ELMIRA, N.Y. – After beating Hartwick College in double-overtime in the Empire 8 tournament semifinal on Wednesday, Elmira men's soccer will host the Cardinals of St. John Fisher at Campus Field for the championship final on Saturday, November 4, at 1:00 p.m.
The Soaring Eagles will have an opportunity to capture the program's first Empire 8 championship, having last played in an Empire 8 championship final in 2011 when they fell to Stevens Institute of Technology 2-1. That match marked Elmira's only previous Empire 8 championship final appearance in program history.
The match will be the first Empire 8 tournament final hosted at Campus Field and the first tournament final for any conference since 2012 when EC men's soccer hosted the ECAC final against Russell Sage.
Matchup History:
Elmira drew its previous matchup against the Cardinals earlier this season. Despite outshooting St. John Fisher 12-4, neither team made its opportunities count and the match ended in a scoreless draw. EC sports an 11-19-6 record against St. John Fisher in its history, with a 6-7-5 record at Campus Field.
Keys to the Game:
- Multi-Pronged Attack: Elmira forward Martin Harguindey '26 leads the way among Empire 8 players in goals scored with 11, and is also tied for the team lead in assists with two. However, multiple Soaring Eagles have contributed to the Elmira attack in recent games. Mohamed Koroma '25 netted a pair of goals in Elmira's final match of the regular season against Alfred in a 4-0 win. He also scored the game-winning goal against Hartwick in a 1-0 regular season victory. Defender Konstantinos Triantafillou '27 scored the game-winner in EC's double-overtime triumph over Hartwick in the E8 Tournament semifinal. Jose Navea Corporan '27 has scored a pair of stellar goals for Elmira from midfield, netting the game-winner against Houghton on a shot outside the penalty area and tying its match against Nazareth in the 88th minute on a 25-yard blast.
- Security from the Back Line: Center-backs Triantafillou and Kerfalla Toure '26, along with defenders Selvin Maldonado '25 and Cameron Neighoff '27, have provided cover in front of goal for the Soaring Eagles all season, allowing just 24 shots on target against Empire 8 opponents all season, including postseason.
- Keep it in Safe Hands: Elmira goalkeeper Juan Carlos Cruz Gandia '27 continued his strong form on the season, recording another clean sheet in the semifinal win vs. Hartwick. He still has allowed just one goal against Empire 8 opponents this season and sports a 0.48 goals against average. He saved three Hartwick attempts at goal in his previous outing and has a save percentage of .848 in all contests this season.
General Information:
The Elmira College Athletics Booster Club will grill 400 hot dogs prior to kickoff. There will be a "tailgate" at the fire pit outside of the Campus Center with cornhole and bucketball beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Ticketing Information:
$6.00 - General Admission
Free - Kids 12 & Under
Free - Students and staff with Elmira College ID
Statistics/Live Video:
Elmira College will provide all live video and statistics, which may be found here.
