those new players become acclimated to the speed of the varsity game.
•Elmira Free Academy: EFA bounced back from a 2-11-3 record two years ago to finish last season at 9-7-3 and win the Section 4 Class A championship. The Blue Devils' season ended with a 2-0 loss to Goshen in the state quarterfinals. EFA, which is 1-1 this season, finished with a No. 10 Class A state ranking last year.
Though Academy lost three all-division or all-conference players from that group, there's still plenty of talent on the team. Eleven players are back, including nine seniors.
Among the key returners are goalie Bobby McGinnis, who had six shutouts last season and was named to the all-division team. Also back are midfielder Joey Burin (five goals, five assists), forward Kevyn Rustici (10 goals) and defender Mike Chrabazcz, an all-division selection.
Academy doesn't have an easy road, with 12 of its 16 regular-season games against Class AA teams.
•Corning: No team in the division returns as many players as Corning, which has 17 players back from last season and 15 seniors on the roster. The Hawks were 6-8-4 last season and are already a third of their way to matching that win total this year.
Among the returners are junior goalie Craig Allen, junior midfielder George Baity, senior forwards Chris Davis, Justin Divens, A.J. Johnson and Jakub Mlejnek; senior defenders Jason Collins, Charles Devine, Greg Ginnan, Charlie McLaren and Stephen Dombrowski; senior defender/midfielder David Hoffman and senior midfielders Josiah Knowles, Ben Nix, Adam Shafer, Michael Solano and Chris Stratford.
•Southside: The Green Hornets are off to an 0-2 start as they face a tough schedule against the STAC West and some very talented teams in the conference's Metro division.
"We are very young, with two freshmen, two sophomores and four juniors in the potential starting lineup," Southside coach Steve Mastronardi said. "Talent is good and the team has been working hard. If we stay tight in the back and play solid defense, we will be OK."
Top returners for Southside include Mike Frame, Tyler Spencer, Mike Weaver, Joe Sullivan, RJ Woodard, Roger Staples and Kyle Murphy.
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