NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Ithaca men's soccer team won its second game of the season to improve to 2-0 and win the Cadet Kickoff Classic.
 
The Bombers defeated Southern Vermont 5-0 in its second game of the tournament at Norwich University.
 
With the win, Ithaca is off to its best start since the 2008 season when the Bombers won three in a row to open the season.

"I am very pleased for the guys," said Head Coach Kyle Dezotell. "They've put in some excellent work since they arrived mid-August for preseason in preparation for this weekend. Our goal was to go 1-0 on Friday and then reset and go 1-0 on Saturday. Obviously, the best we could be at this point is 2-0 and we're excited we got the job done and come home as Cadet Kickoff Classic champions."
 
Ithaca started off strong, registering two shots in the first two minutes of play, but both were unsuccessful.
 
The first goal of the game came in the 17^th minute on a center shot from sophomore Max Barish, for his second goal of the season. He was assisted by Jack Monnes and Eric Hepler to put the Bombers up 1-0 over the Mountaineers.
 
On Southern Vermont's ensuing possession, they got a shot off but it was saved by Ithaca goalie Max Lichtenstein.
 
In the 24^th minute of play, Monnes took a pass from Hepler and ripped a shot from 20 yards out to score the Bombers' second goal of the game.
 
Although Ithaca registered several shots, none were successful in finding the back of the net for the rest of the first half, sending the teams into the break with the Bombers leading 2-0.
 
Ithaca continued its offensive dominance in the second half, registering 12 shots in less than 20 minutes.
 
The Bombers scored their third goal on a Sam Factor penalty kick in the 63^rd minute following a Southern Vermont foul.
 
Less than five minutes later, Ithaca found the back of the net again, this time on a Nate Mansfield tap in, assisted by Alexander Brosnihan.
 
The final goal was the result of another Bombers' penalty kick, this time from Tyler Hiney in the 82^nd minute.
 
Ithaca overpowered Southern Vermont, registering 43 shots on the day, while the Mountaineers tallied just two.
 
The Bombers also recorded nine corners compared to Southern Vermont's lone corner kick.
 
Lichtenstein finished with the lone save of the day for the Bombers while a trio of Mountaineers' goalies – Matthew Jobbagy, Dylan Berg and Omar Santiago – combined for 10 saves on the day.

"We are happy to begin this way and I expect the players to respond well in training early this week to prepare for one of the best teams in the region in SUNY Cortland at home on Wednesday," said Dezotell. "We look forward to seeing how we stack up and I expect good things on Wednesday."
 
The Bombers are back in action on Wednesday, September 6 at home against No. 13 SUNY Cortland. The game is slated to start at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available.