ITHACA, N.Y. – After falling behind 3-0, the Ithaca College men's soccer team made a heroic comeback in the final 26 minutes of the game to defeat Vassar, 4-3, in the regular-season finale at Higgins Stadium.
 
The win bumps the Bombers to 12-2-3 and 5-2-2 in conference play, locking up third place and first-round hosting rights for the upcoming Liberty League Tournament. IC will host sixth-place Skidmore in the tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday afternoon.

It was a fitting end to senior day for IC, as the Bombers honored seniors Sam Factor, Nate Schoen, Nate Mansfield, Tyler Hiney and Jack Monnes prior to kick off.
 
Things started off slow for the Bombers, who fell behind 1-0 in the first half following a Kevin Baliat goal for Vassar.
 
Less than three minutes into the second half, Henrik Olsson added to the Brewers advantage before Mattie Mrlik put up Vassar's third goal of the game in the 62^nd minute.
 
Ithaca gained momentum in the 65^th minute, when senior Nate Schoen converted on a penalty kick to cut Vassar's lead to 3-1.
 
The Bombers followed that up by scoring three goals in a span of less than five minutes to secure the win.
 
In the 82^nd minute, Jack Monnes chipped a pass to junior Kevin Turi, who maneuvered around goalkeeper Will Marment to send the ball into the net and bring the Bombers within one goal of the Brewers. The goal marks Turi's second of the year.
 
Less than three minutes later, in the 85^th minute, first-year Thomas Pierce scored his first career goal following a corner and a scramble in front of the net.
 
IC nearly scored the game-winner with 3:38 left when Turi drilled a shot towards goal, which looked good, but hit off the crossbar, sending it toward the corner.
 
Nearly one minute later, with just 2:39 left in regulation, Turi sent a short cross into the box, where sophomore Jonathan Kyriakidis was there to head in the game-winner and his team-high fifth goal of the season. It is his second game-winner is as many games.
 
The Bombers were able to hold off any offensive attacks from the Brewers during the final minutes, completing the comeback trailing 3-0.
 
Despite falling behind early, IC had its fair share of chances to start things off.
 
In the first seven minutes, the Bombers registered four shots while not allowing any chances for Vassar.
 
Twenty-five seconds in, Schoen's header was high before Monnes send a shot wide in the fifth minute. Off a corner kick, Pierce attempted a shot, which was also wide, followed by another blocked shot from Schoen in the seventh minute.
 
Ithaca put its first shot on goal in the ninth minute, but Marment made the play on Tom Dillmann's shot.
 
Goalkeeper Max Lichtenstein made back-to-back saves in the 22^nd and 23^rd minutes, first on a Toby Stansell shot, followed by a Mrlik header.
 
Vassar netted its first goal in the 29^th minute, when Baliat controlled his own rebound, off a save by Lichtenstein, and sent it back into the net.
 
Following the Brewers' goal, Ithaca earned a corner kick and Duncan Schnur sent a header towards goal, but the ball went wide to the right.
 
Lichtenstein made his fourth save of the first half in the 34^th minute on a Mrlik shot, sending things back to the Bombers' offensive end. IC recorded its final shot-on-goal of the half with just over five minutes left, but Marment once again saved Dillmann's attempt.
 
Following the halftime break, Vassar came out with momentum, scoring it's second goal just 3:47 in when Olsson headed in a Jordi Martinez pass.
 
The Brewer's had another solid attempt less than two minutes after the goal, when a Mrlik shot hit off the crossbar and bounced away. Lichtenstein was then tested again in the 56^th minute, coming up with the save on Baliat's shot.
 
Schoen's penalty kick was the first shot of the half for IC, which led to the Bombers gaining much-need momentum to go on and win the game. In addition Ithaca's offense picking up after that, the Bombers did not allow Vassar to get off another shot for the remainder of the game.
 
Statistically, Ithaca outshot Vassar 17-12 while both teams earned six corner kicks. Lichtenstein finished the day with five saves while Marment had three for the Brewers. Turi finished the day with one goal and one assist for the Bombers.
 
The Bombers are back in action on Tuesday as they host Skidmore in the quarterfinal round of the Liberty League tournament and a yet-to-be-determined time. The winner of that game will go on to play No. 2 RPI on Saturday, at top-seeded St. Lawrence.