Elmira District Boys Soccer

STAC names fall academic all-stars Star-Gazette December 19, 2006 The Southern Tier Athletic Conference has announced its Fall 2006 Academic All-Stars. Area student-athletes named to the team: •Corning East: Jack Rubin and Leah Rossettie, cross country; Hannah Dentry, cheerleading; Cameron Flory, football; Taylor Cain, golf; Christopher Jakobson and Aaron Dickinson, soccer; Margaret Box, swimming; Caitlin Woglom, tennis; Lisa Illig, volleyball. •Corning West: Matt Astolfi and Katie Mlejnkova, cross country; Samantha Layton, cheerleading; Brian Carroll, football; Joe Patterson, golf; Jessica Monastra, soccer; Brandee Duell, swimming; Olivia Johnson, volleyball. •Elmira Free Academy: Thomas Jacobson and Paula Lopez, cross country; Rebecca Hartnett, cheerleading; Christopher Graham, football; Steffan Waters, golf; SHAWN HOWZE AND SUSAN GOLDMAN, SOCCER; Catherine Sentigar, swimming; Adrianna Bellamy, tennis; Katherine Kalweit, volleyball. •Horseheads: Christian Li and Alexis White, cross country; Emily Blaney, cheerleading; Brendan Hatlee, football; Andrew Strack, golf; Matt Morris and Shauna Michael, soccer; Lauri Crimmins, swimming; Geetha Bhagavatula, tennis; Megan Reed, volleyball. •Southside: Adam Sandore and Bethany Coons, cross country; Tiffani Krzywda, cheerleading; Matt Matkosky, football; Ryan Spady, golf; Caleb Stoner and Krissy Stoner, soccer; Jessica Greger, tennis; Brittany Wheeler, volleyball.

Two all-state picks among STAC soccer all-stars Star-Gazette December 17, 2006 Horseheads High School senior Andrew McIntosh has been named to the New York State Sportswriters Association large schools all-state second team for boys soccer. The sweeper scored seven goals and had four assists this season. He was named to the STAC all-conference team and was team MVP at the Cicero-North Syracuse tournament. McIntosh led a defense that recorded eight shutouts and allowed just 18 goals in 20 games. Opponents took just 4.8 shots per game (a school record) against the Blue Raiders. Four Horseheads players, including McIntosh, were named to the All-Southern Tier Athletic Conference West/Metro team. Senior forwards Steve Wells and Pat Zelko, junior midfielder Rejean Archambeault and McIntosh represented the Blue Raiders on the team. Also picked to the all-conference team was Elmira Free Academy senior midfielder TYLER SAMPSELL. The STAC West all-division team included Horseheads' Ryan Todd (senior defender), Morgan Conwell (senior midfielder), Kevin Hurley (senior midfielder) and Matt Ahrens (senior forward); EFA's BOBBY MCGINNIS (junior goalie), RYAN BORDINGER (senior defender), MIKE CHRABAZCZ (junior defender) and CARL LEARNED (senior forward); Southside's Caleb Stoner (senior defender) and Mike Weaver (freshman forward); and Corning's Ben Nix (junior midfielder), Adam Shafer (junior midfielder) and Nick Davis (senior forward). Southside senior goalkeeper Kayla Murphy, a fourth-team Class A all-state selection, was among those named to the STAC West/ Metro girls soccer team. Also on the all-conference team were Corning senior midfielder Kate Early and Horsheads senior forward Lois Immerman. The STAC West all-division team included Horseheads' Ellie Morello (senior goalie), Shelby Davis (sophomore defender), Heather Morris (sophomore defender), Jenny Garrison (junior midfielder), Michelle Adams (senior midfielder) and Kim Sisti (junior forward); Corning's Jessica Monastra (junior defender), Diane Leinen (senior defender), Hannah Murray (senior midfielder), Lauren Lukefahr (junior midfielder) and Rebecca Marx (senior forward); Southside's Amanda Murphy (junior forward); and EFA's ALEXIS LIAN (senior forward).

By Molly McCarthy mmccarthy@stargazette.com Star-Gazette October 22, 2006 Beverlie Jones fondly recalls spending Friday nights under the lights at Dunn Field cheering on the Elmira Free Academy football team when she was a teen. The 1980 graduate still cheers the Blue Devils, not as a student, but as a parent.Her own high school memories came flooding back when she watched her son, EFA senior and quarterback Marcus DeLige, play under the lights at Union Endicott on a recent Friday night. "Oh god, it was the best because our team always played under the lights on Friday nights," she said. "That's football." This time of year is prime time for high school football fans, with rivals like Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour, Corning East and West and EFA and Southside facing off. As the teams compete, many adults, like Jones, hope today's students will be able to enjoy the same experiences they did. Today's EFA and Southside teams don't play home games on Fridays under the lights, but instead on Saturdays at their schools. A sense of nostalgia prompted by high school sports also can be seen in popular culture, such as television programs like NBC's "Friday Night Lights" and MTV's "Two-A-Days," which depict two high school football teams. It did not take much for Southside High School alumnus John Liquori, a 2005 graduate, to become as nostalgic about his school experiences as Jones is about hers. The 19-year-old Corning Community College student recalled being a junior in October 2003 when Southside won the Erie Bell for the first time in several years. Liquori was swept up in a sea of Green Hornets fans who rushed the field after the final whistle blew. "It was like this massive mosh pit of people taking up the whole football field," he said. Still, Liquori said some of his fondest memories are not of the games, but of the events that led up to them, like Spirit Week, where students would dress up, decorate the hallways and hold a pep rally. "It all ties in together to make one phenomenal memory of high school every year that truly is unforgettable," he said. Some adults said they are concerned that today's students are losing the sense of school spirit seen 40 years ago. However, if activities at Southside High School and Elmira Free Academy this week leading up to Saturday's Erie Bell game are any indication, school spirit is alive and well. There were pep rallies, hall-decorating contests and the Erie Bell court. Those kinds of memories are not limited to Elmira students. Angela Kamas, a 2004 Thomas A. Edison High School graduate, recalled playing the flute in the school's marching and pep bands and having a bird's-eye view of the games. "It was just a lot of fun," she said. "I liked doing it. (There were) lots of people." Kamas displayed her spirit on the school's theme days, such as one pajama day when she wore seven pairs of pajama bottoms, capped off with a pair of SpongeBob SquarePants slippers. "I always enjoyed participating in these days, even if I seemed to go overboard," she recalled. Kamas recently attended Edison's homecoming game and said she was happy to see all of the painted faces in the crowd. Popular culture has played an important role in encouraging such displays of school spirit, she said. "If TV shows and stuff show it, more people are like 'Oh that's cool,' " she said. Like Jones and Kamas, 1968 Horseheads High School graduate Larry Mochrie spent many fall evenings watching his school's football team. The football rivalry his alma mater had with Edison was symbolized with a jug emblazoned with both schools' colors. It was passed back and forth -- depending on who won the most recent game. He said he hopes some traditions of the past can be revived and combined with ones seen today to create even stronger school pride. "I think that it's going to take some help from some older parents to help bring (even more) school spirit," he said. Meanwhile, Jones said that while she wouldn't trade watching her son play at home during the day for anything, there was something about her own high school experience she'll always remember. "Saturday afternoon is OK, but Friday night is just the ultimate," she said.

High school: Athletes of the Week Star-Gazette November 10, 2006 MALE •Name: Elmira Free Academy boys soccer team •School: EFA •Sport: Soccer •Accomplishments: The Blue Devils beat Owego 1-0 in the Section 4 Class A final for their first sectional title since 1989. Kevyn Rustici scored the game's only goal and goalie Bobby McGinnins had 10 saves to earn the shutout. EFA is ranked No. 9 in the latest New York State Sportswriters Association rankings.

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."