The Ithaca men’s soccer team has made 32 postseason appearances since the start of the 1984 season. The team reached new heights from 1995-97, advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals each season. In 2018, Ithaca had its best season in 20 years, finishing the season 14-2-4 while reaching the Liberty League final for the first time in program history. In the 1990s, the Bombers were 130-56-22.
The winning tradition began under coach Isadore “Doe” Yavits. A member of both the Ithaca College and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) athletic halls of fame, Yavits led the program from 1932 to 1962.
The team’s success continued under Carlton “Carp” Wood, another Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame member, who took over in 1963. Two years later, Wood led the Bombers to their first unbeaten regular season and an inaugural trip to the NCAA playoffs. Ithaca lost, 2-1, to Brown, finishing 10-1-1. That year Ithaca Athletic Hall of Fame member Sandor Szabo set the school’s single-season scoring record with 35 goals and eight assists for 78 points.
The Bombers were back in the playoffs again in 1979. Under coach Allan MacCormack, Ithaca posted an unbeaten Independent College Athletic Conference (ICAC) record and was ranked 10th in the nation. Kim Christianson, Bob Durocher, Bob Locke and Bob Thompson each earned First-Team All-ICAC honors. The Bombers won a second straight ICAC title and received another NCAA playoff invitation in 1980. Bob Stiles scored nine game-winning goals that year, and Ithaca defeated Buffalo State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before falling in overtime to Binghamton.
The hiring of Andy Byrne in 1984 brought even more success. The Bombers made nine consecutive postseason appearances from 1985-93. Byrne led Ithaca to a 12-5-1 record and an NCAA playoff bid in 1985, and was named the New York State Coach of the Year. In 1986, the Bombers captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Upstate New York championship. Ithaca made NCAA appearances in 1987 and from 1989-91. In 1989, the Bombers defeated Rochester, 2-0, in the first round before falling to national power RIT, 3-1, in the regional final. All-American midfielder Peter Lambert led Ithaca in scoring that season. Lambert was named to the school’s Hall of Fame in 2002.
Goalkeeper Zac Shaw and forward Jason Dove were both 1991 All-Americans. Shaw had 31 shutouts and a 0.64 goals-against average, and Dove recorded 18 goals and 11 assists for 47 career points. Shaw was inducted into Ithaca’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
In 1995, Ithaca reached the NCAA quarterfinals and enjoyed a school-record 15-game unbeaten streak, led by forward Todd Stephan, who ranks third in career goals (43) and points (96), and goalkeeper Eric Pepper, who ranks second in career wins (38) and first in career saves (407). The next year, All-American Dan Katz helped the Bombers to within one win of the national championship game. In 1997 the Bombers reached the third round of the NCAA playoffs for the third year in a row. Forward Mitshel Lavander joined Katz on the All-America Team.
In 1999, the Bombers were again back in the NCAA playoffs, qualifying for regional play. The 2002 team advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after winning the Empire 8 regular-season title. The 2008 Bombers finished with an11-5-3 record, winning the Empire 8 regular season title for the fifth straight year. Ithaca was back in the NCAA tournament and hosted a first-round game at Carp Wood Field, falling 1-0 in overtime to Johns Hopkins.
The Bombers battled to a 0-0 draw against nationally-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology in the 2012 Empire 8 Championship game. The tie earned the Bombers co-champion honors, marking the program's first conference title since 2002.
In 2015, under the direction of first-year head coach and former player, Patrick Ouckama, the Bombers earned the top overall seed in the Empire 8 Championship and the right to host the four-team tournament for the first time since 2008. Ithaca defeated Elmira in the 11th round of penalty kicks before falling in the title game to Stevens. The Bombers would qualify for the Empire 8 Championship again in 2016 after earning the second overall seed.
After a transitional year in 2017, the Bombers emerged as one of the top programs in the Liberty League in 2018 under the direction of second-year head coach Kyle Dezotell. Ithaca notched 14 wins, which tied the program record for most wins in a season, after finishing 14-2-4. It was the first time IC reached double-digit wins since 2008. The Bombers finished the non-conference slate with no losses, and did not suffer a loss at home, which were both the first time in program history that has happened. IC rounded out the season with five all-conference honorees in Max Lichtenstein (first team), Jonathan Kyriakidis (second team) and Nate Schoen, Jack Monnes and Tom Dillmann (honorable mention).
In 2019, IC posted a 13-6-2 record and were nationally ranked for a majority of the season. Ithaca earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship for the program's first appearance since 2008. The Bombers would win their first round match again Keene State, 2-1, before falling to nationally-ranked Amherst, 2-0. IC went unbeaten at home that season, 8-0-1, in what was Dezotell's final season at the helm. Garret Eldridge would be appointed the next head coach of the program, but the 2020 season never commenced, as COVID-19 canceled fall sports.
Eldridge earned his first-ever win as a head coach in thrilling fashion leading the Bombers to a 2-1 (OT) victory over Medaille College in the 2021 season-opener. He led the Bombers to a 8-6-6 overall record where IC clinched the No. 2 seed for the Liberty League Tournament where they finished as the runner-up in the Liberty League Championship. The 2023 season saw the Bombers finish with an 8-6-4 record where they were the Liberty League runners-up for the second time in three years. Graduate defender Brandan Lebitsch garnered his second career All-Region selection earning All-Region III Third Team honors.
The 2024 season saw Ithaca post a 7-7-4 record where they once again qualified for the Liberty League Championship tournament, but fell to Skidmore College, 4-3 in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals after finishing tied 0-0. Senior midfielder Connor Tierney earned a spot on the All-Liberty League Third Team as he also earned CSC Academic All-District honors.
4/28/2025
