TROY, N.Y. – The nationally ranked No. 13/15 Ithaca College football team suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 14-11, at ECAV Stadium on October 30. Ithaca is now 7-1 on the season after its fifth-consecutive loss to the host Engineers, who are now 7-1 overall.

Despite outgaining RPI, 334-188, in yardage and holding a 20-to-10 advantage in first downs, the Bombers committed one turnover and went 0-for-3 on fourth down. IC also had a chance to tie the game in the final minute of play but missed a 35-yard field goal. The Bombers defense forced RPI to punt nine times in the contest.

The Bombers received the opening kickoff but turned the ball over on their third snap of the game as A.J. Wingfield was intercepted near midfield less than a minute into the contest.

RPI capitalized on the takeaway and scored on a 29-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-4 with 10:46 on the clock to take a 7-0 lead. George Marinopoulos recorded his 20th touchdown pass of the season as he found Vinnie McDonald wide open in the end zone.

That stood as the only score of the first half, but RPI was forced to play with its backup quarterback midway through the second quarter as Marinopoulos left with an injury for the contest.

IC held a 128-97 advantage in yardage over the opening 30 minutes of action.

With 6:28 remaining in the third quarter, IC got on the board on a 40-yard field goal from Nicholas Bahamonde to pull IC to within a 7-3 score.

RPI answered with 9:16 left in regulation on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Matt Petercuskie to Riley Conboy, extending the Engineers' lead to 14-3.

After a turnover on downs by IC and punt from RPI, the Bombers pulled to within a field goal at 14-11 with 4:16 left as Wingfield found Donte Garcia for an 11-yard pass and then Garcia scored on the ensuing two-point conversion. The scoring drive was the longest of the game for either team, covering 77 yards.

IC forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with 2:23 left in the matchup. Starting at its own 37, the Bombers quickly moved into RPI territory with a 10-yard run from Jalen Hines and a 14-yard catch by Michael Anderson. Hines then accounted for the next 18 yards as he pushed the Bombers inside the red zone, but the drive resulted in no points as the 35-yard field goal attempt with 30 seconds sailed wide to give RPI the victory.

Wingfield finished the day with 184 yards passing on 20-of-31 attempts, while Andrew Vito caught seven passes for 53 yards to set Ithaca's all-time receptions record, surpassing his former teammate, Will Gladney. Vito now has 261 career catches.

Hines rushed for a game-high 73 yards on 18 carries, while Garcia had 50 yards on the ground. Michael Anderson recorded five grabs for 37 yards and Billy Tedeschi had one catch for 40 yards.

On defense, Ben Stola finished with 10 total tackles, including two for loss, to lead the squad. Cade McDermott finished with six tackles while four other Bombers tallied five tackles each.

The Bombers will look to regroup and get back in the win column as No. 11/12 Union comes to Butterfield Stadium next Saturday for Senior Day and Family Weekend.