TROY, N.Y. – Senior goalkeeper
Lee Folger saved all three penalty kicks he faced after the game went all 110 minutes with neither Ithaca nor Skidmore College able to notch a goal on Saturday's second Liberty League men's soccer semifinals matchup. Folger was a brick wall between the goal posts and the Bombers fed off his energy as they netted all three of their attempts in the penalty kick shootout. Ithaca will now move onto the Liberty League Championship where they will square off against the No. 5 seeded St. Lawrence, who upset No. 1 seed RPI 2-0 in Saturday's first semifinal.
Skidmore and Ithaca have found themselves battling in highly contested matches as this was the third time in a row and fifth in the last seven matches dating back to 2015 that the teams played to a tie. Both programs have a stout defensive backline as they previously played to a 1-1 tie earlier in the regular season. The Thoroughbreds concluded their season with a record of 9-5-4, Ithaca moves onto the title game at 8-5-6 and their six ties match a program record that was last achieved in the 1995 season where they finished 11-2-6.
After 110 minutes of back-and-forth play, Ithaca held the slight 16-15 advantage in shots and each goalkeeper was forced into making four saves. The time of possession was nearly identical for both teams, but the Bombers did possess the ball in the attacking third of their field for 35% of the time compared to 20% in which Skidmore controlled the ball in dangerous areas.
Ithaca nearly netted the game-winner in the second overtime as they tallied three shots within the 10-minute period. The most dangerous of the attempts occurred at the 106:32 mark as
Alex Leahy ripped a shot bottom center of the net, but it was corralled and saved by Bobby Stratts.
During the crucial penalty kick shootout,
Lee Folger made a diving save on the first attempt that was taken by the Thoroughbred and put his team in a envious position.
Christopher Ogden,
Alex Leahy and
Jonathan Kyriakidis each stepped up and slotted their opportunities into the back of the net.
The Bombers will be back at EVAC Stadium tomorrow with the Liberty League Championship title on the line. Ithaca will look to be crowned conference champions for the first-time ever within the Liberty League and return to the final for the first-time since 2018. Game time against St. Lawrence University is slated for 3:30 p.m. and fans can follow along with the following links:
webcast and
live stats.
