Men's Soccer | 10/25/2023 11:06:54 PM
Elmira College and St. John Fisher University clinched a share of the 2023 Empire 8 Men's Soccer regular season title and a first-round bye in the Empire 8 tournament with respective wins on Wednesday. Elmira earned a 4-0 win over Alfred earlier in the day before St. John Fisher secured a 1-0 victory over arch-rival Nazareth University Wednesday evening.
Elmira earned the top-seed after winning the tiebreaker over St. John Fisher. Both teams will receive a first round bye in the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament and host semifinal games on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
ELMIRA/ALFRED RECAP
SCORE: Elmira 4, Alfred 0
LOCATION: Elmira, NY | Campus Field
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (6-6-4, 5-0-3 E8), Alfred (5-7-4, 2-4-2 E8)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Soaring Eagles wasted little time getting their first goal, scoring on a sixth minute Martin Harguindey '26 header. Harguindey beat his man to the ball on the right-hand side of the pitch before cutting inside along the goal line and finding Mlunguza on the other side of the penalty box. Mlunguza controlled Harguindey's cross before crossing it back to the far post, where Harguindey was waiting to head it home in front of the Saxon goalkeeper.
- Elmira controlled the game after the first goal, registering three shots to none for Alfred until the 32nd minute when EC added another. Harguindey slid to collect the ball on the right side of the box before controlling and cutting inside. After a challenge by an Alfred defender, the ball landed at the feet of Koroma, who hit it first time and placed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal.
- The Purple & Gold scored another less than four minutes later. Alessandro Lancia '26 collected a pass outside the penalty area before running to the top of the box and unleashing a shot. The Alfred goalkeeper saved the effort, but Koroma was ready for the rebound, beating the defender to the ball and slotting home his second goal of the match.
- The scoring continued late into the first half when Ashraf Bonseu '25 made a run on a long pass from midfield. Bonseu raced the Alfred center-back to the ball and after a touch from the defender, Bonseu was able to flick the ball from behind him and catch the goalkeeper off his line, finding the bottom-left corner of the goal for Elmira's fourth.
- The Soaring Eagles took a commanding 4-0 lead into the break, outshooting the Saxons 8-0.
FISHER/NAZARETH RECAP
SCORE: St. John Fisher 1, Nazareth 0
LOCATION: Pittsford, NY | Growney Stadium
TEAM RECORDS: St. John Fisher (6-4-5, 5-0-3 E8), Nazareth (10-3-2, 5-2-1 E8)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior Riley Rease scored on a header in the 52nd minute, assisted by senior Matt Gentile.
- Senior Jadon Schlierf had his fifth complete-game shutout of the season, making nine saves and keeping the Cardinals ahead despite the Flyers outshooting them, 15-10.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com and
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