ELMIRA, N.Y. — The Elmira College men's soccer team erupted for six second-half goals en route to a commanding 6–2 victory over Houghton on Wednesday afternoon at Campus Field. The win capped the regular season for the Soaring Eagles, who will await its Empire 8 Quarterfinal opponent following games later this evening.
JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 6, Houghton 2
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Campus Field
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (9-3-5, 7-1-3), Houghton (4-12-1, 2-8-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a scoreless first half, the floodgates opened just two minutes into the second when Adam Tufton '28 buried a cross from Ole Esselmann '26 to give Elmira the early edge. Houghton briefly leveled the score in the 54th minute, but Elmira quickly regained control as Pietro Gallina '25 converted a penalty kick less than two minutes later to restore the lead.
From there, the Soaring Eagles never looked back. Tufton notched his second of the afternoon in the 65th minute off a feed from Gallina, and Jose Navea Corporan '27 made it 4–1 with a strike in the 78th. Tufton completed his hat trick in the 83rd minute with help from Jhoan Chavez '25, while Gallina capped the scoring at 6–2 in the 89th on Navea Corporan's second assist of the match.
Gallina finished with two goals and an assist, while Navea Corporan tallied a goal and two assists. Elmira outshot the Highlanders 24–18 and controlled play throughout the second half.
Goalkeeper Juan Carlos Cruz Gandia '27 anchored the defense with 11 saves, keeping the Soaring Eagles steady through Houghton's early offensive pressure.
UP NEXT:
With the victory, Elmira heads into postseason play and will host a home game on Saturday Afternoon at Campus Field against an opponent that is to be determined.
