Score: Alfred University 1, Elmira College 0
Records: Alfred (3-5-1, 2-0-1 E8), Elmira (2-7-1, 1-2-0 E8)
Location: Elmira, N.Y. – Campus Field
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's soccer team was held scoreless in a pivotal 1-0 Empire 8 Conference loss on Saturday afternoon against first-place Alfred University at Campus Field. The Soaring Eagles, who own a 2-7-1 overall record, fall to 1-2-0 inside E8 play, while the Saxons (3-5-1) remained unbeaten in league play at 2-0-1.
 
Alfred finished with a wide 19-to-9 advantage in shots and held a 6-to-2 margin in corner kicks, but was assessed with four of the six yellow cards in the chippy back-and-forth match. The Saxons looked to fire up the offense in the early moments of the game, as they registered three shots and were awarded three corners in a span of 2:58, beginning in the fifth minute. One of those corners resulted in a rip from Jesse Lichtman from the 18, but Evan Merkey's header redirected the ball just inches wide of the right post.
 
Donte Donegal '18 was just wide of the net on the opposite end of the field in the 20th minute. A cross from the left-wide side from Tony Barraco '18 found an unmarked Donegal inside the box, but the touch off of his right foot flew past the Alfred keeper, who was charging off of his line, and into the outside of the net.
 
In the 27th minute, Colin Morrison '18 almost caught Saxons goalie Chris Gutierrez off guard with a booming free kick, taken just beyond the midfield stripe. The long-range free ball fluttered over the heads of several players inside the 18-yard box and bounced in and out of Gutierrez's arms before he was able to haul it in cleanly. Luke Kretschmer '21 nearly connected with Donegal on a free kick of his own with four-and-a-half minutes remaining before halftime. From nearly 35 yards out, the freshman found EC's senior striker along the back post. Donegal got a touch with his left foot before colliding with Gutierrez inside the six-yard box, but the attempt sailed high over the crossbar.
 
After playing to a scoreless draw at the half, the Saxons' offense tallied the lone goal of the contest in the 53rd minute. Less than a minute after Elmira goalie Jacob Liese '20 made a sprawling stop to deny Lichtman, Merkey headed a cross from Miguel Reyes from the right wing between Liese and the far post for what proved to be the game-winner.
 
Trailing by one, the Soaring Eagles could only place on shot on goal throughout the remainder of the second half. That shot came from Brendan Wise '18 in the 80th minute. After a botched clear attempt by an Alfred defender, Wise stole the ball and rifled a shot from approximately 20 yards out, but Gutierrez made an incredible leap to punch the ball over the crossbar at the last second. EC's last chance came in the closing seconds of regulation off of another Morrison free kick. The ball was launched into a scrum inside the box with time winding down. Rodney Smith '19 was able to release a shot from the back line, but was wide of the target as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
 
News and Notes

• The Soaring Eagles are 2-7-1 overall and 1-2-0 against Empire 8 opponents in 2017.
• Each of EC's last three losses have been by a single goal.
• All three one-goal losses have come on Elmira's home pitch at Campus Field.
• EC was outshot by its opponent for the ninth time this season.
• Liese made four saves against the Saxons to increase his total to a team-leading 34 on the season.
• Liese's 1.077 goals-against average in his sophomore season is the fourth-lowest in the E8.

 
Up Next
The Elmira men will travel to Saratoga Springs, New York, on Wednesday, October 4, for a non-conference tilt against Liberty League affiliate Skidmore College. The Soaring Eagles and Thoroughbreds kick off at 7:00 p.m.