ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca men's soccer team (1-4-3, 0-1-0 Empire 8) opened conference play and dropped a 1-0 game to visiting Nazareth (2-4-2, 1-0-0 Empire 8) Saturday afternoon at Carp Wood Field.

The Bombers had a pair of quality scoring chances in the early stages of the second half, when two shots were denied by the crossbar. The first came on a dipping strike from sophomore forward Colton Wigsten (Spencer-Van Etten/Spencer) and the second came two minutes later from freshman forward James Shankland (Pleasantville/Pleasantville).

Sophomore midfielder Ben Lloyd (Amesbury/Amesbury, Mass.) made the defensive play of the contest when he headed a Nazareth shot off of the goalline following a corner kick. Senior goalkeeper Justin Parlapiano (Stafford/Stafford Springs, Conn.) made three saves.

Ithaca held a 13-8 advantage in shots.

The Bombers return to action Saturday at St. John Fisher.

Box Score