Men's Soccer | 11/6/2024 8:43:33 PM
No. 1 seed St. John Fisher University (10-4-5) and No. 7 seed Elmira College (7-8-4) will meet in the 2024 Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship match for the seond straight season after advancing in semifinal action on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Elmira defeated No. 6 Hartwick, 2-0 in the opening match of the day, while St. John Fisher advanced in penalty kicks, 4-1 over No. 5 SUNY Brockport after the two teams played to a scoreless draw through 110 minutes of play.
The Soaring Eagles are E8 Championship game for the second straight season and thrd time in program history (2011, 2023). St. John Fisher advanced to the E8 Championship game for the sixth time in program history. The Cardinals are looking to earn their third Empire 8 Championship, having also won in 2016 and Spring 2021.
The Cardinals will host Elmira from Growney Stadium at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9. The winner will receive an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Tournament, which begins on Nov. 16-17
Elmira and St. John Fisher met earlier in the regular season from Growney Stadium on Sept.14 with host St. John Fisher scoring three second half goals to earn a 3-0 win. Joey Avallone scored twice for the Cardinals. The two teams met in the 2023 E8 Championship from Campus Field in Elmira. The game ended in a 2-2 draw before Elmira won its first E8 title, 4-2 in penalty kicks.
NO. 1 ST. JOHN FISHER 2 NO. 5 SUNY BROCKPORT 0 (2 OT - SJF ADVANCED ON PK'S, 4-1)
Topp seed St. John Fisher advanced to the 2024 Empire 8 Championship match after outlasting No. 5 seed SUNY Brockport, 4-1 in the penalty kick round after neither team found the back of the net over the first 110 minutes of play. Brockport finished the season 7-6-5.
Fisher held a 16-14 edge in total shots and 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
The Cardinals would excel in the penalty kick session, scoring on all four of its attempts, as Joey Avallone, Adam Grover, Troy Jezioro and Jacob McGinnis converted. St. John Fisher goalkeeper Christian Burkhart came up with two key diving saves for the Cardinals, as they advanced to the E8 Championship.
NO.7 ELMIRA 2, NO. 6 HARTWICK 0
Elmira advanced to its third Empire 8 Conference championship game (2011, 2023, 2024) on Wednesday evening, picking up a 2-0 victory over the No. 6 seeded Hawks from Hartwick College on the road. Hartwick had its season come to an end with an 8-8-2 mark.
In what would show to be a back-and-forth physical game on both sides, the Soaring Eagles would net the game-winner in the 14th minute of play off the foot of
Horacio Vicioso '26, while EC's second goal of the contest came with just over 21 minutes remaining, as
Jose Navea Corporan '27 buried a penalty kick in the second consecutive contest.
Inside the net, Juan Carlos Cruz Gandia '27 would put up a heroic performance, facing ten shots and finishing with six saves.
The first six minutes of the contest would be controlled on the offensive side by the Hawks, who saw a trio of shots on goal, which were all saved by Elmira goalkeeper Cruz Gandia. After registering a shot just 6:14 into the contest, Hartwick would yet to see another until nearly 22 minutes later.
Between that time, Elmira would see an uptick in its offense, putting a pair of shots up, both of which were off target. From there, Elmira would execute on its first shot on goal for the contest at the 14:13 mark, as Vicioso found the twine to put the Soaring Eagles ahead 1-0. The remainder of the half would prove to be a stalemate, as Hartwick led the shots battle in the opening frame 6-3 with the teams tied at two corner kick opportunities a piece.
Just past the midway point in the second half, the Soaring Eagles would see a chance in the box, before the Hartwick goalkeeper made contact with the offensive player with possession, resulting in a penalty opportunity. Similar to Elmira's quarterfinal match against Nazareth, it would be Corporan who executed the PK, extending the Elmira lead to 2-0. For the season, the Soaring Eagles improved to 7-for-7 in that category.
2024 Empire 8 Men's Soccer Championship Schedule
Saturday, November 2 – Quarterfinals
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeated No. 8 Russell Sage, 1-0 – BOX SCORE
No. 5 SUNY Brockport defeated No. 4 SUNY Poly, 3-0 – BOX SCORE
No. 6 Hartwick draws No. 3 SUNY Geneseo, 1-1 (Hartwick advances on PK's 6-5) – BOX SCORE
No. 7 Elmira defeated No. 2 Nazareth, 2-1 – BOX SCORE
Wednesday, November 6 - Semifinals
No. 1 St. John Fisher tied No. 5 SUNY Brockport, 0-0 (St. John Fisher advances on PK's, 4-1) – BOX SCORE
No. 7 Elmira defeated No. 6 Hartwick, 2-0 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, November 9 - Championship Final
No. 7 Elmira at No. 1 St. John Fisher -– 4:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
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.
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