Trumansburg girls soccer repeats as IAC champions

Last season, the Trumansburg girls soccer team ended a 27-year IAC title drought after taking down Lansing 2-0 in the Large School championship. This season, they made sure they didn’t have to wait another 27 years for another league title.

On October 19, the Blue Raiders shut out Watkins Glen 2-0 at Tompkins Cortland Community College to secure back-to-back IAC championships. The victory also acted as redemption against a Lake Hawks team who had beaten them earlier in the regular season and in the last two Section IV Class C finals. It certainly bodes well for them heading into this year’s sectionals.

“We feel like that we can be competitive in just about every game we take the field,” said head coach Anthony Ouckama. “Watkins has been a great team for a number of years now, and our girls were excited to have another shot at playing them. It is nice to stack up against those tougher teams to kind of see where we stand.”

It didn’t take too long for the Blue Raiders to break the deadlock, as Amara Landon fired home the opening goal 17 minutes in. Ellie Ouckama sealed the deal in the final minutes with a long-range strike. That was her team-leading 22nd goal of the season, already matching her tally from last year’s All-State campaign.

“She definitely works hard,” Anthony Ouckama said. “She works hard every day in practice and obviously on game days. Like with all our players, this is a team game, and she knows as well as anyone that it can’t be done alone. We credit our teammates. As we praise one of us, we praise all of us. She knows that those goals are set up by her teammates that are doing the hard work and getting the ball and making the assists.”

The Blue Raiders’ attack is complemented by a strong defense, which mightily impressed against the Lake Hawks by managing to shut down two-time All-State forward Skye Honrath. The back line of Raya Mount, Paetyn Howley, Ella Simoneau, and Josie Pharoah along with goalkeeper Amelia Hoffmire have been rock-solid all season long, keeping 10 shutouts.

“All three of us coaches—myself, Emily Ouckama and Colleen Robinson—we all pride [ourselves] on a strong defensive effort and preach deep team defense, starting with the keeper and all the way through our defense,” Ouckama said. “We’ve got a veteran senior captain back there—Raya Mount—anchoring us as our center back. We pride ourselves in trying to win those one-on-one battles and providing coverage for each other. We’re always proud when we can keep a shutout and/or keep opponents to a very low scoring volume. We know we’re always in the game if we can keep them off the board.”

Another key aspect that has stood out about this year’s for Ouckama has been their strong leadership, from the three senior captains—Mount, Landon and Hope Augustine—to the freshman newcomers.

“We talk about leadership in several fashions,” Ouckama said. “It’s not just the captains, but you can be a leader in quieter ways too, and even younger players can show leadership through example or with their encouragement. I think there’s been a lot of growth one through 16 of our 16 players and all kind of trying to fill those roles and find direction and leadership with the team.”

Ouckama is also proud of the time they’ve put in giving back to the community by working with the town’s youth soccer programs through Taughannock Soccer Club.

“Our girls give up part of their weekends and afternoons to play with and teach the next generation of players,” Ouckama said. “The kids look up to the high school players as superheroes and our varsity players not only have a great time but learn and practice lessons of consistency, patience and leadership. It’s special for everyone involved and has contributed to the growth and maturity of our team.”

The Blue Raiders march into sectionals with great momentum following their IAC triumph. They earned the #2 seed in the Section IV Class C tournament and have a bye to the quarterfinals, which they’ll host on October 25. After coming up just short the last two seasons, the Blue Raiders will hope third time’s the charm in ending a long sectional title drought.

“We talk [about how] a season is long with its ups and downs, and we talk [about] even when we’re down, if we get scored on, how do we react? What’s the next play?” Ouckama said. “So [it’s about] sticking together, not hanging our heads if we go down, not getting too distracted if we go up, keeping that steady pace of the game and making sure that we’re communicating and sticking together.”

Two other Tompkins County soccer teams came out on top in their respective IAC championships. Groton girls soccer took down Tioga 2-1 in an overtime thriller to win its first IAC title since 2019, and Lansing boys soccer edged Spencer-Van Etten/Candor 1-0 to capture back-to-back IAC championships.