Score: Medaille College 2, Elmira College 0
Records: Medaille (1-0-0), Elmira (0-1-0)
Location: Campus Field – Elmira, N.Y.

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's soccer team was edged by the visiting Mavericks from Medaille College in the 2017 season- and home-opening by a 2-0 final score at Campus Field on Friday.

Medaille, winners of 12 games a season ago, controlled much of the possession in the first half, which resulted in a 7-to-2 lead in shots for the visitors. Despite the lopsided shot count, Elmira had a golden scoring chance off of the team's lone corner in the 17th minute. A perfectly fed ball from Tony Barraco '18 found Colin Morrison '19 unmarked inside the box. The Carlsbad, California, native snapped a header towards the net only to see his attempt get blocked by a Medaille defender. However, the loose ball found its way to Donte Donegal '18, who fired a shot of his own, only to see it miss wide.

The Mavericks nearly took a lead in the 33rd minute, when Mo Hussein had the ball on the left post with an empty net. Hussein lunged into the shot, but as he was falling, the attempt caromed off the post, keeping things knotted at 0-0.

Mitchell Ali broke the stalemate in the 38th minute on a broken play in Medaille's attacking third. Good pressure by the Mavericks hampered Elmira's ability to the clear the ball, which squeaked out to the top of the 18-yard box, where Ali curled it into the back of the cage on a one-time attempt.

Freshman keeper Anthony Lipp '21 was subbed in midway through the contest and was tested early. The rookie from Mastic, New York, who finished with four stops in 45:00 minutes between the posts, faced a flurry of shots in the between the 52nd and 57th minutes. He snatched one save off the head of Ali and another off the foot of Lachlan Wilkinson in a span of 53 seconds.

On the opposite end of the field in the 60th minute, the Soaring Eagles had their first of a handful of prime scoring chances in the second half. Barraco inserted a corner to Cameron Sanderson '20 just outside the box and the Scottish national lofted the ball into the box. After a brief scrum, Brendan Wise '18 found the ball at his feet, but his shot from the right side was blocked by a Medaille defenseman.

EC's best scoring chance came in the 85th minute, with the Soaring Eagles scrambling to find the equalizer in the waning minutes of regulation. After leaping in the air in an attempt to get his head on the ball, Morrison was dragged down inside the box, which set up Barraco with a penalty kick. Medaille goalie Matt Gabalski dove to his right to deny the Elmira midfielder of his first opportunity, but the rebound caromed off of the upright and directly back to Barraco. Alas, the Liverpool, New York, native's second attempt at a then wide-open net sailed high and over the crossbar.

With the Soaring Eagles anxiously pressing forward and most of the defense caught out of position, Wilkinson scored Medaille's second goal with a mere 12 seconds remaining on the clock, despite a last-second sliding effort from John Broyles '18 to deflect the ball.

In Their Own Words…
Elmira first-year head coach Kevin Brenner on the season-opening loss to Medaille at Campus Field…
"I thought, for having a large new group of players against a defending conference finalist, the players held their own today. Little things win you college soccer games and we made too many simple mistakes, and a good team like Medialle made us pay. Credit to them."

Coach Brenner on his first game at the helm of the Soaring Eagles…
"I was excited. I understand it's a long process that takes time, but we are well on our way."

Coach Brenner when asked about the missed opportunity on Barraco's penalty kick…
"It was a good save by the goalkeeper and we were unfortunately unable to bury the rebound."

News and Notes

• EC falls to 1-2-0 in its three all-time meetings against the Mavericks.
• The Soaring Eagles are winless in their previous four season-opening contests, with their last opening-game victory coming in a 2-1 home triumph over Penn-State Harrisburg on September 1, 2013.
• Anthony Lipp '21 tallied four saves in his first collegiate action, the most by an EC rookie in a season opener since Jacob Liese '20 recorded six saves in the 2016 opener against SUNY Cortland.
• Freshman Luke Kretschmer '21 and Michael Courtney '21 made their first collegiate starts in their first matches donning the Purple and Gold.

Up Next
Elmira will look to bounce back from today's setback on Sunday, September 3, when the Soaring Eagles challenge non-conference foe Susquehanna University. The bout is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. at Campus Field.