ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Elmira College Men's Soccer team 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. 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. 

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 2, Hartwick 0
LOCATION: Oneonta, New York | Elmore Stadium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (7-8-4, 5-4-2 Empire 8), Hartwick (8-8-2, 6-5-0 Empire 8)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• 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. 
• In the second half, the ball would spend the majority of the first 12 minutes in Hartwick's offensive zone. After some physical play on the side of Elmira, the Hawks were able to see a trio of corner kicks over a minute and a half span of time. On the third, Cruz Gandia would be worked out of the box, and after some pitter patter the ball would eventually end up out of play, ending the threat. 
• 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. 

UP NEXT:
Elmira will await the winner of the St. John Fisher/Brockport in the other Empire 8 Semifinal match at 7:00 PM. Regardless, Elmira will look to capture its second consecutive Empire 8 championship on the road this upcoming Saturday as the No. 7 seed. 

*Statistics will be provided upon availability*