STAC soccer finals set: How the teams advanced and what's next for top teams

The Southern Tier Athletic Conference's soccer semifinals Wednesday night were decidedly different, with the Elmira and Chenango Valley girls scoring seven goals each in dominant wins while the Corning and Vestal boys pulled out one-goal victories in low-scoring games.

In the girls' games, Elmira was a 7-0 winner over Oneonta at home and Chenango Valley showcased its offensive firepower in a 7-1 home triumph against Maine-Endwell.

Corning's boys eked out a 2-1 road win at Owego Free Academy. Vestal's boys took a 2-1 home win against Oneonta.

STAC finals schedule

Chenango Valley (10-4) will host Elmira (9-5) in the girls championship game at 7 p.m. Friday.

Vestal (13-1-1) will host Corning (13-1-1) in the boys final at 7 p.m. Monday. The championship was originally scheduled for Friday. Vestal's football team is home that night against Horseheads, the Golden Bears' homecoming game.

Corning and Vestal played to a 1-1 tie Monday, a result that clinched the STAC West title for the Hawks.

Semifinal standouts

• Elmira scored five goals in the first 30 minutes of its win over Oneonta. Emily Hanrahan finished with three goals to give her 19 this season and Tierney Krawczyk scored twice. The Express' other goals came from Maddie Tolbert and Emily Klotz off a Mia Capilli assist.

• Maddie Hayes, Aubrey Marroquin and Zoe Donlick scored two goals apiece in Chenango Valley's victory. Scarlet Shelly scored the other goal for Forks and Lea Griffin got Maine-Endwell on the scoreboard.

• Anton Angeline netted the deciding goal on a high-powered blast for Vestal in the second half. Oneonta's Finley Oliver knotted the score 1-1 in the first half. Graham Sholett started the scoring by converting a penalty kick.

• Jackson Casey broke a 1-1 tie for Corning in the 17th minute of the second half off a Liam Bayne assist. Corning's Carter Rosno tied the score for the Hawks with a goal off a Casey assist 30 minutes into the game. Owego's Vasil Brich scored less than a minute into the game.

Express girls at home at new home

Elmira has won six of its last seven games after losing three in a row to Liverpool, Baldwinsville and Corning. The Express is 5-0 at the rebuilt Thomas J. Hurley Athletic Complex since playing there for the first time Sept. 22 and has outscored its opponents by a 24-1 margin during those games.

"We knew we had to come out fast and get off to a good start because they’re capable of putting the ball in the back of the net themselves," said Elmira coach Zach Sarno, adding how much he respects longtime Oneonta coach Jerry Mackey and the Yellowjackets' tradition-rich program. "And we did that. We obviously came out flying. We’ve kind of been flying on this home field since the first day we played out here."

The new digs have coincided with Elmira's improved overall play and Sarno said getting players rest after a busy stretch of games has helped the cause.

"I think it was just mentally we were kind of not in it in the beginning and we just all talked about how this was something we wanted and we wanted to work hard for it and get this, especially for the seniors’ last year," Krawczyk said. "I think that kind of switched us on and we started playing a lot better than we were before."

Chance for title redemption for CV

Chenango Valley's high-flying offense was stalled by Corning's historically stingy defensive approach in last year's STAC final, 1-0.

CV gets another shot at STAC supremacy against Elmira in a game that will feature some of the most skilled players in Section 4: most notably CV's Nadia Wojcik and Marroquin, and the Express' Hanrahan and Krawczyk.

"We know that they’ve been good all year. I think it’s going to be a tough challenge for us," Sarno said. "We’ve never faced them before, so it’s certainly a new team we’ve never even played before, although we did scrimmage in the preseason."

Said Krawczyk: "It's very exciting. They're a very good team and I think it will be a good game."

Quotable

Corning's boys are ranked 13th in Class AA by the New York State Sports Writers Association. Previously unbeaten Owego (12-1) is the state's eighth-ranked Class B team.

"Overall it was a playoff atmosphere level match," Corning coach Chad Freelove said.

Notable

Vestal is seeking its first STAC tournament title since beating Elmira, 3-2, in the 2018 title game for a third consecutive conference title.

Corning is making its first appearance in the STAC final since losing to Vestal, 3-2, in 2013.

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: Elmira, CV girls join Corning, Vestal boys as STAC semi winners