ITHACA, N.Y. – For the third straight game, the Ithaca College men's soccer team earned a shutout victory after blanking the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks, 1-0, on Sunday in an Empire 8 match at Carp Wood Field.  The win, which is Ithaca's third consecutive win, moved the Bombers record to 3-3-0 overall and 1-0-0 in conference play.  The Ducks, who had not lost a conference game since 2009, slipped to 1-3-1 on the season and 0-1-0 against Empire 8 competition.

The first half was a see-saw affair with both teams swapping possessions in the offensive end of the field.  With the score still knotted at 0-0, Stevens had its best scoring chance of the half in the 33rd minute when play was whistled dead after a hand ball at the top of the Ithaca box.  The Ducks strike found its way past the Bombers defensive wall, but senior goalie Zach Jacobsen dove to his left and snatched the ball to keep Stevens off the board.

As the half wore on, Ithaca began to find its rhythm.  The Bombers began to move the ball quickly, which led to two shots on net, but the score remained 0-0 after 45 minutes of play.

The match would remain scoreless until the 77th minute when Scott Halpern gave the Bombers a 1-0 lead after he collected a loose ball and broke free from the Stevens' defense before unleashing a strike that found the back of the net for his first goal of the season.

The Ducks would try to net the equalizer by forcing the ball into the Ithaca box, but strong play by the Ithaca defense and Jacobsen in goal kept Stevens off the board as the Bombers picked up the all-important conference win.

Jacobsen played all 90 minutes in goal for the Bombers and saw his season mark improve to 3-2-0 with the shutout.  He made five saves in the win.

Ithaca took 13 shots in the game, led by Jack Ochs and Sam Boylan who produced three shots each.  Max Barish and Halpern were each credited with two shots.

The Bombers will look to make it four wins in a row at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday when they travel to Clinton to take on Hamilton in a non-conference bout.