Corning claims third straight Section 4 Class A boys lacrosse title in impressive fashion

Corning took control from the start Thursday night and delivered a dominant 12-3 victory over Ithaca in the Section 4 Class A boys lacrosse championship game at Union-Endicott High School.

The top-seeded Hawks turned a 3-0 advantage after one quarter into an 8-0 halftime score in beating the second-seeded Little Red for the third time in three tries this season, with matchup three the most lopsided following victories of 15-9 and 9-6.

"We talked about coming out and really winning the middle of the field back to the box," Hawks coach Chris Hogue said. "I thought we did an awesome job of that."

Offensive leaders

Corning junior Chris Grimaldi scored six goals, with three of them coming during the Hawks' five-goal second quarter. He took advantage of the opportunities he credited teammates with helping to create.

"We’ve got great players. Ethan Hart, Ben Wilcox, all those midfielders," Grimaldi said. "They’re slow to slide from them because they know they’ll pocket it. I just found my opportunities and took them."

Mikey Gigliotti added two goals and two assists for Corning. Wilcox also scored two goals. Trey Neally and Nick Volpe scored one each.

Luke VanDeMark had a goal and an assist for Ithaca (8-10). Chase Sposito and Owen Simons also netted goals.

Talking title

Corning won its third consecutive Section 4 title, a streak that dates back to 2019 because of the lost 2020 season.

"It’s awesome," Hawks coach Chris Hogue said of the latest championship. "That’s a step in our process each year is that sectional title and we try to take one game at a time and get them focused on one game at a time and not look ahead. That’s what this is. It’s one step to our next game next Saturday. That’s what our focus is right now."

All three championship wins have come against Ithaca, which won two sectional finals against Corning before the Hawks' reclaimed supremacy.

"It’s been a rivalry for years," Grimaldi said. "We always meet them in sectionals, so it’s always great to come out with the win against them especially. But never satisfied. We’re looking toward regionals."

Keys to the win

Midfield play set the tone, starting at the faceoff X.

"I think he’s got a good faceoff kid, but I think we really made him work and then made them struggle to get it into the box," Hogue said. "We were able to withstand him winning the initial draw and then our ride was really good, causing a lot of turnovers."

Hogue said the Hawks played great one-on-one defense and did an excellent job communicating. Eric Reazor also received praise from his coach for his play at goalie.

Back on track

Corning's record over the last three seasons is now 45-6, but two of those losses came three days apart earlier this month: 21-18 at Maine-Endwell on May 9 and 14-9 at home against Vestal on May 12. The Golden Bears won the Section 4 Class B title, 8-2, over Horseheads in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader at U-E.

The Hawks have responded by outscoring their last three opponents by a combined 49-13.

"We needed to step back," Hogue said. "What do we need to do? What are we not doing well? I think we spent the last couple weeks really focusing on some aspects of our game we really wanted to get better at."

Said Grimaldi: "Those losses are hard to face. We just power through them, come back to practice, focus up and we go hard."

Tribute to legendary Cornell coach

The initials of legendary Cornell lacrosse coach Richie Moran could be seen on multiple Ithaca helmets Thursday.

Moran, who coached the Big Red to three national championships in the 1970s, died April 24 at age 85. Sposito is his grandson.

More: Corning ends Ithaca's reign in Section 4 Class A girls lacrosse

Up next

Corning (13-4) will play the Section 3 champion in a state quarterfinal at 12:30 p.m. June 4 at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

"We’re going to enjoy this win tonight, but we’re not satisfied," Grimaldi said. "We’re going to continue through this week, work hard and come back firing, ready to go on Saturday."

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Corning dominated Ithaca in Section 4 Class A boys lacrosse final