Score: Elmira College 1 – St. John Fisher College 0
Records: Elmira (7-6-4, 3-1-3 Empire 8), St. John Fisher (3-13-0, 2-5-0 Empire 8)
Location: Campus Field – Elmira, NY
 
Elmira, NY -- On a day that the Elmira College men's soccer team honored its seven graduating seniors, the Soaring Eagles would make Senior Day even more special for its four-year athletes by scoring a 1-0 shutout win at home against St. John Fisher College. With the victory, Elmira qualifies for the 2015 Empire 8 Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face the No. 1 seed and tournament host, Ithaca College, on Friday, November 6th at 11:00 a.m.
 
The opening 20 minutes of today's contest was a bit uneventful, as the team's felt each other out through the early goings with both squads enjoying different moments of possession. Things picked up in the 26th minute when Donte Donegal '18 nearly gave the Purple and Gold the lead. Tony Barraco '18 sent a beautiful cross into the box and found Donegal, who timed his run perfectly, in front of the Fisher net. On the cross, Donegal connected on a powerful header but his attempt grazed just past the left post, as the game remained knotted at 0-0.
 
In the 37th minute, Fisher was called for a foul around midfield, allowing the Soaring Eagles to advance numbers up the field in a more offensive minded approach. On the ensuing free kick, Colin Morrison '19 would send a dangerous ball into the box, forcing Fisher's defenders to make a play on the ball in a sea of maroon and gold jerseys.
 
Morrison's feed proved to be a difficult one for the Fisher back line, as the Cardinals failed to clear the ball several times. The mishaps in the backline allowed for rookie Misi Glover '19 to get a foot on the ball and send a lobbed pass to an unmarked Kyle Beekman '18 in the right side of the box. From there, Beekman took the ball off the bounce and fired a missile into the left corner of the net for the game's opening goal.
 
With a 1-0 edge, Elmira looked to add to their lead and almost did so in the 42nd minute. After Michael Bryant '17 drew a foul just outside the 18 yard box, EC drew up a set piece that was executed to near perfection. After a quick step-over by Bryant on the free kick, Barraco sent a quick pass to a crossing Aidan Gray '19 just inside the 18. Gray would collect the ball and fire a shot with his left foot but his attempt missed just wide right, as EC held onto their one-goal lead.
 
In the second half, Elmira looked to keep Fisher's offense at bay by keeping the ball out of their defensive end, forcing play to take place in the middle third of the field. However, the Cardinals did pose a legitimate threat in the 69th minute, when Jake Gentile made a sleek run up the right flank. With the ball at his feet, Gentile launched a powerful shot on target, but EC's Kevin Huggins '16 was there to make the deflection but the ball remained loose in the Elmira box.
 
With Huggins on the ground and the ball up for grabs, Fisher was able to get control and take two shots from inside the 18 yard box. Thankfully, EC's back line snuffed out the attempts, making blocks on both shots to maintain Elmira's 1-0 lead.
 
Later in the half, it looked as though Elmira was going to go up by two when a ball played into the box was somewhat mishandled by Fisher's goalkeeper, Joseph Catalfamo. The ball looked to be loose following the mishandle, at which point Jack Lano '16 would get a toe on the ball and knock it away from Catalfamo. Lano buried the ball into the back of the net but the assistant referee's flag was raised, indicating that Catalfamo had control of the ball, thus, no goal for EC.
 
From that point on, Elmira seemed to control the flow of the game but would have to deal with the occasional Fisher counter attack. However, one last counter by the Cardinals put the Soaring Eagles in a very vulnerable position with just 1:01 to play in the game.
 
With one minute to play, Fisher was awarded a corner kick but their feed into the box was denied by an EC defender, although, the Cardinals were granted another corner opportunity with 45 ticks on the clock. Once again, Fisher would pump the ball into the mixer but a strong header by Rodney Smith '19 cleared the ball to midfield, all but sealing EC's 1-0 win.
 
In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Keith Moore on today's win…
"Today was a stressful one not knowing how things would pan out going into the match. But now, I am just absolutely delighted with how the boys showed up and played. We had a goal in August to finish top four in the conference this year and we achieved that. So, I am so proud of the guys and what they were able to do today."
 
Coach Moore on deciding to split Mansell and Huggins in net today…
"Both those guys have been so important to the program over the years. Both of them needed a reward and what a better reward than to end the season relying on seniors, especially the two goalkeepers to see out today's win. They played two clean 45's and were unbeaten. They were awesome today."
 
Coach Moore on Beekman's game-winning goal…
"Michael Bryant has been finding ways to get it done for us recently and we have been trying to figure out who was going to partner with him in the attack. Today, Beekman stepped up and was on fire from that midfield position."
 
Coach Moore on the turnaround from a season ago…
"After last year's season, the guys that were with us made it a point that we would never let what happened last year happen ever again. I think that, in weird way, we are a stronger team from experiencing what we did last year. We circled that we wanted to be top four this year as our minimum goal and now here we are – it is so rewarding."
 
Turning Point
With the game deadlocked at 0-0, Kyle Beekman's rocket of a shot in the 38th minute put the Soaring Eagles ahead 1-0, which would ultimately decide today's contest. Although Beekman's goal was the difference maker, EC's successful defense of a pair of St. John Fisher corner kicks in the final 1:01 would seal today's victory. 
 
Inside the Box Score

• The two teams combined for 20 shots on the day, with EC holding an 11-to-9 advantage.
• Of Elmira's 11 shots, only one made its way on frame, that being Beekman's game-winner.
• Fisher held the lead in corner kick chances at 5-to-4.
• Beekman's game-winner was scored in the 38th minute.
• Glover was credited with an assist on the game-winning score.
• EC netminders Austin Mansell '16 and Huggins split time in net and made two saves apiece.
• Mansell was credited with the win.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira qualifies for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament for the first time since 2012.
• Today's win snaps a four-game Fisher unbeaten streak against EC and ends the Cardinals' three-game win streak against Elmira as well.
• Beekman's goal was the first of his Elmira College career.
• Glover's assist on Beekman's game-winner is the first of his collegiate career.
• Mansell improves to 5-2-3 on the year with today's win.

 
Up Next
Elmira will have nearly a week off before their next contest, a November 6th matchup with top seeded Ithaca College in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament Semifinals, which will be played at Ithaca's Carp Wood Field. Friday's conference semifinal is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.