Elmira, NY – An early second half Sage score proved to be the difference as the Elmira College Men’s Soccer team fell just short of an ECAC title, 1-0, Sunday afternoon on Campus Field. The win improves the Gators to 14-5-1, while the loss drops the Soaring Eagles to 13-7.
Both teams had equal scoring opportunities in the opening half as each squad had six shot attempts and three shots on target. The Soaring Eagles had a golden opportunity in the 24th minute when a beautiful strike off a free kick by
Alexander Poole ’13
struck off the left post as he bended his shot over the Sage wall. The teams went into intermission tied at one apiece.
Sage controlled more of the scoring opportunities in the second half as they held a 5-2 shots advantage. That possession paid off in the 50th minute when Scott Jarosz collected a loose ball in the center of the 18 and drilled a shot into the lower left hand corner beating Elmira keeper
Kevin Huggins ’16. The goal was Jarosz’s 22nd marker on the season, making him one of the highest goal scorers in the nation.
EC’s best opportunity to find an equalizer came in the 65
th minute when
Tre Ming ’16 played a through ball to
Ernesto Valverde ’14 on the left side.
Valverde lasered a screaming shot on goal but Gator keeper TJ Zehner was up for the task as he stopped the high-powered strike and kept the score at 1-0. Elmira pressed to try and tie the game late but could not muster another shot on target.
The Soaring Eagles finish the season as the ECAC Runner-Up after another successful season under Head Coach
Jeremiah Kneeland. This is the third consecutive season under
Kneeland that the team has had at least 12 wins, and the 13 victories this year tie the school record for most wins in a season.