Tompkins Weekly

Ithaca and Corning Boys Lacrosse: The rivalry



By Will LeBlond
Tompkins Weekly

 

For decades now, a pair of communities inside of Section IV Boys Lacrosse has been synonymous with domination.

While other similarly sized schools have been playing catchup, Ithaca and Corning have been the standard for what is considered the fastest growing sport in America. With collegiate powerhouses Cornell and Ithaca College just a few minutes down the road from Ithaca High School, their success can be easily explained, but the Hawks have matched the success of the Little Red without those types of programs nearby.

Even though the teams have a heated rivalry that goes back many years when Corning was separated into two different teams (Corning East and Corning West), the teams have battled extraordinarily closely since Corning became one merged program in 2011. Amazingly, since the merger in 2011 when Corning jumped to Class A, five of the next six Section IV Championship games pitted the two teams against each other and the results have proved that the two communities are neck-and-neck when it comes to lacrosse supremacy.

“It’s different. All the kids know that this is Ithaca and Corning,” said Corning head coach Chris Hogue, who has a son (Brendyn) and a nephew (Seth) on the varsity team. “The other big thing is, we essentially play each other three times with the winner going to the state playoffs. Other games matter, but they don’t matter like this one.”

Ithaca won the first head-to-head title matchup in 2011, then they beat Binghamton a year later to give head coach Frank Welch his 15th career Section IV crown and mark the last time a team other than Corning or Ithaca have reached the final. Ithaca beat the Hawks again in 2013 before Corning started a run of three straight championships from 2014 to 2016 that was halted just last spring when the Little Red reclaimed the title.

In recent seasons, it seems like the venue nor the records for each team alter how intense the games themselves have been.

“I think both sides get excited because they know it’s a very competitive game and there’s a lot of talent on both teams,” said Welch. “Even if one of us is having a poor year, if you beat the other one, that makes up for some of the down parts of the year.”

Welch is now in his 44th season at the helm for Ithaca and was also a player for the Little Red and mentioned how the rivalry was similarly intense when he was out on the field. On the other end of the field, Hogue is in his 4th season as varsity head coach, but he’s been in the community for many years and also knows what this matchup means and how it’s developed.

“It started years and years ago and both programs have developed a core youth league and families have grown up in the area playing lacrosse, it’s become the sport to play,” said Hogue. “You get the kids when they’re young and it’s all about lacrosse.”

Along with developing great players at the high school level, the two programs have developed collegiate stars that have played at Cornell, Syracuse, Harvard, Duke, and Georgetown just to name a few. The most notable recent Corning grad at the college level is Aidan Olmstead, who is starring at Division I Loyola University (Md.) as just a freshman. For Ithaca, defender Eli Gobrecht stayed home to attend Division III Ithaca College and was an All-American there, but he was just recently signed to the top level of professional lacrosse (Major League Lacrosse) with the Denver Outlaws.

“I think it’s been a great way for kids to get into schools,” said Welch, who coached Gobrecht. “No matter what level they go to, people can see that they played for either of our programs and I think they’re both pretty well respected around the area and the state.”

While both sides have seen some generational talent come through their doors, Welch thinks that the rivalry is not going away anytime soon.

“I don’t think when I stop coaching it’s something that’s going to change,” said Welch. “It’s going to survive the test of time. We’re not that close, but we’re not that far apart. The kids will play each other in a lot of sports and on club teams and I think the kids get into it a little bit more and it’s become kind of like beating your brother.”

Corning knocked off Ithaca in the first meeting of the 2018 season on April 26 in a thrilling 12-11 game, which marked the first Hawk win in Ithaca since 2014. The win also brought the all-time series between the teams since 2011 to 11-10 with Ithaca still in the lead. Now, the teams will battle on May 12 at Corning Memorial Stadium, as the Hawks will look to draw even in the all-time series.

 

 

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