ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca men's soccer team fell to No. 13 SUNY Cortland on Wednesday evening in a tough, gritty game.
 
The teams battled back and forth the entire game, but it was ultimately the Red Dragons who put away a goal to go home with the win.
 
In the 79^th minute of play, a Cam LaVallee shot was deflected by Ithaca goalie Max Lichenstein, but Migell Ormsby was able to knock it to the back of the net for his team-leading third goal of the year.
 
"We told the guys after the game to hold their heads high and be pleased with their performance and effort," said Head Coach Kyle Dezotell. "That was a high quality NCAA Division III soccer game played at a high-tempo and with genuine intensity between two very good teams who didn't want to lose.
 
"As a top 15 team in the country, Cortland is a very strong and well-coached program with a few very special plays at our level," added Dezotell. "I expect Cortland to make a run in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season, so this was a really good test for our plays to see how we matched up."
 
Momentum swung back and forth many times throughout the play and both teams had their chances to score.
 
Cortland's Jake Keller got the first shot of the game off in the sixth minute, but Lichenstein came up with his first save.
 
The Bombers got off two shots in the span of five minutes, one from Zack Lichtman and one from Nate Schoen, but Cortland's goalkeeper Connor Young stopped them.
 
The Red Dragon's gained a bit of momentum, getting off two shots in less than a minute. The first shot from LaVallee was blocked by Ithaca defenders before the second shot, taken by Ma'Cain Spragling, was saved by Lichtenstein.
 
Cortland had the final two chances of the first half. In the 41^st minute, off a corner kick, Miguel Tunas got a shot off before Keller tried for a chance of his own in the 43^rd minute, but Lichenstein came up with the save both times.
 
The second half also yielded several scoring opportunities for both teams.
 
Ormsby got a shot off in the 49^th minute but it was blocked by Ithaca defenders.
 
The Bombers registered the next three shots of the game from Jack Ochs, Sam Factor and Nate Schoen. Ochs' and Factor's shots were each saved by Young.
 
In the 69^th minute, Max Barish connected but the shot sailed just wide of the goal before Ochs' shot was saved by Young in the 73^rd minute.
 
The Bombers registered their final shot of the game in the 76^th minute when Young stopped Lichtman's shot.
 
Cortland registered two shots following Ormsby's goal, but both went wide.
 
Lichtenstein finished with four saves on the day while young registered six.
 
The Bombers are back in action on Saturday, at home, against Elmira. The game is slated to start at 1 p.m. on Carp Wood Field.
 
"As pleased as we were with the performance and effort, I reiterated to the guys that they shouldn't be satisfied," said Dezotell. "We have realigned the expectations in this program and we need to believe in ourselves and our preparation and expect to win every time we take the field. I have no doubt that the players will respond well in training the rest of the week and will be prepared to have a great performance on Saturday."