Elmira District Boys Soccer

 2. Sayville-11  (13-0-1)

 3. Byram Hills  (14-1-1) 
 4. Williamsville East-6  (14-1-2) 
 5. Johnson City-4  (15-1-0) 
 6. Pittsford Sutherland-5  (13-2-1)  
 7. East Aurora-6  (16-0-2)

 8. Honeoye Falls Lima-5  (15-2-1) 
 9. Jericho-8  (8-0-6)

10. Great Neck North-8  (11-1-0)

11. Elmira Free Academy-4  (11-5-1)

12. John Glenn-11  (11-2-2)
13. East Syracuse-Minoa-3  (15-3-0)

14. Goshen-9  (14-2-0)

15. Rochester Aquinas-5  (12-4-2)

16. Harrison-1  (11-2-2)

17. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake-2  (13-3-1)

18. Our Lady of Lourdes-1  (10-3-1)
19. Mt. Sinai-11  (12-2-1)

20. Keio Academy-1  (10-3-1)

October 20, 2007
By Michelle Dunne Sampsell
msampsell@stargazette.com
Star-Gazette

Like it was on cue, the rain started during the national anthem. After 20 minutes, there were standing puddles on the field.

Two teams with a possession style needed to make adjustments in the mud, and Johnson City proved more successful than Elmira Free Academy did in a 4-3 win Friday afternoon in a Southern Tier Athletic Conference boys soccer semifinal game at EFA.

Johnson City will face Vestal on Monday for the STAC title (Vestal downed Susquahanna Valley 8-0).

EFA (11-5-1) had many calls go against it in the first half. Each time, Johnson City (15-1) put the ball in play quickly, catching the Blue Devils with their hands up in the air. The Wildcats scored three goals in a five-minute span, taking a 3-1 lead. Twice, Johnson City's Dani Brkovic dribbled into open space inside the 18, shot and scored.

"We let (Brkovic) beat us today. He scored three goals," said EFA coach Derek Hamilton. "He's an excellent player, and when you do stupid things against an excellent player, they're going to burn you."

Wildcats captain Joel Collins also dominated, especially in the first half, and used the weather to his advantage. As the game progressed, Collins took more outside shots.

"That's what I tried to get them to do," said Johnson City coach Hristos Dimitriou. "With these conditions, if you get a good shot it can go anywhere if it skips."

Collins finally netted one from 35 yards out on a free kick with 2:13 left in the first half, the wet ball skipping into the right side of the net off goalie Bobby McGinnis' gloves.

Despite a goal by EFA's Kevyn Rustici in the opening minutes of the second half -- his second of the game -- Johnson City gained momentum again thanks to EFA mistakes. Brkovic capitalized on a corner kick with 18:36 left to make it 4-2.

"We're flying in uncontrollably on tackles so they're dribbling around us, instead of us stepping off and making sure they stay in front of us," Hamilton said.

McGinnis provided a key moment late in the game when he stopped a Brkovic penalty kick and two rebound shots. EFA immediately went down the field, and Semko Abdullah found the back of the net, making the score 4-3 with 14:29 left.

"The keeper made a great triple-save on the penalty kick," Dimitriou said. "Then we give up the goal right after that and we lose our cushion. The bottom line is we came through and we survived it."

Said Hamilton: "I totally expect us to rebound from this. I expect us to play much better the next game with a limited amount of mistakes."

EFA will host the Maine-Endwell/Oneonta winner at 3:30 p.m. next Saturday in a Section 4 Class A semifinal.

EFA Scoring - Rustici (2-0), Abdullah (1-1), Burin (0-2)

Johnson City Scoring - Brkovic (3-0), Collins (0-1)

Shots/Corners - EFA (13-4), Johnson City (17-7)

Saves - EFA (McGinnis - 13), Johnson City (Yurecka - 10)

October 18, 2007
By Andrew Zivic
sports@stargazette.com
Star-Gazette

Derek Hamilton has spent the past three years trying to return Elmira Free Academy back to the dominance the school enjoyed in soccer during the late 1980s and early '90s.

Following an 11-4-1 record in the regular season, EFA is poised to make a strong run in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference, sectional and perhaps state playoffs. The STAC West champion Blue Devils open postseason play Friday with a STAC semifinal game at home against Johnson City, starting at 3:30 p.m.

Much of the credit for EFA's resurgence goes to Hamilton, who was the team's JV coach for four years before becoming varsity coach three years ago. As soon as he became head coach, he wanted to change the soccer mentality at EFA.

"I wanted soccer to become a close second priority behind school," Hamilton said. "We had been losing for so long that I wanted to get across that losing is not OK. You get up after a loss and deliver the next blow."

Hamilton's players took to his lessons quickly. The Blue Devils finished with a winning record and made it to the state playoffs last year in his second season as head coach.

EFA snuck up on teams last year on its way to the Section 4 Class A title. That wasn't the case this season, but the Blue Devils have been even better than a year ago. They're ranked 10th in Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association and are the top seed for the Section 4 Class A playoffs.

Hamilton wasn't worried about how his players would deal with higher expectations.

"This year we have seniors who are used to winning and bring that swagger with them in every game," he said.

EFA has 11 seniors on the team, which represents more than half the roster. Most of the top players are either seniors or juniors, giving them an experience advantage against most of the teams they play.

Hamilton likes to play a possession game. This puts much of the onus on the defensemen and midfielders to keep the pace where EFA wants it.

The Blue Devils are anchored in the back by brothers Bobby and Michael McGinnis.

Bobby, a senior goalkeeper, is the last line of defense for Academy. In a recent game against Vestal he made 14 saves to keep his team in a game that could have been a blowout. McGinnis has saved 112 of the 129 shots he has faced this season.

Michael, a junior defenseman, feels his brother is one of the best keepers in the state.

Michael, who's in his first season playing defense after playing forward last season, appreciates his brother's help.

"I have problems staying back and keeping my depth. That's important because the forwards we play are fast and we have to respect their speed. As a forward I could float up, but it's really important for me to stay back and keep my depth," Michael said.

Despite a steep learning curve, Michael has taken to the position well. He flies around, heading many balls out of the zone before the other team even gets a chance to make a run. He said he's been helped out by senior Michael Chrabaszcz, who plays alongside him on defense and gives him pointers when he has questions.

When Chrabaszcz and the McGinnis brothers do their jobs, they allow the team's midfielders and forwards to push the ball on offense.

"We're most dangerous when we are counter-attacking," Hamilton said. "If there's an opening, we attack with great speed through the midfield."

When the Blue Devils are able to push, it is usually Joey Burin (6 goals, 12 assists) or Kevyn Rustici (9 goals, 10 assists) pushing it forward for Academy. Frankie Mannino, a junior, leads the team with 10 goals.

Burin's had an impressive year, epecially considering that his father, John, was diagnosed with cancer before the season. To show their support for John Burin, the team has been wearing yellow wristbands.

"We've been wearing them (the wristbands) since the Hall of Fame tournament," Chrabaszcz said. "His whole family is really happy we're doing it. Mr. Burin will come by and shake everybody's hand before the games when he can."

The Blue Devils' record is even more impressive when you consider they've played only four of their games against Class A competition.

"Playing mostly AA teams really prepares us for sectionals. Every game is hard-fought and we don't play any bad teams," Bobby McGinnis said.

The team's confidence going into the postseason has been tempered by two straight losses to Vestal and Corning, along with a 1-0 loss to Ithaca on Monday in game that was suspended Sept. 28 because of lightning.

"Everybody needs to get an attitude check," Rustici said. "We peaked really early in the season. I think we thought we were unbeatable for a while there. Our loss to Corning showed us we're not unbeatable."

While the team still has areas it needs to improve, Hamilton, Rustici and the rest of the players believe they can make a deep run through states if they play up to their capabilities.

In a game that started on September 28th, the Ithaca Little Red slipped by Elmira Free Academy 1-0 on a goal scored almost three weeks ago.

The game was resumed with 33:33 to play in the first half at Ithaca High School with Ithaca leading EFA 1-0.  Academy provided themselves with numerous opportunities, but couldn't seem to put the ball home.  EFA had a goal called back on a questionable push in the box as well as were denied an opportunity to tie the game when a obvious handball in the box by an Ithaca defender.

EFA finishes the regular season 11-4-1.  The boys have much to be proud of as they have won STAC West and earned the #1 seed in the Section IV, Class "A" Tournament.

Ithaca Scoring - Jeff Clement (1-0) 

Shots/Corners - EFA (6-4), Ithaca (6-3)

Saves - EFA (McGinnis - 5), Ithaca (Albanese - 6)

The EFA boys varsity soccer team will play the Johnson City Wildcats Friday, October 19th, 3:30 pm, at Elmira Free Academy.

The Devils, ranked 10th in the most recent New York State soccer poll, won the West Division of the STAC with a 9-3-1 record (11-3-1 overall).  This is the first time in history that EFA has won the STAC West.  Johnson City was crowned champions of the Central Division of STAC with a 13-1 record (14-1-0 overall) and are currently ranked 4th in the state. 

On the other side of the bracket, Vestal (ranked #11 in Class AA) will take on Class B Susquahanna Valley who won the East Division of STAC.  The winners of each game will meet for the STAC Championship on Monday, October 22nd, at 3:30 pm.